[Submitted Question]

At 39 weeks of pregnancy I expect labor to start any minute. I have had a bit of wetness trickling down my legs. How can I tell whether this is amniotic fluid or just some pee?

[WombToBloom]

Pay attention to how often and when the wetness occurs. If the leak is only occasional and occurs when you cough, sneeze or laugh, it's probably urine and it’s perfectly normal. Wear a pantyliner or pad and check the smell and color of your leaking fluid. You know what pee looks and smells like.

Amniotic fluid is generally clear, but it also can be yellow, pink-ish, brown or green. Leakage of amniotic fluid is continuous, unlike urine. Go ahead and put on a pad, then lie down for a while. If there is a gush of fluid when you get up, it’s very likely amniotic fluid. Amniotic fluid also (supposedly, I don’t know this first hand) smells sweet, unlike urine.

When in doubt, go and get checked. At 39 weeks, if you are leaking amniotic fluid, I would expect that you would begin to feel labor pains very, very soon!

[forwomen]

Originally Posted by WombToBloom

At 39 weeks of pregnancy I expect labor to start any minute. I have had a bit of wetness trickling down my legs. How can I tell whether this is amniotic fluid or just some pee?

There is a new product on the market called Amniscreen which can be prescribed for use at home. The best way is to see your healthcare provider for an exam where several tests can be done to determine if membranes are ruptured. Amniotic fluid does not smell like urine. If you suspect you are leaking amniotic fluid, note the color of the fluid. It should be clear with whitish sediment in it. Greenish tint is abnormal. Foul odor is abnormal.

[fawnanddoe]

Amniotic fluid is said to have a very distinct odor.
I have noticed that I am sweating down there a lot lately, so keep that in mind also!

[IN BLOOM]

If it is amniotic fluid, it will keep leaking, if not, it could have just been urine.

[Chelziee]

OK.
My daughter really fooled everyone on this one. I had the same problem. I called the Doc, got into an appt and they swabbed me. If the swab turned a different color it was supposed to be fluid, if not then it was only pee. No color change. the SAME night I went to hospital... I said it hurts, and it feels like something is freggin coming out of my butt. They said ok we will swab, still nothing. Monitor and checking for dilation confirmed I was in FULL BLOWN LABOR and had been leaking fluid for some time. So It is always a good thing to check and make sure people know that YOU know how you feel!

[vickilatham]

There are two layers of the sack around the baby...the inner amnion and the outer chorion. Sometimes the outer bag breaks but the inner stays intact. It can be quite a lot of fluid, or just a little when this happens. But the fluid will not fern if dried, and it's not going to turn the pH strip as dark. Nor does the rupture of the chorion cause the same risk to the baby for infection, like may be present with prolonged rupture of the membranes. Often the chorion will reseal. The amnion can also reseal if the rupture is small.
There is not really any such thing as a "dry birth" because the body continues to produce amniotic fluid, as several other people said before, the fluid just keeps dribbling out. I think women feel these births where the BOW ruptures early are harder because you have the hard head of the baby pressing on your cervix instead of the squishy, bulging BOW. I don't deliver babies anymore, but back when I did, I always thought that amniotic fluid smelled just like the ocean. Part of that is the alkalinity, but it almost always was a very pleasant smell to me. Ye ole midwife.

[MrsAshley]

This is natural, rest at ease. Because you have a baby pressing on those muscles they don't hold back everything like they use to. Vaginal discharge is increased during pregnancy and can build up while you are sitting or lying down and when you stand up the fluids may seem to gush out. I recommend wearing panty liners but if they irritate your skin be sure to change your underwear frequently to avoid an infection. If you have a lot of fluid at once and it continues I would recommend going to see your doc, they've seen hundreds of false alarms and you won't bother them one bit!