Questions From an Impending First Time Laborer... When to Go to the Hospital

I have a good friend that is soon to go into labor with her first child. Feeling some pangs of anxiety of the impending pain (and of course knowing that I am no expert and that everyone’s experience is different), she e-mailed me with questions concerning my experience with labor… here is one exchange:

When is it a good idea to go to hospital, how long can I stay at home without hurting baby so I won't have to be in the hospital for 24 hours before she gets here?

The general rule of thumb is to go to the hospital when the contractions have been 5 minutes apart for at least an hour. Sometimes that will change if you have special circumstances but your doctor probably would have told you about that already. This also depends a bit on how far from the hospital you are. Assuming that you are 30 minutes or so from the hospital, I would say the 5 minute rule. Many doctors say that you need to deliver the baby within 24 hours of your water breaking to avoid infection- others say that’s bogus. All that being said, my contractions didn’t have a pattern to them until they hit 3 minutes apart. At that time, we just went ahead and went to the hospital (and fast). So, you may just have to make a call. If you are nervous about it, you might just go in so that you can relax (as much as possible).

While you are at home in labor- they recommend baths or showers (I didn’t do this) and there are several positions you can try to see if they help your contractions:

• Laying on your side
• Standing while leaning forward either on Blake or over a counter or bed
• Being on all fours
• Sitting on the edge of something- stool, birthing ball, chair, etc
•  Sitting on the toilet  (I prefered this)- contractions, to me, felt like the need to go to the bathroom so it was reassuring for me to be on the toilet. They suggest trying sitting on the toilet backwards so you can lean over the back of it ( I didn't do that but I thought it was brilliant)