Amniotic fluid has a higher pH of 7.1 to 7.3. Normal vaginal pH is between 4.5 and 6.0. This test involves testing the pH of a sample of vaginal fluid. This allows them to examine the inside of the vagina and to collect fluid directly from the vagina. They will insert the speculum into the vagina and gently spread apart the vaginal walls. Your health care provider will collect some fluid from the vagina using a medical tool called a speculum in order to do most of these tests.

Since the fluids might be contaminated with blood or other secretions, these tests look for substances or certain characteristics that are normally only found in amniotic fluid. Tests for PROM involve analyzing vaginal secretions to determine if amniotic fluid is present. They will then order tests to help confirm PROM or PPROM. Your health care provider will examine you and observe the fluid coming from the vagina. If you suspect that your water has broken and there is fluid leaking from the vagina, your health care provider will need to confirm that the membranes have actually ruptured. At the hospital, simple tests can confirm that your membranes have ruptured. Women who deliver within 24 hours after their water breaks are less likely to get an infection, so it’s important to go to the hospital as soon as possible after the membranes rupture. Your health care provider may choose to induce your labor early due to the risk of infection to your baby. If your pregnancy is less than 37 weeks and your membranes rupture, your health care provider will have to decide whether to deliver your baby immediately or to try to continue the pregnancy.If your pregnancy is past 37 weeks and your membranes rupture, your baby is ready to be born.The earlier your membranes rupture, the more serious it is for you and your baby.

It occurs more frequently in twin pregnancies. PPROM occurs in about 3 percent of pregnancies and causes about one-third of preterm births, according to American Family Physician. It is more commonly referred to as “when your water breaks.” Membrane rupture that occurs before the 37th week of a pregnancy is called preterm PROM (PPROM). In pregnant women, premature rupture of membranes (PROM) occurs when the amniotic sac that surrounds the baby (the membrane) breaks before the start of labor. The Amnicator ® test is far quicker and simpler to perform than resorting to the microscopic examination of escaping fluid, detecting the presence of protein or using orally administered dyes to stain urine, to distinguish amniotic fluid from normal secretions and urine.Premature Rupture of Membranes: What Is it?

Leakage or even a small amount of fluid is sufficient to change the nitrazine yellow indicator. The Amnicator ® is then simply withdrawn and examined for a color change. Using a sterile speculum an Amnicator ®is introduced into the vagina and any fluid coming from the cervix or pooled in the posterior vaginal fornix is sampled. Amnicator ® will reliably distinguish neutral or slightly alkaline amniotic fluid from the acidic cervical and vaginal mucus or urine. By means of a simple pH color change of the Nitrazine yellow, which has a sharp end point, (6.4-6.8), exactly in the desired pH range, the midwife or obstetrician can accurately detect the presence of amniotic fluid. The principle of the Amnicator ® test is that normal vaginal pH at term ranges between 4.5-6.0 and amniotic fluid is usually 7.0-7.5. Amnicators ® are individually wrapped sterile swabs impregnated with a sensitive pH indicator, Nitrazine yellow. Amnicator ® is a rapid and simple method for detecting ruptured amniotic membranes.

Amniotic fluid leak test at home