When to go to the hospital

rmm17

Those that have had unmedicated hospital births, when did you decide to leave for the hospital? I really want to stay at home as long as possible but don't know if there should be a particular cue or time that I know its time to leave.  We are about 25 minutes from my hospital but I will need to give our childcare provider about an hour to get to our house and my doula will likely need 90 minutes. 

marriedinaugust

We left for the hospital at 3-1-1, our hospital was 30-45min away. Got there and I was only 2cm but things progressed quickly and I'm glad I was there. Our Bradley instructor said 5-1-1 is just too soon and can actually sometimes slow down labor.

barista411

3-1-1 or 5-1-1 is generally the rule. Some practices require you to go to the hospital once your water has broken.

With my first my water broke so my MW was required to send me to the hospital. With my second I had an appointment a few hours before my contractions started so I knew I was already 6cm. Once the contractions started and started coming a couple minutes apart we called someone to watch DD and we booked it to the hospital.

mdarmetko

My contractions never lasted a full minute, so if I went by the 3-1-1 rule it would have been a non hospital birth. By the time we left for the hospital 20 minutes away I was unable to stand during contractions. I arrived 7cm. Not sure if that helps. Can your Doula or midwife help asses over the phone from the sound of your voice?

mb314

marriedinaugust said:

We left for the hospital at 3-1-1, our hospital was 30-45min away. Got there and I was only 2cm but things progressed quickly and I'm glad I was there. Our Bradley instructor said 5-1-1 is just too soon and can actually sometimes slow down labor.

Is your doula willing to come over early or is she just going to meet you at the hospital?  She may be a good judge as to know when to leave for the hospital. But, otherwise, I think the 3-1-1 rule is a good one.

Another way to judge is if you're losing modesty - if you have no problem walking outside to the car naked because you're in labor and it's intense, it's time to go!  My contractions were difficult to time, but they were intense and I had only the smallest bit of modesty left in me - DH had to convince me to throw a cover up on over my nakedness to go to the hospital.  I really didn't care.

When I was admitted, I was only 4 cm, but my contractions were coming one on top of the other and were less than 3 minutes apart.  I progressed relatively quickly and had the baby within 3 hours of arriving at the hospital. 

MsMacual

We lived about 30 min (with no traffic) from the hospital that we used with our first and I waited until my contractions were 45 seconds-1 min and about a min a part.  I was fully dilated when I was checked at the hospital.  Ideally, I would have gone in a little sooner, but I went from contractions that were 5-6 min a part to a min a part in a pretty short amount of time (like 30 min).  I think a lot depends factors that you can't predict until you are in labor- like how quickly you move through the phases, etc.  I think that calling your doula once you realize you are in labor is a good plan- she can help you labor comfortably at home and will be a good person to help your husband make the call as to when to call your child care.  

drpayne

mdarmetko said:

My contractions never lasted a full minute, so if I went by the 3-1-1 rule it would have been a non hospital birth. By the time we left for the hospital 20 minutes away I was unable to stand during contractions. I arrived 7cm. Not sure if that helps. Can your Doula or midwife help asses over the phone from the sound of your voice?

This for both of my births.  My contractions start strong and close together.  I never waited the full hour and arrived at 7-8 cm.  My labors don't follow that rule

sschwege

I was 15-30 min depending on traffic from the hospital and my MWs recommended 2.5-1-1 to 3-1-1 for me as a first time mom.  They never really gave me a recommendation with my second.  With my first I went in after 10 hours of moderate contractions that were at 3.5-1-1 and was 6cm when we arrived.  With my second I was only having 'real' contractions for an hour or so before we left, I never formally timed them, but I'm estimating I was at about 2-1-1 and arrived fully dilated and the MW and DH could visibly see DS's head.  

My advice is trust your instincts, if you think it might be time to go, it's probably not, wait until you know it's time or in general if something just doesn't feel right of course.  I will tell you, DS could have easily been born in the car because I chose to ignore what my instincts were telling me which was, 'get to the hospital!'  Right before I decided it was time, I literally stood in the bathroom thinking about getting in the bath, I kept talking myself out of what I was feeling.  Just trust yourself mama! 

JCWhitey

If I had waited until I hit some sort of number rule (4-1-1, 3-1-1, etc.) my son would have been born on the freeway or in the back of an ambulance because I would not have made it to the hospital.  My contractions went from non-existent to 1-1-1 instantly.  I was ready to push within an hour.  My labor started by my water breaking.

So there's no hard-set rule.  You may not want to labor in the car so maybe going sooner is better than later.  My hospital is super chill and if you get there and aren't that far along in labor yet they close your door and only come back when you page them.  If I didn't have that I'd consider getting a hotel room nearby.

jennypolkadots

There are a lot of factors - what your birth team (doula, ob, midwife, etc.) recommends, how you are feeling during labor, if you were dilated at your last appointment, if you have a family history of fast labors, how far the drive is, road/weather conditions... LOL lots to think about! 

We aren't sure what we are doing yet so I can't say for certain, but if I were delivering at the hospital that is 10 minutes from home I would call my doula over when I am about 7 mins apart and heed her advice about when to go. We would probably head up around 3 minutes apart. I have a family history of really short labors. I was born in 45 minutes from first contraction (not kidding) and so I'm not totally sure. Just trust your body and your care team. If you get there early, they can check you and you can go back home if you want. Or you can stay and they likely won't bother you. If your water breaks most doctors start a 12 hour clock to get the baby out to reduce risk of infection so that changes things. 

MrsP7309

I woke up in labor with my first, and she was in my arms 5.5 hours later.  I woke DH up when I felt like it was time to go to the hospital, but it still took us a while to get out the door.  I was feeling the urge to push in the car.  Because of that, I'd call childcare and my doula as soon as I knew I was in labor, and leave as soon as I felt the "I should go to the hospital" urge.

JessaPrimate

I did 5-1-1 the first time and delivered 4.5 hours after getting to the hospital (was admitted at 3-4 cm).

The second time I never got into a pattern. I was 6 cm at admittance and delivered two hours later.

mrsblueeyes

My contractions have always started at 3-4 mintues apart, lasting about 35-45 seconds so I waited each time till I got into a regular pattern of 2-3 mintues apart and lasting over a minute.  My doula met me at our house and then when the thought of the car ride and sitting in the waiting room was too much I decided it was time to go.  The last 2 times I arrived at 5cm and had a baby in my arms within 2-3 hours.   I liked my timing. 

jenn43

I would definitely talk with your practitioner ahead of time about what the plan is if your water breaks.  I didn't worry about this happening, since it's not common (10% I think?), so of course it happened to me.  Fortunately my midwife was very relaxed about it- she let us stay home well past the 12 hour mark before coming in, as that would have been at 2am.  We stayed home all night, got some sleep, and went in at 8am the next morning.

JackieB15

I called L&D when I got close to 5-1-1. I would get close to that hour mark and my contractions would slow down. They told me to stay home but I just felt like I had to go in. They said fine, but they'd probably send me home. I got there and was at 7cm. They let me stay.