(Elizabeth H Bonesteel) wrote:
One woman this morning said that "they" will need to make sure the baby is born
within 24 hours of your water breaking, because after 24 hours there is a high
risk of infection. Someone else said that if your water doesn't break, "they"
will do it for you at the hospital.
... is it really SOP if labor is progressing normally? And is there really a
legitimate 24-hour "deadline" after your water breaks?

I get the very strong impression from reading this newsgroup that "how
long" you will be "permitted" to labor after ROM depends on your
caregivers. Different doctors, midwives and hospitals seem to have a
fairly wide variation in opinion about how long is "safe". It's
definitely the sort of thing that bears independent research before
one goes into labor.

When I gave birth in a hospital, I was quite close to delivering my
son in an intact bag of waters -- something I really wanted purely for
the romantic and "cool" aspect -- when my OB said she wanted to break
the bag. So I asked my doula (who is usually a homebirth midwife and
caught my second child) what she thought, and she said it was ok to
let the doctor break the bag. So I let them. I still don't know why
the Dr. wanted to. They didn't install a monitor, that's for certain!
I should ask my midwife about this the next time I see her. :-)

At any rate, the woman who said that "they" will break your bag for
you if it doesn't break on it's own, is probably almost always right
-- at least in US hospitals.

--
-- Vicki
Married DH May 21, 1995. Ima shel Sullen, born 11/16/99; Chatty,
born at home 5/19/02, and Expected, "due" September 4, 2004.