Question on laboring at home as long as possible...

mrsjsousa · June 2010

My plan is to stay at home as long as possible before heading into the hospital...I was curious though, you mommies out there who have done this, were you ever worried about the lack of monitoring of your baby during this period of time?

14years · June 2010

I labored at home as long as possible, and got to the hospital at 9 cm with DS. I really didn't think at all about the lack of monitoring. Everything seemed to be going fine.

mexicolombiana · June 2010

That's a good question. I will have a doula and my mom too so that will help but I've also wondered the same thing.

busygal · June 2010

I labored at home till I felt a sudden change in my body which told me that it was time to go to the hospital (not realizing how close I was to giving birth--I delivered about 50 minutes after walking out my door). I did not worry at all about the lack of monitoring. If my water had broken, I would almost certainly have gone in sooner though.

Mrs.Cford · June 2010

I think as long as you have had a relatively issue-free pregnancy you should be fine to labour at home for a while. If you have had high bp or other issues I would be more likely to head in a bit earlier.

earthboundmisfit · June 2010

No..she was still moving around quite a bit. I wasn't even thinking about anything "bad" possibly happening to her JUST because I was in labor. Babies are hardy and meant to be able to deal with the stress of labor. It's when you throw complications and interventions in that things get hairy.

*speedracer* · June 2010

honestly that thought never crossed my mind. when i finally did get to the hospital the monitoring in triage was beyond annoying because they kept me on it longer than necessary instead of getting me to a comfortable room.

Blackvelvet · June 2010

I went to the hospital when I started bleeding I had no idea that that was ok to happen it was horrible bright red blood. The 35 min ride to the hospital was horrible I was contracting every 3 min. I was only at 3 cm when I got to the hospital but then I also delivered at 8.5

jilicious · June 2010

Stay at home. We went to the hospital after 20 hours laboring at home and I had only gone from a 3 to a 4 and knowing that destroyed my resolve. Baby was fine. I say if you've had a good pregnancy with no red flags just stay at home as long as possible. And quite frankly if you can handle it, I'd stay until you feel that wonderful baby of yours coming down the birth canal, lol. My labor was wonderful until we went to the hospital. Bradley classes didn't even prepare me for the crash of my happiness that came from going to the hospital.

smilelari · June 2010

I arrived at 10 cm. Considering that the first thing they did was strap me to a monitor and panic about things that were well within the realm of normal, I'm grateful to have avoided the monitor before that.

amosecce · June 2010

I'm a christian childbirth eduactor and a mom of 2. My advice: stay home as long as you're comfortable with staying home. I went in WAAAAY

amosecce · June 2010

I'm a christian childbirth eduactor and a mom of 2. My advice: stay home as long as you're comfortable with staying home. I went in WAAAAY early with my first cuz I felt something wasn't right and I was right. My platelet level was dangerously low forbidding even the thought of emergency c-section and epidural. I was "hooked up and tied down" though through the whole 14hr ordeal but he and I are both here and that's all that matters.

Listen to your instincts. God gave them to you for a reason. You will know if something is wrong. If you HAVE to have monitering but don't want to be "tied" to a moniter at a hosp then count kicks. That is a very good tell of how baby is doing. same rates apply during labor as during the rest of your pregnancy.

Also, read as much as you can about labor/delivery/comfort measures. I suggest childbirth without fear by dr grantly ***-read. Every pregnant mom should read it!

Running Mom6 · June 2010

I would stay at home as long as possible. At that stage the baby doesn't really need monitoring unless you feel like something is wrong. You can put in your birth plan that you want only intermittent monitoring and talk to your midwife or practitioner about it. Most hospitals require the first 20 minutes monitoring and then you can have it taken off if things are ok. It is annoying and distracting but they want to cover their b*tts. The intermittent monitoring is better IMO. I also had it done in my water births- they have a special underwater doppler for it and they only keep it on for a little bit just to see if the baby is doing well. I don't even think about the monitoring until I get to the hosp. and I got there at 8 cm for the last 4 babies! LOL I wait til the last minute

My last labor was 3 hours total and I got to the hospital about an hour and a half before baby was born!

HockeyWife4Life · June 2010

I had planned to stay at home as long as possible but when I called the on-call doctor they told me I had to come in right away because my water had broken. I wasn't even in very much pain and could have stayed at home for then next 12 hours if I had just done waht I wanted to. When I arrived at the hospital I was 5 cm. This time around I will stay at home and labor even if my water breaks unless I feel as though there is a reason to head to the hospital.

Cilley · June 2010

My water broke at midnight. I didn't get any contractions on my own and headed to the hospital at noon. I didn't want to get induced I knew that if I didn't I would expose my baby to higher risks of infection. I waited as long as I could before heading in.

ErinMSB · June 2010

I labored at home until DH insisted that it was time to go. I was 7 cm when we got there. I never really thought about the lack of monitoring, but I was insistent on only intermitent monitoring (for most of my laboring) anyway. If something had felt **off** I think I would've gone in sooner.

Also, I think part of getting through a natural labor and birth is trusting that your body knows what to do. So try to relax and just trust! Good luck!

moroccojade · June 2010

I laboured at home for about 22 hours. I could feel DD moving, and everything was proceeding normally for the majority of that.

My midwife came to our home about 17 (?) hours in and had a Doppler. She checked heart tones a few times.

ridesbuttons · June 2010

No. Not worried about that. With my first the doctor removed the monitors after a time anyway so I could move around more comfortably. You will likely feel the baby move around normally which will also give you peace of mind.

Mrs.Greeko · June 2010

Hoenstly it never even crossed my mind. Women give birth all the time with no monitoring whatsoever. The constant or near constant monitoring in the hospital is actually not that good of a thing because it picks up on little no big deal things and causes more interventions.

mrsjsousa · June 2010

Thank you all for all this wonderful feedback...The thought of monitoring at home never crossed my mind either, until last week. I have it on my birth plan to only be monitored when necessary, as I want to be able to walk around, be in the shower, etc...when at the hospital. I was just curious if this has gone through the minds of other women who stayed at home as long as possible. I would love to walk into the hospital dilated 10cm and be ready to push. I attended hypnobirthing classes, and plan to labor using the fundamentals I learned through my class & the book, I trust that I can do this, but there is a small part of me that is nervous since I have never done this before, but it seems as though from the comments as you can feel when something is wrong or if the baby's movements decline then it may be time to head in, I just really need to trust myself completely.

I am delivering at South Shore Hospital in Weymouth : ) Glad to hear more great things about their L&D : ) I am delivering with a midwife from South Shore midwifery and my husband will be there for my support, he has been great with reading the scripts, soft touch massage, and he is a great motivator & support. I spoke to a few doula's and decided in the end that my husband would be the best support person for me, and even though he is not a trained doula, he has my 100% trust and he knows what to say to keep me going when I'm having a tough time, and I know I will need that during this process : )

I hope that I can stay as home until I feel that baby coming down the birth canal, as I feel like home is the most peaceful place for me to stay as long as possible : )

Thank you all again for all the wonderful information, I truly appreciate it

sweetkakes419 · June 2010

Nope. I honestly believe that once you're in active labor, nature/biology just sort of kicks in, and if something were wrong, you would just know. I can't really explain what I mean. But I did have my doula there with me for a while, so I knew she was keeping an eye on things (we never timed contractions, she just kept track in her head I think) and that probably put me more at ease.

MamiMoore · June 2010

This is a great topic!

This is our first child and I also want to stay at home as long as I can. We'll be no more than 15 minutes away from the hospital and I would just hate to rush in there and have to be bombarded by the staff for hours before our LO arrives. But of course I did have concerns as far as making sure that everything was ok. But everyone has had so many helpful things to say and to consider.

I even thought about teaching my husband to check my dilation so we don't get there and I'm only 3 cm! LOL Big Smile

My DH is a bit concerned about not going to the hospital early enough for them to monitor so I know I'm going to have to be totally in tune with my body and know what to expect... blood, water breaking, stages, etc

Thanks all!

rcollier_17 · June 2010

I labored at home until contrax were about 2 min apart and lasting 1 min. Midwife wanted me to come in to the hospital because I hadn't felt DS move much, but I waited for as long as possible since I would feel him move every once in a while. Unfortunately after 7hrs of contrax (going from 4 to 2 min apart) I had only dilated 1cm. Definitely wish I had stayed home a little longer now, but it worked out fine in the end. I had a doula, my sister, and DH with me, but having the experience of the midwife was really beneficial even though we were at the hospital.

giaM28 · June 2010

my OB said that it is safe until my water breaks (if it does naturally). only when the water breaks do i risk infection. my big fear is what if my water never breaks on its own...how the heck do i know when to go to L&D?

im going to ask OB tomorrow for that answer

Mrs.Handy · July 2010

All the midwives I've met with have encouraged me to stay at home as long as possible. We live within 5-10 minutes of the hospital. They have a number that we can call to be in touch with someone from the practice while in labor. We don't have to come in right away even if our water breaks. They would like us to call, but as long as everything is normal we can stay at home and labor until the contractions are 3-4 minutes apart. We hired a doula who will come to our home and help us through the early stage of labor.

mrsjsousa · July 2010

I don't have to come into the hospital when my water breaks either, the rule of thumb amongst Docs/ Midwives is only after 12 hours after the water breaks is there risk for infection and that is dated data. I learned this from having a NICU nurse & MD as the only other couple in my hypnobirthing class, so I learned a ton : )

Virginny · July 2010

giaM28:

my OB said that it is safe until my water breaks (if it does naturally). only when the water breaks do i risk infection. my big fear is what if my water never breaks on its own...how the heck do i know when to go to L&D?

im going to ask OB tomorrow for that answer

I never thought my water would break, but it did, a week before our due date. We told the MW on-call that we wanted to go natural and she said that we could stay home as long as we wanted, but to call her if I wasn't feeling contractions in 4-5 hours. I started feeling them about 30 mins after my water broke. MW just said to call her when contrax were 5-7 mins apart.....we did. Then she said to call her again when they were 3 mins apart....we did. Doula came to the house, we used our Bradley techniques and a birth ball. We stayed at home for 8 hours after my water broke. Contractions were 3 mins apart and I "felt ready" to go to the hospital. To my disappointment, I was only 3 cms dilated....however, I went from 3-10cms in 2.5 hours after getting to the hospital. Total labor time was 13 hours.

If you're water doesn't break, but you feel steady consistent contractions for more than an hour and after changing positions, going for a walk, taking a bath...if you still have consistent contractions, chances are that you are probably in labor. Most books say to go to L&D when contrax are 5-7 mins apart....but we waited until they were about 3 mins apart. Again, my body was giving me signals that it was time to go - so neat how your body knows what it's doing.

MaggieGrace · July 2010

Interesting question! I was a VBAC and my midwives never told me to get to the hospital quickly for monitoring. Quite the opposite...they told me to stay at home as long as possible. It's interesting because fetal monitoring is important to detect uterine rupture, yet I don't think VBAC moms are all told they must get to the hospital ASAP.

Jennicap · July 2010

No I had a low risk pregnancy and had no worries about the lack of monitoring. Even when I got to the hospital they did put me on the fetal monitor for 20 mins but then that was it I was never on it again until they put me on pitocin a few hours before he was born, it sucked being hooked up constantly.

I was 7CM when I got to the hospital and my water had broken early that morning about 15 hours prior to when we got to the hospital, I was seen by my midwife twice that day and was under the 6am rule, be there if I wanted to be or not, we showed up about 11pm

OhhLahLah · July 2010

I know some women who have rented Dopplers for this purpose.

One of the reasons I decided to switch to a home birth was because I could have monitoring early in labor. This didn't quite work out, because LO came so so so so fast (when the midwife came, she walked in to me screaming "I HAVE TO PUSH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" LOL - I never even had time for a cervical check - yep - glad I went with the HB or else LO would have been born in the back of our Hyundai - LOL!). It all worked out!

If you are concerned, I'd just rent a Doppler or hire a doula to labor with you at home who uses one.

Good luck!

Question on laboring at home as long as possible...

Re: Question on laboring at home as long as possible...

Choose Another Board

Search Boards