Tips for laboring at home..

victoriaaa1 · July 2015

I know it's recommend by most doctors to labor at home unless said other wise for whatever reason.
As a FTM I would like to labor at home as long as I possibly can, but what are some tips to successfully do so? Since I might freak out and not know what to do once I realize that I'm in labor & this baby is coming soon .

And is their any way to tell when it's probably time to go to the hospital besides your contractions being however many minutes apart ?

jesselayne8 · July 2015

I was induced both times so I never labored at home but I will say things changed in one contraction from managing the pain to I need help now!! I was at 6cm so that would have been a good time to go in. Unfortunately there is no way to know how fast you will progress. How far from the hospital are you?

xsunshinelady15 · July 2015

I labored at home for 4 hours or so. I used an exercise/birthing ball to lay my chest on in swayed my hips, I sat in the ball in a squat, I showered and let the warm water run in my back to help with the pain, practiced my deep breathing, back massages with a tennis ball from hubby. These things helped me. Good luck

malonc2 · July 2015

My doctor told me to stay home until I am in serious pain, contractions are 10 min apart and bad pain or 5 min apart with moderate pain, or if I am bleeding. I would ask your dr what they suggest though. I feel the same way you do as a ftm, but hope to stay home as long as I can!

ann_jeremiah · July 2015

With DS1 I carried on as usual until contractions were code together.... Dinner at inlaws and bonfire. I labored in the hospital FOREVER! I'm sure I would have been sent home had I my had pre-e.

With DS2 I labored at home for quite some time... Ate (because you don't get a meal once you're admitted), bounced on the yoga ball, got all of our stuff out together and then laid in the tub for quite some time.. I labored in the tub at the hospital with DS1, but was not happy about the water temp... Figured if I was at home, I could control the temp and make it what his relaxing for me.

victoriaaa1 · July 2015

@jesselayne8 I'm about 15 min 20 min on a bad day .

jesselayne8 · July 2015

victoriaaa1 said:

@jesselayne8 I'm about 15 min 20 min on a bad day .

Then I would say stay home until you can't stand the pain or the contractions are 3-5min apart.

HillaryN · July 2015

I'm wondering about this too. I live an hour and 15 minutes away from where I am giving birth. The doctor told me to leave the house when my contractions are regular and 5 minutes apart, but I'm nervous about having to sit in a car for that long being while in pain.

hclzmm14 · July 2015

My hospital wouldn't have admitted me until I was 3 min apart with contractions, but because my BP was through the roof they wanted the doctors to look at me. If my water had broken I think they'd have admitted me immediately no matter how far apart contractions were. Just make sure you preregister at your hospital if you plan on laboring at home. And like PP said, eat a good meal before you go.

Ambermom043 · July 2015

I've heard it said, "When jokes aren't funny anymore, it's time to head in." lol

prairiedreams · July 2015

With ds i just stayed busy- water had broken so i knew it was real, so i washed our sheets, vacumed. Took a shower and had a nice breakfast before heading out. Arrived at the hospital at 5cm.

Not sure i will be able to wait it out so long this time as we have a new commute of about 1.5 hours ish depending in time of day. (There are closer hospitals but they only deliver in urgent situations)

lifesabeach85 · July 2015

I was talking to our doula about this when we had our 36w meeting.

She was laughing about how frequently you seen in movies (especially old movies) a woman will calmly and clearly just tell her husband "it's time" like it's some instinct we women are born with. Or as soon as women have one contraction (or the water breaks dramatically in public) there is a mad rush to the hospital and baby comes in a fit of screaming about 5 minutes later.

Anyway she said it's completely subjective and dependent on a lot of factors so sorry I'm no help! But I guess just thinking about how pop culture assumes this is self evident

kedbach · July 2015

I labored at home for several hours. I was 1cm dilated Thursday and I had terrible pains all night, along with a little bleeding, constant peeing, and zero sleep (I thought it was due to the cervical check that day since I was told I would have cramping and/or bleeding!). By 5am I realized this was more than just pains; I took a warm bath, lost my mucous plug (not that it matters) but the bath really helped! By that time my contractions progressed to 3-4 minutes apart, so after several calls to the doctor, they asked me to come in to check dilation. They sent me to L&D immediately. My suggestion and advice is to go with your instincts and your gut feeling. The first time I called the doctor on-call, he said I "sounded too chipper to be in labor".... The next time, I could barely speak, so he knew I needed to come immediately! Don't wait too long, but also don't jump the gun because oftentimes they will set standards for how dilated you should be in what amour of time and if you don't meet those, they will send you home!

kat+1 · July 2015

My mid wife said 5 mins apart 1 min long and you can't talk through them. Then it's time to go in

brinbri · July 2015

It was easier to labor at home with the second because I had DS to get through dinner and bed and to distract me. But we went out to dinner and then I finished up some cleaning and then took a bath, bounced on a yoga ball and told my DH what to pack with DD.
With both kids I have woken up in the middle of the night the night before with contractions. I took a hot shower both times and paced the house and then laid back down for a bit. I figured if I fell back asleep then I wasn't going into labor, which is what happened. I think too if labor is going to really kick into full gear there is nothing like walking to get it going. If your contractions are picking up, go for a walk. It will certainly move things along if it is time.

emmacake08 · July 2015

Ambermom043 said:
I've heard it said, "When jokes aren't funny anymore, it's time to head in." lol

This. I've been told this several times. Also, my OBs office is next to the hospital and will let me come in to see how dialated I am before going to L&D if it's during business hours. Since I'm a VBAC and will be stuck on a monitor and with limited movements I am trying to wait until I'm atleast 5cm before I go in. We shall see
[-O< Good luck!

jillianmae2ndstar · July 2015

Find out if you're strep b positive or not, that will determine if you need to go in immediately when the water breaks for iv antibiotics. Other than that, our birth counselor said the "when jokes aren't funny" or "when you can't walk to talk through the contraction anymore". She recommended laboring at home as long as possible for creature comforts.

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