Polyhydramnios or Too Much Amniotic Fluid

I had it with my second baby too. The doctor just said "it happens", he never gave me a reason for it. I was monitored closely, told to take it easy and I was induced a week early. I think I remember a few extra sonograms towards the end too. Apparently, the biggest issue is if you go into labor on your own, the cord could prolapse during labor, so my doctor didn't take any chances, which is why I was induced. I do remember that he took a lot more time with me when my water was broken with my second baby, than my first. He was a little more cautious and watched me closer. I thought this was my imagination, but the hubby commented on it as well. I have big babies (this one was 8 1/2 lbs at birth), so between that and the extra fluid, some of the pictures of me are hysterical. It was a wonder I could stay vertical. I wouldn't stress too much, just watch things closely and follow the doctors advice. Take care and congrats!

Hi -

I had a mild case of this with my first pregnancy and a much worse case with my second child five years later. With my second pregnancy, I gained over 60 pounds - 14 pounds of it in the last five days before delivery . I lost all of it within 4 days of delivery. The amount of fluid when my water broke was amazing. My boys are now 35 and 30 years old. Back then they didn't know much about it but at the time the doctors suspected a possible link to gestational diabetes - also something they knew little about at the time. After my second child was born, I was cautioned against a third pregnancy. They had no answers for me and were concerned that a third pregnancy might not have a successful outcome with more amniotic fluid retention. I did not atempt a third pregnancy. In the intervening years, I have worked a lot with naturopaths with much success. My niece has received care from a naturopath through her four pregnancies with great success. I would recommend seeking a naturopath who specializes in obstetrics.

Both my boys were induced two weeks early due to size - both over 9.5 lbs.

Good luck - C.

I had this with my last pregnancy (my third), and I was super paranoid and scared myself shitless over it... turned out to mean absolutely nothing other than the fact that my doc induced me because I was so scared of the cord prolapse thing. It was at MY request though, as he did not think it was even necessary. Then, my fluid ended up correcting itself into the normal range 2 days before my induction also so there is a good chance yours could correct itself. My doc still induced because it was already "planned" that way... I don't think it has anything to do with your babies being close... I am not positive on that but it wasn't the case with me (my first two are 13 mos apart and fluid levels were normal in both pregnancies)... congrats on your pregnancy - you are going to **LOVE** having your babies that close!! I wish we would have had our third way closer to the 2nd instead of waiting 3 years! The bond between our 4 and 5 year old is amazing! :)

I really doubt the fact that you are having girls 10 months + apart has anything to do with too much amniotic fluid. What does your doctor say? If you are 35 weeks, what is your fundus measuring? There are many reasons for this, it would be hard to speculate. What are your ultrasounds showing besides the excess fluid? Does the baby look ok? Your doctor needs to be the one to answer these questions. Sometimes it is nothing; sometimes it is more serious.

K. Voigtsberger
www.wholeheartbirth.com

I had too much fluid and they just did sonograms real often to make sure everything looked ok. The biggest concern the Dr had for me was during labor/delivery. If the water breaks too fast it can cause the cord to wrap around the neck. We planned my delivery so didn't go natural and she did a pin prick to break my water so it would drain slowly. I also had to be on oxygen for most of the labor and delivery. When I delivered the cord was loosely wrapped around his arm and neck but had no complications. Hope this isn't too much information!

I didn't read all of the response,s but I had too much fluid and my son was measuring large during my pregnancy and was told it could be caused by gestational diabete,s which I did not have. My son was delivered at 37 weeks via c-section because I had terrible back pain but he is absolutely fine.

With my first I was told one of the reasons I had an "irritable uterus" (basically BH contractions that wouldn't let up) was because I had too much amniotic fluid.....In fact, part of their decision to put me on Indocin to treat the contractions was because part of the side effects is that it reduces the amniotic fluid. For some that's bad and dangerous for me, it was a good thing because then I didn't contract :) I too asked if that was an issue and the OB said much like the other posters mentioned not really until delivery...If it becomes a problem or they are worried I'm sure there are multiple ways to treat. I don't think having your second so soon would have caused this at all....The old saying every pregnancy is different is sooo true....Hang in there and congrats on your baby!!

congrats on your pregnancy.......i had this with my 4th & last & it was messy, a huge waterfall that i could hear falling over the bed onto the floor.....my 3rd & 4th are 20 months apart.....i had fibroids that had to be monitored during my pregnancy so i had a few ultrasounds so their was no detection that the excessive fluid was a concern......when my water broke i wasn't dilated at all but when it broke she was out in 35 minutes, ouch was that a crazy whirlwind...she was only 6 days early..........best wishes

I had this condition with my last child that I had at the age of 35, he is the last one of 5. When I found out and was told I had polyhydramnios, I was told that it can mean the baby has a birth defect, I thought it might be because of my age but it does not have anything to do with having children close together, my sister had her kids so close everyone thought they were twins and my daughter also, they never had this, also my kids are spread apart 4-5 years each and more and I had it. I was in and out of the hospital to be checked because of it the last 7 weeks of my pregnancy. They told me on the ultrasound they were not picking up any birth defect but they can't always pick up every birth defect. I cried knowing that my child could be born with something wrong with him. My labor room doctor was notified that i had this condition and believe me when they say there is a lot of water, there was, it went everywhere like a tidal wave!! My baby was blue gray in color and the resisitation team worked on him and got him breathing well although I did not see him until the next day so he could be stabalized and I temporarily left my body during all this, I did not have any drugs as all my pregnancies were natural. I remember them saying we need to flip her the babies heart rate is really low and I did not respond and the doctor finally grabbed my leg and flipped me to my side, I remember them giving me oxygen off and on but it all was hard to remember, my mom and sister watched as the team of resuscitation nurses worked on him, also there was a c-section team standing by in case they had to go that route because I guess with this type of pregnancy they said they don' know what they are going to run into until they are in there and it is happening. Joshua is a healthy baby boy despite his rough birth and the only deformity if you will that he has is that little thing on your ear that sticks out, I don't know what it is called but you will feel it if you feel the outside of your ear, he was born with an extra little one on the outside, some people say that he is hyper and has too much energy but it comes in handy on moving day!!! He is gifted and we home school him as he was extremely bored in school, he has been working on computers and with electricity believe it or not since 4 years old, he made his own antenna at 4 years old and it worked!! He is now 12 and he rebuilds computers and helps people out of their computer jams, all the engineers in the neighborhood love talking with him, they say he knows as much as their engineering buddies. He does come from a long line of Engineers including an Aerospace Engineer. Pray and remember that God doesn't give us more than we can handle. Babies are a wonderful gift, enjoy yours.

I had "too much fluid" for my third child. My OB wasn't worried about it. We did have him flip to breech while I was in labor. At the time, my doctor said it was because I had the excess fluid my son had enough room to flip, when most babies would not.

It did not cause any health concerns, or problems with labor. My son flipping was highly unsual. I had been in labor since 5am, at 5PM he was still head down.. he flipped sometime after my water was broken. Trouble maker :) He was healthy and all was well.

Good luck - congrats on your upcoming baby!