Premature rupture of the membranes

Breast milk is the best possible nutrition for your baby. Close contact with your baby – skin-to-skin bonding – not just in the first few hours of life, is the first step towards successful breastfeeding.

If your waters break before labour begins, you should come to the admissions department within 2 hours; if you test positive for GBS or have any other specific risk factors (cloudy amniotic fluid, abnormal foetal position, previous caesarean section, etc.), you should come as soon as possible. When your waters break, we follow standard obstetric protocols. Twelve hours after the clear amniotic fluid has broken, we take a blood sample to check for inflammatory markers. If these are elevated, we administer antibiotics as a preventive measure according to the recommended protocol; if they are not elevated, antibiotics may be administered up to 18 hours after your waters have broken. If labour does not commence within 24 hours of the waters breaking, we take steps to induce labour. Prolonged rupture of the membranes carries a risk of inflammatory complications in particular for both mother and baby. We will, of course, discuss all steps with you.