How long to wait before call to hospital??

Hi all, i have read in most forums that its best to wait at home till the last min before going into hospital when feeling contractions, but how long do you wait??? till its almost unbearable? and then what happens if its to late?? Is there a indication sign that we can sort of look for as im a first time mum and am now 23 weeks I would prefer to stay at home as long as possible when time comes but am worried that i wont be able to tell and time might pass. I so-pose the pain will tell me quick enough lol. also while at home waiting for the time to leave, how long can i sit in the bath for??? is there a time limit or is it till it dosnt work any more.

With DS2, I waited until my contractions were about 2-3mins apart, and lasting up to a minute. When I rang the hossy to say I was coming in the midwife said I could probably wait a little longer at home if I wanted to, but I felt like I wanted to go in so I did. When I got there I was only 5cm dialated and bubs wasn't born for another 6ish hours! If you feel like you want to go in you can, but just be prepared if you go in too early they may send you home.

With DD I left home when contractions were 2 mins apart, the hospital was a half hour drive & being my first bub I didnt want to be having her on the side of the rd so I didnt wait at home any longer.
When I got to the hospital they were going to send me home until they did the internal & I was 4cm dilated so they kept me in. DD didnt arrive for anther 11 hours though.

With DS I had my waters broken in hospital to get labour started which it did & 4 & half hours later I was holding DS.

I think most people (especially with their first?) would leave home when contractions are around 2 mins apart, I could be wrong though!

Good luck for when the time comes :)

1st pregnancy - Waited at home until my waters broke (at 1030 at night...had been having contractions in 300 that morning), at which point contractions were 2 minutes apart. However, I was only 4cm and was at hosp for another 11 hours before DD was born. I dilated very slowly.

2nd pregnancy - I would wait the same but Dr has asked me t come in when contractions are 5-6 minutes so they can take a blood test for my platelet count and get an IV line in (just the line, not connected to anything) just in case of another large PPH.

Apparently 1st labours are longer and 2nd's are shorter but you'll def find that this is NOT always the case.

If you can't talk through the contractions - if the pain is that intense - it's probably a good time to go in. Or stay at home and get comfy for a homebirth

:-D

You *will* be able to tell when you need to go...even though everyone handles the pain differently, the mummy instinct will shine through.

Whoops - sorry Breeze - I was typing as you posted and didn't see it until I posted my reply...didn't mean to basically repeat everything you said! Oops!

My waters broke at home at my contractions ramped up immediately so we phoned the hospital. The said to have some breakfast and a shower then head in. We left about an hour later when my contractions were 2-3 minutes apart. DD was born 6 hours later. Her arrival would most likely have been a lot quicker (I was at 9cm in just over 4 hours of my waters breaking) but she was posterior.

Discuss it with your midwife/OB as some hospitals have different policies. For example, my OB wouldn't allow me to go in the bath once my waters had broken. The shower was fine though. Some hospitals will listen to you having a contraction over the phone to determine where you're at.

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Whoops - sorry Breeze - I was typing as you posted and didn't see it until I posted my reply...didn't mean to basically repeat everything you said! Oops!

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LOL no worries A :)

Same here as what's already been said :) I had been unaware that I was in labour with DD2, thought it was just Braxton Hicks, so I stayed at home and went to sleep at 11pm when contx were about 10mins apart, then woke up at 3am with a really intense contraction and we went to hospital at 4am - I was 9cm :) If you can walk or talk through contractions, you're usually fine to stay at home and keep working through them, you can always give the hospital a call and ask. They generally recommend that if contx are 2-3 mins apart and very intense, that you head up there to get checked out, they are happy to send you home again if it looks like it'll be a while before baby arrives and you're more comfortable at home :)

Once your waters have broken, it's usually not recommended that you sit in a hot bath, but I found sitting in the shower with hot water spraying on my back was very helpful while I laboured at home - DH whinged about the hot water bill because I'd hop out, dry off, then decide I wanted another hot shower lol ;)

I don't think there's any really 'definite' sign of it being 'time' - some labours are long, some are short, some get going once your waters break and others take hours or require ARM... just go with your mummy instinct and see how it pans out. Do keep in mind though, that if you stay at home 'too long', you might miss out on being able to have an epidural, so that might be a question to ask your midwives at the next antenatal appt :) Good luck with it, let your body do its thing and trust in yourself - you'll do fine :D

I went in when my contractions were still 5 mins apart. It was my second bub but only my first labour as DS1 was a c/s. I was 4cm when I arrived. I easily could have stayed home longer based on the level of pain I was in but went in earlyish cause I was a VBAC. I would definitely go by how easily you are managing the pain rather than how close your contractions are, 'cause by the time my contractions were 2 mins apart I was pushing DS2 out.

My 1st I got a bad back ache and hoped in the bath DH asked if I was ok and I said my back realy hust so he rang the Midwife. They told him to time the contrations :o and come strait in. My labour was 1.5 hours all upand we had to be told that I was in labour to start with.

Thanks everyone for 'fulling me in' this has got to be the best form of info i have found weather in books on the net or just general preg talk. everyone being so open and forth coming has really made me enjoy this pregnancy......

I know most people get told that if they can not walk or talk through their contractions then it is a good time to head in. This was never the case for me. My contractions with DD2 never got closer then 5 minutes apart and never really got very painful, they just kept getting longer. When I rang to tell the MW I was coming in she said 'are you sure, maybe take Panadol and have a lay down'. Nope, I just knew it was time to go. DD2 was born 45 minutes after arriving at hospital. Even when I walked into delivery the MW did not think bubs was even close to arriving. I still love remebering the look on her face when she did the internal and I was 10cm with bulging waters.
I guess what I am trying to say is. Every one labours differently and unfortuantely I think most MW don't treat women like they do. If I had of listened to my MW and not my body, I think DD2 would have been born at home or on the side of the road. So although you have not been through labour before just do what ever you feel comfortable with and listen to your body.

i was the same as you, i wanted to labour mostly at home, but i also wanted the bath too! lol.

my waters didnt break until i was already in hospital, but i got my DH to ring the hospital when the contractions became regular, and were about 4 minutes apart, just to give them the heads up we will likely be in sometime today, but we didnt actually leave for the hospital until my contractions were about 3 minutes apart :)

i ended up deciding to go into hospital earlier than what i was going to before, but thats because i wanted the bath and the bath we have at home is cruddy. so i didnt care how far i was when i went in, i just wanted the bath to labour in.

it ended up being a blessing that we decided to go in early because my labour pains progress really quickly and i was in transition for 2 hours out of a 4 hour "established labour" :/ lol!

I went in when my contractions were 5mins apart. I was 4cm then and was asked if I wanted to go home, but I decided to stay to make use of heat packs & the shower as it had a removable head (unlike our one at home). DS was born 13hrs later, but it would have been much sooner (within at most half of that time) if a small complication didnt set me back. But I wouldnt have had it any other way, because once I was in that shower it helped so much to get me to dilate quickly and through transition.

Just go with what your comfortable with :)

I stayed at home until contractions were under 5 minutes apart. When you are at home you can sit in the bath as long as you like. Just try not to have it too hot as this will increase your overall body temperature, and don't have any salts or bubbles in the water if your waters have broken. Lots of people labour in warm water their entire labour, but a rough rule is that if you are less than 4cm dilated (ie still in the latent stage of labour) it may slow things down a little, but if you find it helps then it's all good. If you find you like the bath then you can often go straight from the tub at home, to a hospital waterbirth, which lots of women find helps relieve the pain.