Look at this beautiful baby...still in her sac. She doesn't even know she has been born right into her mother's hands.
Did you know that the bag of waters, otherwise known as the amniotic sac or the caul, is made up of two layers of membranes?
The outer layer of the sac which you can see being pealed back is called the chorion. The amnion is the inner layer of the amniotic sac.
An Amniotomy, also known as artificial rupture of membranes and by the lay description "breaking the water," is the intentional rupture of the amniotic sac by an obstetrical provider.
This procedure is commonly used to "speed up your labor" ...which is not a good idea unless there's a real medical emergency.
Do not let your doctor break your water prematurely without your consent and do not let doctors perform cervical exams because doctors will use this opportunity to break your water.
Your baby along with your placenta and cord are all protected by your amniotic sac against direct pressure which are caused by powerful surges/contractions.
So why would doctors be so adamant about breaking your water prematurely to soley speed up your labor when there are no signs of a medical emergency?
Doctors know that breaking your water causes your baby to undergo unnecessary stress due to your baby now being fully exposed to powerful surges.
Think of it as someone bear hugging you but you have a protective cushioned suit on...you won't feel as much pressure as you would if it was direct contact right?
Well the amniotic sac is like this cushioned protective suit that protects your baby from direct contact coming from your powerful surges.
So these doctors break your sac...then your baby gets stressed out, which leads to other unnecessary medical interventions like a cesarean that could've been avoided if doctors would just back off and let nature take it's course.
