The approach of actually going to the hospital...

Happily Overwhelmed

I've been holding off asking this question for awhile but after seeing the previous post of natural births thought I'd sneek it in.

I'm sure this is a topic that my doctor isn't going to like me bringing up. I'm not so fond of hospitals (somewhat besides the point here) and I'm hoping to goes as natural as possible (although I don't feel like I can completely make that decision until the pain begins).

Majority of my friends with children shot to the hospital the second they went into labor. My goal is to hold off either until the pain is unbareable or the contractions are a decent distance apart. DH thinks I'm crazy and says he'll drag me if he has to.

I know plans change, and I know some babies will me more eager to come than others. Anyone have a plan on at what point during labor they'll be checking in to the hospital?

chantico23

Why won't your doctor like you bringing it up? 

My doula recommended that I labor at home for as long as I can do other things while laboring, but once the contractions get hard enough to stop me, that's when I should go to the hospital.  She said that labor tends to progress more quickly when you do the majority of it at home, as you are more relaxed and comfortable than at the hospital. 

Just don't wait too long!  

Happily Overwhelmed

erindworley:

Why won't your doctor like you bringing it up? 

She's very overly cautious. haha. It's not that I think she'd be mad or anything. She just like to keep "checking" on things. Which has it's good points and bad. I'm sure I'll bring it up to her in the next few weeks.

indiana101

Happily Overwhelmed:

I've been holding off asking this question for awhile but after seeing the previous post of natural births thought I'd sneek it in.

I'm sure this is a topic that my doctor isn't going to like me bringing up. I'm not so fond of hospitals (somewhat besides the point here) and I'm hoping to goes as natural as possible (although I don't feel like I can completely make that decision until the pain begins).

Majority of my friends with children shot to the hospital the second they went into labor. My goal is to hold off either until the pain is unbareable or the contractions are a decent distance apart. DH thinks I'm crazy and says he'll drag me if he has to.

I know plans change, and I know some babies will me more eager to come than others. Anyone have a plan on at what point during labor they'll be checking in to the hospital?

I hope your DH was kidding and I hope he does alot more research before you go into labour. Labouring at home is a lot more comortable than labouring in a hospital room.

We're planning a homebirth at this stage, but if we do decide to go the hospital route after all, the plan is to labour at home as long as possible, until the contractions are 3 or so minutes apart. Our circumstances would be different though becasue our midwife would be in our home and make the call.

chankins14

My plan is to labor at home for as long as I am comfortable doing that.  I will go to the hospital when I hit 5-1-1 (contractions 5 minutes apart, lasting a minute for an hour) mark if nothing else happens to change that.  My MW is perfectly okay with that, too.  Since I am trying for a VBAC, when I get admitted to the hospital, they will have to hook me up & I won't be as mobile as I want to be.  I also can't be in the water as much as I want to. 

JNicMTek

I'm hoping to labor at home as long as I can, since the hospital is only 10 minutes away.

With DD, the hospital was over an hour away, so the midwife told me I'd have to come in much earlier than normally recommended. I went in on a Thursday night, around 11PM we finally made it there. The contractions were painful, but not so bad that I was debilitated by them. I ended up laboring in the hospital until DD was born, 25 hours later.

Like pp said, labor tends to go easier when you're able to stay home as long as safely possible. You're more comfortable, can move around and do what feels right for you. Although the hospital with DD let me move around, use a ball, shower, jacuzzi, etc., I still would have been more comfortable at home.

Your doctor should be okay with your choice to stay at home for as long as you are okay with it. There is that question of when to leave, but I believe you'll know when it's time to head out. Going to the hospital too early could lead to them sending you back home, you walking the hospital halls waiting for labor to progress enough for you to be admitted, a long labor in a small room, or more interventions and "help" to get things moving at the speed the hospital would prefer it to move. Just some things to consider.

KansasFarmMomma

I'm not planning on laboring to long at home. We live almost an hour away from the hospital, so once things get started we'll go there and if they won't admit me yet we will get a hotel room and I'll stay there until I can be admitted. We live in to rural an area with little no emergency medical staff(think 30+ minutes response time for a police officer to get to our house, let alone EMS) I'm not taking a risk of delivering on the side of the road with no one but DH...I've seen him pull calves and I'd rather not have him anywhere near my crotch during labor LOL

gina_bo_bena

I posted in the previous thread, but yes, I'm planning on laboring at home as long as possible.  Like PP, I would like to be in a more relaxed environment...be able to eat, drink, take showers, etc.  Hopefully I can remain relatively calm and not create more anxiety for myself and DH.

I do have a question, though - if your water breaks do you *have* to then go immediately to the hospital??  I guess I've heard that it can still take a while once that happens (if it does), and I would like to limit my time laboring at the hospital.

Lexie Marie

For me it really depends... I think if I get to point of seeing my water break at home I would go over right away. I would like to tough it out at home but then again its a 30 minute drive and I'm not trying to be in unbareable pain in a car on the way to the hospital -I'd rather already be there when that type of intense pain hits. Plus heaven forbid but with this being our first and us not knowing what will happen, I'd prefer to be there should anything suddenly go wrong.

PrestonMk

With DD my dr said to wait to go to the hospital until the contractions were 5 min apart and strong enough that I couldn't talk through it. We only live about 6 min from the hospital though. The morning I woke up, had my bloody show, and had contractions pretty much throughout the day. We didn't go to the hospital until about 10:30pm.

emd2887

I'm planning on laboring at home as long as possible, but I also only live 5 minutes away from the hospital. Once my contractions get close enough together I'll head over, but I don't really see any reason to rush in (unless something comes up later in my pregnancy that necessitates that). 

awillis13

How long I labor at home is going to depend on the weather around here (last year on 12/27 we had a 3 ft snowstorm...) because we live 40 minutes from the hospital with no traffic.

If we are safe from storms I will stay home longer, otherwise we will head in because it could take a few hours.  Our hospital has many things to help with natural childbirth provided (jacuzzi tubs, birthing balls, etc) in most L&D rooms, so they seem to be much more open to natural birth over interventions unless necessary.

iluvmylab

I plan on going when my doctor suggests it.  (when my contractions are regular and a certain number of minutes apart).  I'm not going to pretend like I know what I'm doing since this is my first, I'd rather be at the hospital just in case.  I trust what my doctor tells me, otherwise I would have found another one.

tosh24

gina_bo_bena:

I posted in the previous thread, but yes, I'm planning on laboring at home as long as possible.  Like PP, I would like to be in a more relaxed environment...be able to eat, drink, take showers, etc.  Hopefully I can remain relatively calm and not create more anxiety for myself and DH.

I do have a question, though - if your water breaks do you *have* to then go immediately to the hospital??  I guess I've heard that it can still take a while once that happens (if it does), and I would like to limit my time laboring at the hospital.

No, you don't have to go - I mean, they can't force you. If your water breaks they will admit you, even if you're not having contractions yet. Most doctors will start the clock and you'll be pressured to deliver within 24 hours.

My water fully broke at home with DD. I called the hospital to let them know that my arrival was imminent so that they could make sure they had room for me, but I stayed at home until I felt like going. I took a nice hot shower to deal with the contractions, and DH and I crossed things off our "last minute to-do list" while I just worked through the contractions. 

This time, I'll be staying until the last possible minute. I'd much rather be at home labouring than stuck in a dirty, germy hospital. Yuck. (Just for the record, our hospital is beautiful and clean....I just feel nasty about any hospital, no matter what).

indomesticbliss

I labored at home until I felt I would be too uncomfortable to ride to the hospital if I waited longer. Contractions were solidly 2-3 minutes apart, but I was still able to walk/talk through them, just not comfortably. We left our place at 11 pm, the nurse during admitting thought I was maybe going to be 3 or 4 cm since I was walking and laughing, turns out I was 6 cm and 100% effaced. LO arrived just under 4 hours after we were admitted.

Point being, I totally agree with laboring at home as long as you are comfortable, just listen to your body and your gut, you will know when to go in. Not being able to talk through contractions is a good guideline, as is the 5-1-1, but everybody is different.

NNGnome

I will be labouring at home as long as possible, I think it will be much more relaxing and I can rest and eat and be more ready for the birth.

Leap08

I'll labor at home as long as possible. I feel like I will be much more relaxed at home and hope that will help me progress. I'd also like to be able to walk around, eat, shower, etc.. I'm trying for a VBAC and they will have to be constantly monitored once we get to the hospital. I also plan to leave the hospital if I check in and I'm less than 5cm dilated. My MW is aware of my plan and fully supports me. 

buttercup1221

If my water breaks then I'll be immediately heading to the hospital... Myself and all of my siblings arrived within 20 mins of my mom's water breaking and even though I know that doesn't mean it'll happen to me as well, I don't want to take any chances of delivering baby at home or in the car.

If my water doesn't break, we'll probably stay at home until my contractions meet the 5-1-1 rule. The hospital is only 5-10 mins away, so we're not too worried about not getting there in time (Although DH is already planning his "route" to the hospital. haha). 

I'd rather be home until the contractions are at least 5 mins apart so that DH can relax a little... I know that once we leave for the hospital he'll be antsy and if labor takes awhile, I don't want him sitting in the hospital bored/anxious when we can be at home. Plus... I don't want him to have to take an extra day off of work or his paternity leave if I'm just sitting at home waiting for labor to progress, etc. (he is military... so he would have to take vacation or start his paternity leave the moment he decides not to report to work & we'd prefer he have that time for when baby is actually here).

Our hospital does have private laboring/deliver/recovery rooms that are actually rather large, have their own jacuzzis and birthing balls, etc... so if we do end up in the hospital for the majority of it, I'm not too concerned about being comfortable. 

precbaby3

This is my third and with my last one i only pushed for 5 minutes..so as soon as i know that i am in actual labor i will take a shower and head on in...I really wouldn't like to have a baby in the car..or get stuck in traffic!! LOL  But i would wait a lot longer if i wasn't afraid of the baby coming before i get there:)  Best of luck! 

LaurenRinAtlanta

My doula actually comes to my house as soon as I go into labor (a lot of doulas won't do this in our area, they just meet you at the hospital - which is why we went with her). So I will be laboring for as long as I can. Unlike many of you ladies, the hospital is only about 5 minutes away for me, so I don't have to think about being in a car for 30+ minutes. My doula tends to have her patients go in when there less than 4 hours to go until delivery. Some of her patients have delivered within an hour of arriving. I like that - since I don't want to be laboring in the hospital for 24+ hours. No thanks. My home is much more comfortable and relaxing to me!