If your water breaks, lie down flat, elevate your hips, and call 120 — don’t walk around or take a shower

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This is exactly what the Beijing Municipal Health Commission recommends: “Immediately lie down flat to prevent further loss of amniotic fluid,” “Do not walk around casually,” and “Call emergency services at 120 right away.” While waiting for help, inform family members so they can bring necessary items to the hospital. Medical sources further explain why this is essential: when a person stands, amniotic fluid drains much more quickly, increasing the risk of umbilical cord prolapse — a critical emergency for the fetus. Therefore, lying down and elevating the hips is crucial; a left-side lying position is ideal.

北京市卫生健康委员会. 每周急救话题：准妈妈羊水早破怎样办？ https://wjw.beijing.gov.cn/bmfw_20143/jkzs/jzjj/202001/t20200115_1575632.html；北京市顺义区妇幼保健院. 孕晚期在家破水怎么办？ https://www.bch-syfy.cn/Html/News/Articles/9453.html

The three signs that birth is near are regular contractions, show (bloody mucus), and water breaking; water breaking is the one that means “lie down on the spot and call a car.” This is the author’s summary of the two explainers above. An explainer from Shunyi District Maternal and Child Health Hospital says getting out of bed to stand, walk, sit, or squat all make fluid drain faster and raise the risk of cord prolapse. So after the water breaks, do not bathe, do not squat on the toilet, and do not drive yourself. Note the time the water broke and the color of the fluid, and tell the doctor. Fluid that is light green, yellow-green, or even brownish yellow may mean meconium (the baby’s stool) is mixed in. If you feel a cord-like object hanging in the vagina, it may be cord prolapse — call 120 at once, lie flat, and raise the hips. If fetal movement is clearly different from usual, tell the doctor as well