When to go to the hospital?

cbrookegrow · July 2012

When I discussed having a med free birth with my Doctor (thanks again for helping me come up with questions) I expressed that I would like to stay at home and labor as long as possible and he actually agreed that women who are successful at giving birth naturally are the ones that have labored at home longer. He didn't really tell me when I should come in, but I know he typically follows the 5-1-1 rule- but I'm guessing you are not that far along (maybe 3 or 4 cm) at that point.

So, any advice on at what point you should head to the hospital?

sschwege · July 2012

Most women on here agree that typically you will just know when it's time. I would say that was sort of true for me. When we went to the hospital I knew I wasn't super close, but also knew that I wouldn't be happy in the car and dealing with triage if we waited much longer. I was 6cm when we got to the hospital, so my assessment of where I was at was probably pretty accurate. My MW told me to come in when my contractions were between 3-1-1 & 2-1-1 (we live 15-25 min from the hospital depending on traffic). I think that's a good guide, but trust your body. If at any point something doesn't feel right to you or you get the sense that it's time to go, then it's probably time.

Jcrab · August 2012

I had a HBAC but had 4/1/1 contractions for almost 12 hours that were totally bearable so you have to go by the intensity as well. Once I was having trouble finding comfortable positions during contractions and needed to get in the shower would have been time to go. The drive seriously would have sucked though...

runrinserepeat · August 2012

I tried to wait until 3-1-1, but my contrax went straight from 5 minutes apart to 2 minutes apart after my water broke. That's when I knew I better get my butt to the hospital. I got there and I was only 3cm dilated, though, so that was disappointing. I was there for about two more hours before it was time to push.

ETA: In my Bradley class, the teacher told us we should wait until getting in the car was the last thing we would want to do. And yeah, I did NOT enjoy that 20 minute car ride.

Hyaline · August 2012

I had a friend recommend waiting until your SO couldn't take it anymore LOL. My MW suggested a combination of things--definitely not before 4-1-1, when I could no longer do anything but concentrate on getting through the contractions when I was having them, and said as well that if I go in and am not very far along, she'll give me the option of staying/going to the hospital (depending on if I can just come into the office to get checked instead of going to the hospital directly) or going home again. You might want to see if that's an option, so you don't feel like you're making a final decision when you decide to go in.

hailyf · August 2012

kleMcK:
I tried to wait until 3-1-1, but my contrax went straight from 5 minutes apart to 2 minutes apart after my water broke. That's when I knew I better get my butt to the hospital. I got there and I was only 3cm dilated, though, so that was disappointing. I was there for about two more hours before it was time to push.

ETA: In my Bradley class, the teacher told us we should wait until getting in the car was the last thing we would want to do. And yeah, I did NOT enjoy that 20 minute car ride.

In this same idea....This is total anecdote, but I have had several MW tell me that if takes you less than 10 minutes to get to the car from when you decide to leave, you are going too soon

tokenhoser · August 2012

https://bellyupbaby.blogspot.com/2011/07/is-it-time-to-go-to-hospital.html

That blog post rang true for me - the emotional sign posts were bang on. I got to the hospital, then my water broke as I was changing into my gown, and I was 10 cm when assessed right after that. It was perfect.

aylafsu88 · August 2012

I headed to the hospital when I could no longer handle the contractions at home. My contractions never really established a solid pattern (like 5-1-1) they were alittle more sporadic with most being 5 mins apart and then a few that were 2-3 mins apart in an hour. When I emotionally couldnt handle the inconsistency anymore I headed to the hospital. As soon as I got checked in I was 6 cm dialated and my water broke! After that it was only @ 2 hours before my LO was born! Trust your body and how you feel emotionally and physically during labor. That is the best indicator of when to go to the hospital!

cbrookegrow · August 2012

Thanks for the advice ladies, I just think it would be easier to focus at home, plus I don't want to get on a timetable at the hospital!

robyn2201 · August 2012

When we left for the hospital my contractions were 3-1-1. We had a few that were every 2 min and that freaked us out a little and that's when we decided to go. I got to the hospital and I was a 6. It was another 4 hours till DD was born.

This time I am going to try and go more by the emotional sign posts and stay home longer. Looking back, I was still having a pretty easy time working through them and we could have stayed home another hour or two at home.

seunrine · August 2012

I labored at home as long as I could and when the contractions were 4min apart my husband said it was time to go. I was nauseous and didn't think I could handle the car ride if I waited any longer. I was 5cm dilated when I was admitted so it worked out well.

lily225 · August 2012

I would pay more attention to the intensity of the contraction rather than the timing of them. With my first, my contractions jumped to 2 minutes apart quickly. So even though they weren't really bad, we went in anyway. I probably would have stayed home longer but dh was anxious It was too early for my liking. It took a couple of hours for things to get intense. But I did have a med-free birth like I wanted.

But the second time around, when my contractions went to 2 minutes pretty quickly again, I knew not to worry about and just pay attention to the intensity of the pain. When I started feeling pressure during a contraction I knew it was time to go. I think we were at the hospital 2-3 hours before DD2 was born, which was better than the 6 it was with DD1.

I know you have nothing to compare it to, the pain of a contraction, but I think the advice to go when you can't talk or walk through a contraction is probably a good starting point that it may be time soon.

poison489 · August 2012

With my first pregnancy, I had been to the doctor that morning and my water had broken on the exam table. The OB wanted me to go home, get what I needed and go to the hospital, but said it wasn't a big rush. We decided to wait for the 4-1-1 timing before leaving to the hospital. Being that it was my first pregnancy and not knowing at all what to expect, when the timing was right we headed out the door. My contractions were not at all intense, I was able to walk and talk through them. When we got to the hospital for check in, I was only 3 cm dilated. Just being at the hospital and dealing with non supportive staff I think made my contractions much more intense, and not at all productive. Within 2 hours of my arrival the contractions got really painful and started double and triple peaking. When I was checked again, several hours later I had not progressed at all. 30 hours in, I was still only dilated 3.5 cm. I ended up opting for the epidural because I was going no where fast and needed to relax in order to start progressing more and reduce the chance of infection, c-section, etc. Listen to your body, if it seems like it is to easy, you can wait a little longer to head out. I will most definitely be trying to wait a bit longer at home this time around. I also hope that it will help me have a shorter labor without all of the hospital fear mongering that staff can do. One thing I remember from my Bradley class is that it is time to go to the hospital when you no longer want to move or go any where. I think I am going to listen to that this time around.

wannabigfam · August 2012

Upon the advice of my Bradley class instructor, we ignored the pattern of my contractions (how frequent / far apart they were and how long they were lasting) and instead followed the Bradley class "signposts" of where I was in labor. I was so relaxed honestly I wasn't sure I was in real labor even when I arrived at the hospital - but it got to a point when I was at home that it no longer felt safe. Those were the key words that our Bradley teacher said that I remembered - it would hit a point where I felt like I wasn't safe at home and something was changing about my contractions. When I arrived I was 9.5 cm, started pushing 15 minutes after getting in the room and pushed for 10 minutes. So total time in hospital = no more than 30 minutes.

What felt "different" that made me think we should go to the hospital was felt a ton of pressure down there (like I needed to take a poop). I actually went from laboring on my hands at knees at home to laboring on the toilet b/c I was convinced I needed to have a BM (But I also didn't want to push, b/c I knew that pushing prematurely could cause swelling and make it harder to push baby out). I sat on the toilet for a few minutes, had my husband call the hospital to see what they would say - they said wait until my pain level reached higher (I was at like a 4 or 5 at this point). At that point it hit me - I was having a TON of pressure down there and I didn't feel safe. I had my husband hang up on the hospital and we headed right in. I believe my contractions were about 2 minutes apart (max) at that point lasting 1+ minutes. They were coming fast.

This next labor I'm planning on laboring at home as long as possible, once again until I feel the urge to push. We have a 15 min. drive to the hospital. I hope we make it, but I'd rather have a homebirth than get to the hospital early and have them mess with me.

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