Just curious. Does anyone else’s hospital refuse to admit you if you’re not dilating within an hour, even if you are having intense contractions (being registered on a monitor) every 1-2 minutes that last over a minute long, solely because you are not 39 weeks and they want to see significant change in the cervix before admitting you?

I had a discussion with my doctor about this happening with my last baby at this particular hospital. They were going to send me home and I begged for them to help me and because I was 37 weeks and was dilated to a 4 but hadn’t progressed while in triage, I could not be admitted, but as I said contractions were on top of each other and reaching the top of the chart. A nurse secretly helped me by “stretching” my cervix to 4.5 and they admitted me. As soon as I got to my room, my water broke and baby was literally born 1 hour later! I live an hour away from my hospital, so had I gone home, she would’ve been born at home! Lol Hence, bringing this up with my doctor!

Anyway, my first two babies were born at a different hospital. (But this was 9 years ago!) As long as you were over 36 weeks and contractions were consistent and you were dilated to at least a 4, you were automatically admitted and allowed to labor at the hospital. This one, the doctor basically said “We don’t know how long you’ll labor so we won’t keep you until you dilate every hour.” Problem is for all 3 babies, I stalled until my water broke, then all hell broke loose!

Is this the rule of thumb now? Or just this hospital?