Contractions and when to go to hospital

[yikes]

Aside from waters breaking, signs of distress and pre-term labour etc, if all seems normal, the advice that I have been given is to go to the hospital when contractions are 5 minutes apart lasting 1 minute each.

As I*am giving birth at a public hospital, I want to be at home as long as possible as I want my husband to be with me. *What are peoples experiences with leaving it later than 5 mins apart? *I am only 5-10 mins away from the hospital.
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[lesliefu]

If the pain is bearable and it's your first I guess it'd be OK...but why risk it? Your body is in labour at that point and you would need to be strapped down with a heart rate monitor etc. To make sure things are OK inside. You also, never know what the traffic will be like...depends on the time of day and road conditions.

 

[m_c]

I stayed at home as long as possible. I think it was about 5 hours after my waters broke. I also live only 5 minutes from the hospital. I wasn't worried about getting there in time but rather being mobile enough to get there! My contractions started at only a couple of minutes apart and lasted about a minute. When I got to the hospital I wasn't even dilated. But 6 hours later had my son. When I arrived at the hospital I went straight to my own room and didn't have to be on the labour ward. I delivered at PMH.

 

[mumsy]

I don't know about the public hospitals, but at the private ones it took about 30mins to do all the admissions admin/procedures so factor that in if you are waiting until advanced labour.

 

[karhu]

I delivered at QEH and my husband was there with me the whole time and the midwife gave me the birth ball to relief pain and gave me aromatherapy massage, baby's heart rate was monitored the whole time as was my contractions! Environment was relaxing and midwife would regularly check on my progress! So I would think its better to getting hospital sooner rather than later.... So you know how baby is doing... And you should go straight away after your water breaks anyway... I agree...dont take the risk

 

[m_c]

Admission procedures for me only took 10 minutes. But may take longer if other women arrive at the same time as you. I waited at home as long as possible as I wanted my husband to be with me in the early stages of labour and I wanted to be able to move around in the comfort of my own home. Once I got to the hospital I was strapped to a monitor and a drip so there was no getting off the bed. Though by that stage I didn't care!

 

[yikes]

Thanks ladies for sharing your experiences.

I guess I won't know until the time comes, how labour is going so far and how I feel. Agree that it's not worth the risk.

karhu, would you mind answering a few questions I have re QEH as I'm delivering there too - I'll PM youif that's ok.
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[lalligirl]

in the public system i would wait as long as possible/comfortable with. i think five minute intervals is a pretty good guide. you're more likely to remain relaxed if you're at home - this makes labour a lot more bearable for most women! everyone's different, of course...the knowledge that you're where you need to be in plenty of time may help you relax more.

fathers are not permitted into the labour ward, so can only be with you once you're transferred into the birthing room. if labour is progressing normally (ie with no complications..which is the norm) there is absolutely no need to be constantly strapped to a monitor. checked, yes, but not constantly.

with my first i didn't get the hospital until i was 8cm dilated - i got admonished by the staff..."why you come so late laaaa!"..but it was the best thing for me!* that was at Queen Mary. for my second i was only 6cm when i got there, but ended up only being there for about half an hour before bub was born. obviously this will be more stressful for some but i was much happier being at home and wanted to be in the hospital for as little time as possible.

*i did have a doula for my first, though, which helped me to feel confident that I wouldn't leave it too late! no doula for the second.

 

[mummymoo]

It depends on whether this is your first, second or third pregnancy. If its the first generally its safe to wait until contractions are 5 minutes apart if everything is going well but if second and especially third, things happen rapidly and I would hot foot it in there rather quickly. My last 2 girlfriends had their 3rd children within 15 minutes of contractiona starting up, one didn't make it into the hospital......

 

[thanka2]

If the pain is bearable and it's your first I guess it'd be OK...but why risk it? Your body is in labour at that point and you would need to be strapped down with a heart rate monitor etc. To make sure things are OK inside. You also, never know what the traffic will be like...depends on the time of day and road conditions.

No, you don't "need to be strapped down with a heart rate monitor to make sure things are OK inside." Heartrate monitors are wrong 50% of the time about what is going on inside, actually. They are counterproductive to labor because they can only be worn while lying down for most accurate results (still with only a 50% accuracy rate according to a local OBGYN) and lying down is the most counter-intuitive and counter-productive position for allowing baby's head to engage in the pelvis and descend.