When did you go to hospital?

[jasira]

Now that my due date is approaching, I'm just curious when other people when to hospital?

According to my midwife, I'm supposed to call if my contractions come every 5 minutes and the contraction lasts for 1 minute.

According to my mom, I'm supposed to go to hospital as soon as my water breaks and she thinks I shouldn't listen to midwife's suggestion because it could be dangerous for me.

Just wanted to know what other people did....

[nalababe]

For our babies.

Baby 1: 36 hours after water breaking. Eventually had to get induced. As long as you are following good direction there is no reason to go to the hospital.
Baby 2: Homebirth

[gman]

Now that my due date is approaching, I'm just curious when other people when to hospital?

According to my midwife, I'm supposed to call if my contractions come every 5 minutes and the contraction lasts for 1 minute.

According to my mom, I'm supposed to go to hospital as soon as my water breaks and she thinks I shouldn't listen to midwife's suggestion because it could be dangerous for me.

Just wanted to know what other people did....

It depends on how much time you need to get into a hospital.
Your mom's opinion probably based on her experience in the old day that might take forever to get into a hospital.

[krobin]

My contractions never really got closer than 4 minutes apart so my rule of thumb with baby #2 or #3 (as with the baby #1 I really did not have a sniff of what was to come etc) was to go to the hospital when I felt like I was close to death (lol) Most hospitals will not admit you until you are 4cm. If your water breaks first, I would warn your midwife and go back to bed until your contractions pick up. It is quite rare for your waters to break without any contractions. (like 10% chance)

Baby #1 lived one hour away from hospital, contractions were about 7 mins apart. I arrived at hospital at 2Pm and was 2cm dilated baby was born at 740pm. They wanted to send me back home but we lived out of town.

Baby #2 I lived 15 mins away and went to the hospital when contractions were about 4-5 mins apart. Rolled in there and the baby was born about 35 mins later. I loved this birth as it was quick and efficient

Baby #3 A complete gong show. I had contractions on and off. I went to the hospital at about midnight and I was 3 cm so I went back home unsure if I was in labour. I was though and went back at 6AM at 5cm and had the baby at 10am.http://www.todaysparent.com/pregnancybirth/labour/article.jsp?content=20071127_145905_6708&page=3

[Phat_Farm]

We were told (both by our lamaze instructor and an RN at the hospital) to go in when your water breaks (you never know what could happen or the fetus could be in distress) or once it's 411 (contractions are 4 minutes apart, lasting for 1 minute each). But for some, the water never breaks until you are ready to push; it's different for everyone.

[jm1]

No disrespect to your mom, but her advice is probably based on one or two kids three decades ago, while your midwife probably handles at least 40 a year? Maybe 100 for a busy midwife?

That being said, you can go as early as you want, but if you're too early, they'll either send you back home or you'll just sit around the hospital for a half day or more. You might be the 1 out of 100 that *should* go when your water breaks, but chances are, you're the one of the 99 out of 100 that still has a long way to go, which is why your midwife is giving that advice.

I would say it depends on how quickly you can get to the hospital if things change quickly. If you're an hour away on the highway and a possibility of having to deal with rush hour traffic, maybe you should be more conservative and go earlier. If you're just 10 minutes away driving by local streets, you can wait until much, much later.

[LiL L]

My water broke at 6am and we left for the hospital at 4pm (my contractions were still irregular, but my doc told me that i should go to the hospital no later than 12 hours after my water breaks). Should have just waited till 6pm, cuz when we got there they just made me walk around the hospital until my contractions were more regular!

If your water is clear and odourless when it breaks you're safe to stay at home unitl contractions are regular, if it's discoloured and smelly you have to go to the hospital (indicates that the baby is in stress and had a bowel movement--sorry can't remember the word for the baby's first bowe movement--it starts with an "m", totally escapes me right now).

[AnnaBanana]

no offense to your mom, but trust your midwife. she did 4 years in university on this subject. your mom gave birth 25-35 years ago (i'm guessing?) and therefore her opinion is a tad outdated...
as others have said, if there's meconium in the water (baby's first poop) then page your midwife, and she'll likely wanna check you out. but ask her for clarification on that.
other then that, the rule of 5-1-1 or 4-1-1 apply. good luck! it's awesome!

[casey5]

My water broke at 6am and we left for the hospital at 4pm (my contractions were still irregular, but my doc told me that i should go to the hospital no later than 12 hours after my water breaks). Should have just waited till 6pm, cuz when we got there they just made me walk around the hospital until my contractions were more regular!

If your water is clear and odourless when it breaks you're safe to stay at home unitl contractions are regular, if it's discoloured and smelly you have to go to the hospital (indicates that the baby is in stress and had a bowel movement--sorry can't remember the word for the baby's first bowe movement--it starts with an "m", totally escapes me right now).

meconium

[ji_howa]

If you are GBS positive, go to the hospital no more than 12 hours after your water breaks and your contractions have not picked up - prolonged labour after rupture of membranes increases likelihood of infections for you and baby.
If the fluid is cloudy or smells... go right away obviously.

that being said, it is best to be practical... if things feel okay and it is starting at 2 am, you can probably wait until the morning to go in.

If you are unsure, page/call your midwife, or the nurses at the hospital you wish to be delivering and they can direct you!


Now that my due date is approaching, I'm just curious when other people when to hospital?

According to my midwife, I'm supposed to call if my contractions come every 5 minutes and the contraction lasts for 1 minute.

According to my mom, I'm supposed to go to hospital as soon as my water breaks and she thinks I shouldn't listen to midwife's suggestion because it could be dangerous for me.

Just wanted to know what other people did....

[asianada]

I'm almost due with my 3rd and my doctor plans to induce since my babies seemed anxious to get out. This is what happened

#1. Water broke 10am. Went to hospital anyways. Very mild contractions started at around 2pm, started screaming at about 2:20pm. Nurse didn't even bother checking how much I dilated as it was all so fast and she thought I was being a wuss. She got all insulted after hubby personally got my OB who thankfully had a office in the hospital at the time and he made the nurse check me and guess what I was 8cm dilated!!! Baby born at 2:40pm

#2. Started having very mild contractions around 1pm at home this time, my water never broke. From our first experience we decided to start heading out and just hang out at the hospital just for the heck of it just in case. Went to the ATM drive through first since I wasn't really in that much pain at all. Made it to the hospital at 1:15pm. Doctor broke my water. Baby out at 1:35pm.

So, moral? Umm... not really sure just that I would go to the hospital just in case. Not everyone is the same and you don't want to get stuck delivering yourself!!

[skulipeg]

If you are in doubt, go to the hospital. The worst they'll do is send you back home, but at least you'll know that you're doing OK.

I've had two daughters. With the first, I never had any consistent contractions. They varied from 2 minutes to 10 minutes apart. I spent a lot of time in the shower, as it seemed to relieve the pain. But when even that didn't take my mind off things, we went to the hospital. The nurse thought I was crazy for coming in, as the contractions were still sometimes 10 minutes apart. But when she checked she was as shocked as we were - I was fully dilated, and out popped daughter #1 less than a half hour later. My water never broke - the OBGYN ended up breaking it. This was 10 days before my due date.

For the second, they were concerned about the baby's heartrate when I was six days overdue, so they induced. Contractions started about six hours after being induced, my water broke 8 minutes later, and one minute later baby #2 was born. In a way, I'm glad I was induced, b/c if it had been natural labour, I don't know if I would have made it to the hospital on time. Maybe being induced made everything progress faster, but who knows??

I guess my point is that everyone is different. And I'd rather err on the side of caution and go to the hospital and get sent home, than to wait too long and end up delivering somewhere that I don't want to be.

Congratulations, btw!

[happycatmeows]

I just gave birth last month. I went to the hospital when my contractions came every 5 minutes with each lasting 1 minute or longer. My water didn't break though, the doctor broke it at the hospital.

The hospital said to call them before we actually go to the hospital, because they would not admit you if your contractions do not have a regular pattern even if some of the contractions are 5 minutes apart... when I called the hospital, they said they might not be able to admit me because my contractions were not regular enough (didn't have a consistent pattern). I didn't care, I told the hospital that I was heading there anyways because my contractions were intolerable. Turns out I was 4-5cm dilated when I arrived at the hospital 30 minutes later.

I would say to go to the hospital anyway even if only some contractions are 5 minutes apart, it's better to get checked and know that you are doing okay and then be sent home.

Plus, you never know, if you go later - the birthing center might be full and you might be asked to go to another hospital...

[CenturySam]

If you want to go natural I would suggest you stay home as long as you can. I stayed home until my contractions were 2-5 minutes apart and lasting atleast 1 minute and the contractions are much more painful than the ones earlier on the day.

[JuliaP]

I followed the 5-1-1 rule (contractions 5 minutes apart lasting 1 minute for 1 hour). My water broke and I didn't have any contractions yet so I paged my midwife to let her know. She told me what to do and told me to page her again when it got to 5-1-1. Remember that if you are worried about anything you can page your midwife at any time.

[angels2009]

Believe it or not, almost 75% of women's water do not break.

My contractions just all of a sudden started and were 10 min apart, within the hour they were off the wall from 5 min to 1 min to 2 min.

Usually once you are in labour you call the hospital (they should have given you a number) and a nurse will assess you over the phone and tell you what to do.

I went in right away because my contractions were so close and I was admitted within 2 hours.

Every one is different, so you will just know when you will have to leave...motherly instinct maybe :-)

GOOD LUCK!!!

[pimom]

With my first, my water broke just as I was entering a home for a diner party. I had time to return home and change, return to the party and finished dinner before the contractions started. Went to the hospital three hours later, baby born two hours after that.

With my second, my water broke and hard contractions started immediately. The whole labour took about an hour. Thankfully our hospital is only 15 minutes away.

This time, my midwife is preparing for an emergency home birth just in case, as we are assuming there will be no time to get to the hospital. That said, I would really like to make it to the hospital, for safety's sake.

[CenturySam]

Believe it or not, almost 75% of women's water do not break.

My contractions just all of a sudden started and were 10 min apart, within the hour they were off the wall from 5 min to 1 min to 2 min.

Usually once you are in labour you call the hospital (they should have given you a number) and a nurse will assess you over the phone and tell you what to do.

I went in right away because my contractions were so close and I was admitted within 2 hours.

Every one is different, so you will just know when you will have to leave...motherly instinct maybe :-)

GOOD LUCK!!!

Exactly, my water did not break at all I was already 10 cm and ready to push and my water was still there the doctor had to go in and break my water for me.

[B0000rt]

Wife's water broke at 9:00am, we were at the hospital by 9:30am nurse said 9cm at 10am, baby was born at 3pm!

First baby

[Yours]

Now that my due date is approaching, I'm just curious when other people when to hospital?

According to my midwife, I'm supposed to call if my contractions come every 5 minutes and the contraction lasts for 1 minute.

According to my mom, I'm supposed to go to hospital as soon as my water breaks and she thinks I shouldn't listen to midwife's suggestion because it could be dangerous for me.

Just wanted to know what other people did....

My first baby, I go to hospital after water broke (is leak) 5 hours with contraction 5 minutes apart.
My 2nd baby, I go to hospital with constant contraction of every 5 minutes apart and last for 1 minute. Water broke on the way to hospital.

In Canada, hospital will leave you in assessment room(in bed) if water break. Usually contraction process much faster after water break.

Don't worry too much! Try to stay home for longer because it's much more comfortable to have contraction at home than assessment room. (At least you can walk around and change position). Good Luck!

[Mayoo]

My wife gave birth last week .. this is our first baby

She got the first set of contractions on Monday early morning. She choose not to go to hospital ( thanks to prenatal classes ) .. We then went out for dinner on Monday night. Tuesday Early Morning the contratrions got worser and we went to Hospital and found outshe is 2CM dialated so we came back.

We again went to hospital on Tuesday afternoon and got admitted cause at that time she was 3CM dilated .. water was broken and things went very fast after tht and we got our baby boy / natural birth on tuesday eve ..

total time at hospital labor room 6hrs

During labor we were very comfortable with the process cause of the prenatal class

[AnnaBanana]

My wife gave birth last week .. this is our first baby

She got the first set of contractions on Monday early morning. She choose not to go to hospital ( thanks to prenatal classes ) .. We then went out for dinner on Monday night. Tuesday Early Morning the contratrions got worser and we went to Hospital and found outshe is 2CM dialated so we came back.

We again went to hospital on Tuesday afternoon and got admitted cause at that time she was 3CM dilated .. water was broken and things went very fast after tht and we got our baby boy / natural birth on tuesday eve ..

total time at hospital labor room 6hrs

During labor we were very comfortable with the process cause of the prenatal class

Yay! congrats!!! and HUGE congrats on going 'natural'!!!!!! especially to your wife!!! there is research that shows that the more relaxed you are during labour (as you did - going out for dinner, not going to the hospital all anxious ahead of time), the greater your chances of going 'natural', so kudos!

[jasira]

Just a little update....we ended up going to hospital when the contractions were 5 minutes apart. My initial contractions started on Monday night and we went to hospital on Wednesday morning @ 5:30.

Despite my initial worries, my water didn't break at all while we were at home. Midwife ruptured the membrane 4 hours after we arrived at the hospital to speed up the labour.

[hermione]

Just a little update....we ended up going to hospital when the contractions were 5 minutes apart. My initial contractions started on Monday night and we went to hospital on Wednesday morning @ 5:30.

Despite my initial worries, my water didn't break at all while we were at home. Midwife ruptured the membrane 4 hours after we arrived at the hospital to speed up the labour.

You left the most important info out of your update! did you have the baby and are you both ok?

[jasira]

You left the most important info out of your update! did you have the baby and are you both ok?

Yeap to both questions :)

[JaaK]

Wife and I had our first last week... Here's how ours went..

Contractions starting at around 9:30 pm were all over the map.. 3 - 5 min in between lasting anywhere between 45-70 sec each..

Called the doctor at around 10:30 pm.. Left home (although we thought we'd be ask to turn - around ) at 11:03 with a hospital ride for 35 min.. Signed the forms at 11:40 pm... Dr. told us that, she'll break my wife's water, and then she can start pushing :eek: ... Next thing I knew, we had a baby at 12:05 am...

I still can't believe how quickly it happen..