July the fourth be with you!

Meh, I would've taken the "are you stupid" look-on-my-face route and then sharply gesture to my giant stomach a few times. Unless they are morons I'm sure they could connect the two.

Did you begin to have contractions after you peed? No? I thought not.

I can't help but to wonder if OP was also smiling at them when she told them, because it's hard to understand their reaction at her most-likely-worried face.

they were obviously joking

Exactly. Your baby has no consideration whatsoever.

It waited 9 months, it can wait a little longer!

9 months, is that it?! 4th July only comes every 12 months. Punk kid.

Why did this guy get down voted?

It's ok, FMLers are just showing mixed emotions.

You shouldn't "hold in" the baby for long as that can actually harm the baby. Life tips

I always thought the water breaking was the signal that labour was starting, I'm not a doctor though so correct me if I'm wrong. But then it also depends on the woman, sometimes labour lasts from minutes through to hours or days so I'm assuming it can also start really close to the water breaking or hours afterwards.

It's not like the movies where the waters break and the baby comes whooshing out 2 minutes later. I'm a nurse and I've worked on labour ward for 2 years so I do know what I'm talking about.

I'm only 16, but I'm pretty sure once your water breaks you go into labor. This labor can last from mere minutes to sometimes long hours. But what do I know, a 16 year old doesn't know as much as a nurse.

Erm, I'm a mother of one and have another one on the way... when your water breaks, you're going into labor. It doesn't mean the baby is going to fall out, but he or she is definitely well on his or her way. They actually broke my water with my daughter to speed up the labor process.

I'm really sorry but I cannot believe you're a nurse for saying something so unprofessional. I have an aunt who's a maternity ward nurse, and she says when your waters break you go ASAP to the hospital, they check your dilation and time between contractions, and THEN tell you to stay or come back in a few hours when contractions are x every x minutes. Sometimes the baby does "whoosh" out, or like my stepmum who was in labor for 30 hours almost and needed blood transfusions.

With my first, after my water broke he was born about 1/2 an hour later

I'm surprised this is getting thumbed down so much, as the nurse who posted is correct that broken water does not always indicate active labor. The start of labor is actually marked by the dilation of the cervix and is accompanied by more mild uterine contractions (early labor, as opposed to active labor, which is characterized by full dilation and stronger contractions). The water will often break during this phase of labor, but it is possible for it to break before. I would encourage anyone who doesn't believe this to research it on their own.

I do not believe 'nurse' commenter is actually a nurse. My son was born in 43 mins, luckily he was my fourth so I knew hat was going on. When your water breaks you are aupposed to go straight to l&d however, if OP's water broke with no contractions there was likely barely dilation as with my 3rd daughter, my water broke at 2PM and i did not have contractions or more than 1-2cm dilation until 5:30am then it all happened fast. Everyone is different, and every pregnancy/delivery is different. My hubby and I went to dinner and a movie and spent part of the night at my friends place after so I could have stayed for fireworks but Op could have felt like she needed to go in NOW! And could be embarrassing standing there looking like she pissed herself!

if watet breaking means the start of labour then why are so many women, including myself, induced after their water breaks?

62, because the point is it can go either way. Some women give birth straight away, some take hours, some need a helping hand. It's the same thing with a period -everyone's body is different and it can go either way. Better safe than sorry I think, especially if the pregnancy was high risk.

The original commenter here only meant that no harm was probably done by waiting a few minutes before going to the hospital. #62, the "water breaking" is amniotic fluid escaping because the placenta has ruptured. Sometimes this happens before active labor starts and sometimes not, but if it does, you can only wait so long for labor to start on its own. There's risk of infection to the baby because bacteria can now get in, plus the amniotic fluid cushions the baby in your abdomen. So if labor doesn't start within a few hours or so, they'll often induce.

Not sure where you are (thought I'm going to go out on a limb and guess the UK because of the spelling of "labor") but in the US, you have a fairly limited window between the time your water breaks and the time the hospital will insist on a cesarean. I'm guessing OP didn't want to go that route.

Why do you have to pick a fight? That's the unprofessional act.

Or not. I bet after they finally got driving, the dad found a Six Flags and couldn't resist!

It's really cool being born on the 4th of July, or even on the 4th of July weekend :D My little sister was born on the 4th of July ^_^

I'm sure this could be argued from both sides, but personally, I wouldn't want to share my birthday with another celebration.

My birthday is December 31st. It's absolutely awful. I've never had a birthday party because everyone is always out partying or with their families. It kinda makes me wish my mom didn't have a weak cervix and I was born on my actual due date (April 14th). For those of you who think it's impossible for me to have been born 3 and 1/2 months early, trust me, it was. I weighed 1 lb. 10 oz. when I was born and had to stay in the hospital for three months afterwards. I have scars all over my body from the various needles and things that were stuck into me to keep me alive. On another note, congratulations on the baby OP! :)

Melix, who is the person in your profile picture? He looks very familiar.

You don't know?? It's David Tennant! No, it's ok, I'm sorry for my outburst But I thought it was common knowledge. I'll go back to the Whoniverse now

"Ohh honey you pissed yourself? Really?"

'Murica > childbirth But seriously, I hope your delivery went well. Congratulations!

'Murica's 2013th birthday, right?

16- I REALLY hope that was sarcasm >_

Well I heard it says so in the constitution. 'Murica f*ck yeah!

You cannot seriously think the US constitution is 2013 years old...I hope.

78 - With the public education system today, who knows.

Or she could have just spoke up. If people are sitting there nodding because they don't know what you're saying then maybe you should speak up so they can hear you.

Most of the time it takes quite a while between water breaking and actual birth. Some people get sent home from the hospital because their contractions are too far apart. I doubt she gave birth where they were watching fireworks.