Getting comfortable in the car on the way to hospital when in labour

I'm saying "in labour" meaning in proper labour with some serious contractions rather than just the niggling ones at the beginning. Its not something I've needed to consider previously - we lived literally 3 minutes drive from the hospital. Big difference in travel this time so I'm wondering what everyone does. Can you sit comfortably in the front passenger seat (I'm guessing even for control freaks like me driving is NOT recommended when in labour :p), or do you go in the back seat to have a bit more room to move into a comfy position if you need to?

With DD1 I was in the back, I wanted more room, but it was awful and I just wanted to get up!

With DD2 I was totally in the zone, LOL. I sat in the front passenger seat and just concentrated on my breathing. I had my heat pack and made it really hot at the last minute so it would last the whole way.

Ds1 - front seat and wheat packs
Ds2 - front seat and breathing and quiet when contractions hit (wheat bags didn't work this time)


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DS1 - induced @ hospy
DS2 - Front seat (with plastic sheeting and towels) and was actually sitting twisted back. I strongly recommend singing "10 green bottles" for pain relief and using TENS (and avoiding any bumps / potholes).

due to three car seats sitting int he back wasnt an option, I sat in the front but a bit side on. It was not pleasant but luckily with dd3 it was 9pm and the roads were empty

First time: contractions stopped for the drive in. Was really focused on holding my sick bucket
Second time: contractions worse for driving. So thankful we were only 5 minutes from the hospital. Took me what felt like ages to recover enough to walk into hospital.

In the front with the seat back with towels under me. Was in a friends car with dd1, so no chance to be in the back and I think it would be harder to brace over speed humps and around corners. With ds he was born 15 minutes after we got to the hossy, so it was full blown labour, I just breathed as much as I could through the contractions. Getting down and out of the 4wd and walking to the ward was harder, I had three contractions just getting there, had to stop moving when they hit.

With Moo I was on my knees in the passenger seat, but facing backwards. There was no way I could sit down even though DH tried to make me :lol:

For me when in labour with DS, we were 5 minutes away from the hospy. I was very uncomfortable (sat on my bum) in the car when a contraction hit and we were taking off at the lights or going around a corner. I managed by playing music and cracking jokes-typical me really ;)

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due to three car seats sitting int he back wasnt an option, I sat in the front but a bit side on. It was not pleasant but luckily with dd3 it was 9pm and the roads were empty

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We've got two already and three if we fit #3's now, so I'm wondering if we should move my DDs into the very back row in the next 3 or 4 weeks so I can go into the back?

Kazbah - do I start at 10 or more like 1000 green bottles :lol:

Thanks everyone. Might move the seats and then I'll have the option of moving into the back if I need to. I wonder if I could ask the people that bought our old house around the corner from the hospital if they would mind if we all moved back "home" for a few weeks!

DS & DD1 weren't full blown labour when I headed in. DS was stalled labour after waters breaking, and DD was preterm so I headed in when it was still just starting. So they were just squirmy kind of contractions and just wanting to get there and out of the car as soon as possible. DD2 tho, thankfully was a homebirth (with my midwife rushing to me instead of me rushing to hospital LOL) cos she came so quickly, and there was no sitting for me!! There would have been NO possible way I could have sat in the car. I couldn't sit on the fitball, there was just so much pressure down below. I would have either been dangerously up on all fours somehow on the seat, or on the side of the road refusing to be in the car.

I hope you have a comfortable ride when the time comes. If the back seat is an option, that's probably a good idea.

I know people who make a 'nest' in the back of the car, heaps of pillows, blankets, if its a station wagon the seats pushed forward so a nice big flat nest. You can take the kids car seats out in early labour (if you have time) Sounds like you have two rows, so perhaps leave the kids seats in and make a pillow nest in the back back part of the car.

I was in the back seat of my car for the first two babies. First baby leaning on the back seat looking out the back window. Second baby (born in 50 minutes from first contraction) I had my head to the ground and my behind in the air trying to slow down the labour to make it to the hospital!

There is no way I could have sat on a seat, it would have been agony. I was leaning over the back seat (we have a station wagon so I could really lean over).

Rofl!!! we had DS1 (aged 3) in the car and I was trying to keep him calm by singing with him. DS2 was born 45mins after I got to hospy, I couldn't walk, needed a wheelchair.

With ds i was induced so didnt experience the dash to hodpital.

With dd it didnt even occur to me to sit in the back :redface: ds' car seat is in the middle of the back seat in dp's car do it wouldnt have been really roomy. I just sat in the seat like normal. I was 7cm when i got to hospital so it was kind of full on. The weirdest thing for me was that it was 1pm on a sat afternoon so lots of cars around. I had a few contractions in the car.but the toughest was getting from the multi level car park to the.birth suites that are prob the furthest point from the car park!!

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