The Purpose of Amniotic Fluid and Amniotic Sac
What is amniotic fluid and what is it’s purpose? Also referred to as the “bag of waters”, the most pregnant women generally know about it is that about the time labor begins their amniotic sac will break, or be broken by their midwife or doctor, causing the start of the delivery process. They don’t however know what its purpose is during a pregnancy.
The amniotic fluid is the clear, slightly yellowish fluid within the amniotic sac that surrounds the baby in the uterus. The baby grows in this amniotic sac, surrounded by the amniotic fluid, as he learns to move his limbs, open his eyes and breathe. Amniotic fluid levels generally sit at approximately 800ml through most of the pregnancy, dropping slightly in most cases to about 600ml by the time a woman reaches the 40 week mark.
The amniotic fluid has many purposes. It helps to cushion hard blows and jolts to your belly to protect the baby and it allows your baby the freedom to move while permitting symmetrical musculoskeletal development. It also maintains an even temperature so that your baby does not get too hot or too cold, even if you are extremely hot or cold.
Amniotic fluid also helps your baby develop his lungs. While in the womb your baby practices breathing by breathing in and out the water in the amniotic sac. The baby swallows and inhales the amniotic fluid and replaces the volume in the amniotic sac by urinating and exhaling the liquid.
In some cases, a woman may have too much or too little amniotic fluid. Having too much is called polyhydramnios and having too little is called oligohydramnios. In either case, a woman might be watched more closely by her physician throughout her pregnancy.
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10 Responses to “The Purpose of Amniotic Fluid and Amniotic Sac”
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Nadine McDonald says...
Hi there, I need help with this question. when i started labour with my first son, i vomited up the amniotic fluid, the nurse at the time told me that its going to damage my teeth, can you tell me if that is true? I really need your help in answering this. Thank you. Please send it to my email address above.
Thanks
Nadine McDonald.
monique arroyo says...
i have a friend who is 15weeks pregnant. She is pregnant with twins when she was 13weeks into the pregnancy her amniotic sac broke in twin number 2 so far twin 2 is still hanging on. She is so scared and her doctors aren’t really telling her anything. Please Help!!!!
Diana says...
Nadine – It is impossible for the mother to vomit amniotic fluid. The amniotic fluid is only in the uterus, which is not connected to your digestive track in any way. What you vomited was probably just bile, which can cause minor damage to your esophagus and teeth due to the stomach acid. Repeated exposure to stomach acid (repeat throwing up) can cause progressivly higher amounts of damage to the esophagus and teeth. I would question any nurse who told you that you threw up amniotic fluid since she clearly does not understand basic biology.
Monique – Hopefully your friend’s second child is still doing fine. While an amniotic sac can spring a leak or get a small rupture it can sometimes (key word being sometimes) repair itself as long as it’s small enough. There are pioneering attempts to manually seal ruptures that occur that do not seal naturally by using biological glue. If you google ‘amniotic sac repair’ at least one story will show up.
patricia says...
What happens when a baby is born with in the amniotic sack? I mean the baby comes out of the mother while he /she is still in the sack?
sherry says...
My son was born still in his amniotic sack. He was just fine!The doctor said “it is good luck” he called it A GOLDEN BIRTH. My labor was the same as my other children. So I guess it does’nt matter either way. Good Luck
Grace says...
I am 40 weeks pregnant and my water broke 2 times in gushes yesterday at 18h00 and 23h15, I was up all night with contractions with intervals of 5 mins in between. I don’t want to go spend my time at the hospital but I still have no urge to push, would anyone know if this is normal and what should I do?