How long to wait at home before going to the hospital?

EssieB422 · September 2013

I'm new here and just found out this week that I'm due in May. I am pretty sure that I want a natural birth because needles in general scare me and the side effects I have read about sound awful. I will be moving about 45 minutes away in a few months but plan on keeping my OB which means driving an hour to the hospital from our new house. I have read that it is very helpful to labor at home as much as possible if you want a natural hospital birth, but with having to drive so far I'm worried about leaving too late. Is laboring at home important?

aylafsu88 · September 2013

Laboring at home is really important. The earlier you arrive at the hospital the increased chance you have of interventions being pushed on you. A 45 minute drive is not to bad. As weird as it is to say you will know when it is time to go to the hospital and you will likely factor in the 45 minute drive to where you are in labor. I labored at home for almost 8 hours before going to the hospital. I knew when it was time to go. My H and doula tried to talk me out of it because my contractions were sporadic and never established a solid pattern. I told them I was ready and we went. I think my mind factored in the drive time and where I was in labor. My water broke all the way as soon as we entered triage and I was in transition pretty quickly. I think if you trust your body and go with your instincts you will know the right time to leave for the hospital.

Arielle27 · September 2013

I also think that laboring at home (or in a comfortable environment) is key to easy, quick, natural progression. I was lucky enough to stay home as long as I wanted with my first and then walk to the hospital (a five minute walk that took half an hour in the midst of labor!). The birh was quick and complication free.

With my second, we were an hour away from the hospital, so I went in the moment my water broke. I was so worried about having major pain, or worse, complications while in traffic (it was a slightly complicated pregnancy and everyone thought the baby would just slip out after all the preterm labor scares).

Though each labor took about 6 hrs from water breaking to birth, my second felt much more difficult and progression stalled more. I think if I had been able to labor at home longer, it would have been about half as long.

This time I'll be going to a hospital 8 minutes away, thank goodness! My OB knows my natural birth plan and said she's happy for me to stay at home as long as I want/can before going in.

babyLOLO13 · September 2013

I plan on laboring at home with my DH and doula until contractions are around 2-3 minutes apart. From what I've heard the 5-1-1 rule gets women to the hospital a bit too early.. maybe still 3-5cm. I am hoping to arrive at the hospital around transition 8-10cm. So... once I hit the LETS GO NOW stage or my doula hits it- we shall roll.

TheBorg7of9 · September 2013

I pregnant with my second child. I am a little confused about the 5-1-1 rule. Because my contractions with my first began at 3 minutes a apart lasting about 45 seconds. We left for the hospital after 2.5 hours of that. When we got to the hospital I was still only 2 cm. Are there any other tips for how to know when to leave for the hospital?

mrssamarataylor · September 2013

TheBorg7of9 said:

I pregnant with my second child. I am a little confused about the 5-1-1 rule. Because my contractions with my first began at 3 minutes a apart lasting about 45 seconds. We left for the hospital after 2.5 hours of that. When we got to the hospital I was still only 2 cm. Are there any other tips for how to know when to leave for the hospital?

It sucks to say this, but it's so different for everyone. I was at 3-1-1 and got send home at 2.5 cm. I was at 5-1-1 the night I went into true labor. I knew it was time when I went from wanting to go....to not wanting to even get into the car. I got at the hospital at 3cm! But I progressed SO fast it was good I went when I did. Listen to your body and go when it feels right.

Oh and I waited about 2.5 hours before going to the hospital. In hindsight I COULD have waited another couple hours. FTM I thought I was dying though LOL

aylafsu88 · September 2013

TheBorg7of9 said:

I pregnant with my second child. I am a little confused about the 5-1-1 rule. Because my contractions with my first began at 3 minutes a apart lasting about 45 seconds. We left for the hospital after 2.5 hours of that. When we got to the hospital I was still only 2 cm. Are there any other tips for how to know when to leave for the hospital?

@theborg7of9 There really is no perfect time to go (i.e. 4-1-1 or 3-1-1 etc). Every woman is different. For me my contractions were sporadic and never established a solid pattern. I would have a few that were back to back and then a few that were 6 minutes apart, then a few that were 4 minutes apart. My LO was likely OP so my doula and I were working in different positions to help rotate LO. My contractions did build in intensity and I began to have a hard time working through them. Suddenly I snapped and wanted to go to the hospital ASAP. My doula and H thought it was to soon but I knew it was time. I was 6cm and went into transition after arriving at the hospital. I was holding LO within two hours of arriving. Like PP mentioned, listen to your body and have your support person look for the emotional signs. These things are more important than the pattern/time of your contractions. GL!

PBP2002 · September 2013

I think it's all about listening to your body and watching your emotional "guide posts". Like PP said, my contractions started at 5 minutes apart and 30-45 seconds long. I didn't go to the hospital for another 17 hours and even then I was only 6cm. I was honestly just getting antsy/bored at home and I should have stayed home a little bit longer.

CLLDLL · September 2013

I agree with what PPs have said. As hard as it is to hear that "you'll just know", you will. With DS1 I wasn't planning a NB. We went into the hospital WAY to early. It was miserable, even with an epi. In fact I think I would have been more comfortable w/out the epi because of having to be in bed and have the darn blood pressure cuff going off every 15 minutes.

With DS2, I wasn't even sure it was labor as I was just having really bad back pains. Then all of a sudden I was like "OMG I can't do this. We have to go to the hospital right NOW." DH called my mom. She flew over to watch DS1. We made it to the hospital 1.5 hours before DS2 was born. I was 8 cm and almost fully effaced. Clearly the thoughts of not being about to do it was transition talking. Trust your gut, and you'll do great!

robyn2201 · September 2013

Both my labors, contractions started after my water broke and immediately they were 3-1-1. I wasn't able to go by the frequency due to this and had to go by other sign posts. This could be feeling nauseated, shakes, not able to talk through contractions. Since you have a long drive, I would leave not much longer after experiencing this. Being a FTM, you have a bit of leeway.

Looking back, with DD1, I wish I had waited longer. I arrived at 5 centimeters. Then with DD2, I knew I needed to leave but DH was out of town for work. I waited at home longer than I should have. I arrived at 10 centimeters and DH only got there 4 min before she was born.

JCWhitey · September 2013

OK, I'm going to (mostly) disagree with the previous posters. While it is good to labor at home, not all labors are text book and go the same way. I had fully planned to "labor at home" when my labor started, but my husband insisted we go an hour after my water broke. He said he had a "feeling". I am beyond grateful I gave in and went when we did. We had a 40 minute drive, and I had only had one contraction before we left. But before we even hit the freeway 1/4 mile from the cabin, my contractions were a minute long and only a minute apart. By the time we arrived I was having really crazy intense contractions and I am so happy I didn't have to have more in the car. By the time we got to the hospital I was almost in transition. We were only there about 3.5 hours (1 hour of that was pushing) before my son was born. If we'd waited too long at home I would have been in trouble.

So all of the 4-1-1, 3-1-1, etc. would not have worked for me. I was 1-1-1 from the moment my contractions really started and there was no way to see that coming. With the hospital being as far away from you as it is, it's best to not play around too long.

So, here's the solution I had come up with before we left and what I'd recommend for you... get a hotel nearby! I had decided that if, when we arrived, I hadn't really started having contractions yet or wasn't dilated much yet we'd leave the hospital and get a room at the hotel that was just down the street. Then I could labor outside of the hospital but still be close. We ended up not needing that hotel, like I said, but it was a plan that DH could live with and a good compromise from having to labor in the car.

barista411 · September 2013

You may want to speak with your OB they typically have a better grasp of when they would like you to come in, especially being that far away. With my first I said I was going to stay home as long as possible but my water broke and the MWs policy is they have to advise you to go L&D if your water breaks. I was able to labor fully in the hospital with no problem and was in labor for 10 hours. They never once made me feel like there was a time limit or offered any form of intervention.

JCWhitey · September 2013

barista411 said:

You may want to speak with your OB they typically have a better grasp of when they would like you to come in, especially being that far away. With my first I said I was going to stay home as long as possible but my water broke and the MWs policy is they have to advise you to go L&D if your water breaks. I was able to labor fully in the hospital with no problem and was in labor for 10 hours. They never once made me feel like there was a time limit or offered any form of intervention.

Even though I didn't have a long labor, I think this would have been my experience at my hospital. When I called to tell the nurse my water broke, and she found out how far away I was coming from, she said I was welcome to come in and just "hang out" in my L&D room and she'd just leave me alone until I paged her in. Although, I know not all hospitals are like this. My friend said she was checked in on by a nurse every 15 minutes during her long labor and found it really annoying (except when it was the nurse she actually liked, but she hated all but the one!).

ec0983 · September 2013

i'm another one that never hit the 5-1-1 rule. my contractions started at 2-3 minutes apart, lasting 45 seconds to a minute. they intensified fairly quickly, albeit steadily. i agree with the pp's that said your body will tell you when it's time to go. do yourself a favor and listen to it! i knew when it was time to go, but my DH was on the phone with my MW who insisted that since i was a FTM, i still had hours of labor ahead of me and coming in was pointless. so i told my body to shut it, and told myself to nut up because my MW had me convinced i wasn't handling labor well. finally, when my contractions were 90 seconds long and 60 seconds apart, my incredible DH called back and told the MW we were coming into the birthing center and that she had better meet us there whether she liked it or not (it was a Sunday evening). DS was born 45 minutes after we arrived. if we had left when i knew it was time, i wouldn't have had to battle the urge to push in the car, and the nurse could have actually made it in time for my delivery. listen to yourself and your body- you really will know!

tjkdlhb · October 2013

I went from 5 cm to having a baby in my arms within 20 minutes. For a first delivery. There is no magic number.

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