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pe3we303
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Laboring at home
pe3we303
member
Hi FTM here and I want to labor mostly at home before I head to the hospital. My question is how do I know I am getting close? My biggest fear is to think I'm more dilated than I am, go to the hospital and find out I am only 4 cm or something.
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Re: Laboring at home
https://bellyupbaby.blogspot.com/2011/07/is-it-time-to-go-to-hospital.html
That was useful to me.
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Thank you! It's a great article. I guess I will have to talk to my midwife as well.
Steph I'm with you. I want to be at the hospital the least amount of time possible!
I arrived 10 cm dilated and while the car ride sucked it was otherwise a good plan.
Just stay home until there is no doubt in your mind that you need to go in. I think a good rule is that if you're still smiling, it's way too soon.
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Great post.
Great link! Thanks for sharing
After two natural labors - one which consisted mostly of laboring at home and one that was all hospital - I agree with everything said in this article! Needless to say, for number three coming up in September, I will try to stay home as long as possible before going to the hospital!
You will know. As crazy as that sounds we just instinctively know. I remember laboring at home for hours. I told my H and doula it was time to go to the hospital. They tried to talk me into staying home another hour because my contraction pattern was not a solid 4-1-1. We went and I had LO in less than 2 hours after arriving at the hospital.
ETA: I arrived at 6 cm and my water broke when I was admitted to triage. Things got really intense pretty quickly. The OB only came in to catch LO and I only pushed for @ 20 mins.
First comes love, next comes marriage, then comes...
For me, it was when I knew I wouldn't be able to handle the 20 min car ride if things got any worse. My contractions were basically unbearable if I had to lean back, even a little like in the seat of the car. I had been in labor for about 20 hrs and that point, and was still only 4 cm when I got to triage. But my contracts were strong/long/frequent enough that they kept me. I didn't mind laboring in the hospital and was glad to not have to get in the car again. I did have my husband and mom there and a very supportive midwife, and they had an awesome jacuzzi tub (I waited until I was 6 cm to get in, and it did slow things down, but let me nap some). DS was born about 15 hrs after I got to the hospital. Dilation was a slow road for me, but I'm so happy I stuck it out because I was able to push squatting and on my hands and knees. Pushing like that for me only took 20 min.
DS, May 2011
I agree with this. I hit a point where I just felt I needed to go in, worst case, I could return home if I over reacted. I also was at the point where I thought the car ride wasn't going to be fun, and I couldn't imagine the car ride if I waited for contractions to be worse. I had weird contractions though, mine were 2-3 minutes apart from the time I first noticed them until the time baby was born. It made it harder to know what I was supposed to do.
I totally agree with the still smiling, not ready comment. By the time I got to the hospital I was 9cm and didn't really want to speak and I definitely wasn't smiling. Also, I had a really hard time sitting down at that point. I am hoping to do it the same way this time; it was wonderful just showing up to push:)
I totally agree with going based on emotional signposts. There is a whole section in the book "Natural Hospital Birth - the best of both worlds" that talks about when it is the right time to go in.
For me, it was when I was totally focused on labor. When I got to the point where I couldn't talk or focus on anything but laboring - even when I was between contractions - I knew it was time to go. I arrived at the hospital at 6 cm and my daughter was in my arms less than 4 hours later.
Do a lot of reading, but also go with your gut: I guessed it was really early when I told my doula I wanted to go to the hospital, and she also warned me that it was probably really early. When we got there, I was at only 2cm and so we decided to go back home, but then I suddenly dilated to 8cm in 7min, and LO was born 40min later! If I had stayed home, I might have had an unassisted birth, so I firmly believe that my instincts were telling me I needed to be at the hospital even though all the evidence suggested otherwise!
Realize also that the opposite is true: you could be 6cm when you arrive at the hospital and then stall out for hours. So just read read read, hire a doula if you can afford it, and trust your instincts....
I decided to leave when I realized that my body was beginning to push. This is probably later than you would want...but I arrived in triage at 10cm and had my son about 30 minutes later.
My labor progressed relatively fast. My water broke at 2:30pm and contractions came immediately but were inconsistent and not painful at all until about 9:30pm. It became very difficult for me to cope, but I thought there was no way I was far enough along to head to the hospital (my doula, who wasn't even to my home yet, thought the same). Around 10:30pm, I moved from my bouncy ball to the shower and the first contraction in there doubled me over and I could feel my body pushing. It was then that I knew it was time to go. No doubt about it...haha! We got to the hospital shortly after 11pm and DS was born just after midnight.
In hindsight, when I was on the bouncy ball...I told DH that if we got to the hospital and I wasn't far along, I would think about getting the Epi. That is the sign I will look for this time. When I begin to doubt myself, I'll know it's time to head into the hospital.
Is that book super crunch-tastic? I am trying to avoid "methods" like Bradley and Hypnobabies, they seem really rigid to me and while I know I could take the pieces I liked and only "use" that, but I also feel like I would get disgusted and start rolling my eyes, then give up on the book lol.
Not "crunchy" at all.
You might actually also like the Lamaze handbook. It's got a more science-based tone and less "imagine your sphincters opening like a flower". Whatever you do, avoid "Birthing From Within"... and honestly, I can't get through an Ina May book.
Oh, and "Your Best Birth" by Rikki Lake and "The Birth Partner" by Penny Simkin would both work well for you,too.
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Lol! That's exactly what I'm looking for. No blooming flowers, no raw vegan diets, no "the best place to give birth is in a meadow full of cows so your body is inspired to make milk" BS. Not that there's anything wrong with that, if others like it. But I basically just want to know how I am most likely to get and be able to cope with a natural birth at a hospital, where interventions MAY happen if they are medically necessary. I'll check all those out! Thank you =D
Ha, my OB actually went back to the office b/c I was 5cm after 5 hours of labor (3rd child). DS2 was born less than an hour later and caught by the nurses!