Rumer Willis describes the act of breaking her own water during labor: “I popped it”

Rumer Willis, the eldest daughter of Bruce Willis and Demi Moore, delivered her first child back in April. While in labor with her daughter Louetta at home, Rumer says she had the help of her two sisters, partner, mom, a doula, and her midwife—but when the time came to break her water, she completed the mission solo.

During an appearance on the “Informed Pregnancy” podcast, Rumer explained that after a night of contractions, she felt the intense need to push. There was one problem, however: her water hadn’t yet broken.

Her midwife offered a solution: she could break it herself.

“She was checking me and felt my water bag bulging, but still not popping, which was wild,” Rumer recalled. “So, I was like, ‘Well, should we break it?’ She goes, ‘Well, you can.’ I’m like, ‘What?’ I was like, ‘Are you serious?'”

For Rumer, the experience of breaking her own water isn’t one she’ll likely forget anytime soon.

“I reached my finger up there, and I’m feeling and it was crazy. I could totally feel this little bag—it feels like a water balloon, but with a bit tougher skin.”

During pregnancy, the fetus is surrounded and cushioned by a fluid-filled membranous sac called the amniotic sac. During labor—sometimes at the beginning, sometimes later on—your membranes will rupture. This is also known as your water breaking. If your water breaks before labor starts, it’s called premature rupture of membranes (PROM). The water-breaking can occur on its own, or your healthcare provider might rupture the membranes if necessary to start labor.

A laboring person breaking their own water is practically unheard of—and potentially dangerous. After the water breaks, labor can start very quickly. Or the baby could be in a complicated position, in which case medical assistance is, of course, ideal.

Before her next contraction, Rumer was instructed to push on the amniotic sac.

“She just said, ‘Okay. On the next contraction, just push against it with your finger,’ and I popped it. I think there’s a photo of me and I just have this look of shock and surprise on my face. Because it’s a different sensation when the water bag is pushing against your cervix to when the baby’s head is.”

Experts advise against breaking your own water

Because of the risks involved in breaking your own water, it’s not recommended that you try this at your own birth, unless you’re under the close supervision of a birth provider like a midwife or OB-GYN. 

“If a woman breaks their water intentionally, there is a slight risk of cord prolapse [when part of the cord drops through the cervix into the vagina] if the baby is not totally settled in the pelvis,” Lauren Demosthenes, MD, an OB-GYN and senior medical director with Babyscripts, tells Motherly. “There is also a risk of infection if not done in a sterile manner.”

When birth providers rupture the amniotic sac, they typically use a sterilized plastic hook. Introducing a foreign object—yes, even a clean hand!—could introduce harmful bacteria, Marieme Mbaye, MD, FACOG, an OB-GYN and medical director at Noula tells Motherly. In many cases, after PROM, your birth provider will want to deliver your baby within 24 hours to prevent infection or other complications.

Though things progressed quickly for Rumer after she broke her own water, there were still complications with her daughter’s birth.

“My midwife and my partner caught her. It was the wildest thing. She had a cord wrapped around her neck, but it was also wrapped around her body in like almost like a prom sash,” she continued. “We had four hands under there, under the birth stool. I’m going, ‘Give me the baby. Give the baby.'”

Seeing the cord wrapped around your delivered baby’s neck can be a frightening experience. However, it’s a common one, occurring in 20-30% of pregnancies.

“But then, as soon as they untangled her, she was in my arms,” Rumer says, calling the entire delivery experience “the most ecstatic, joyful moment of my entire life.”