how did you know?

Question

for all the women who have gone through childbirth, how did you know when it was time to go to the hospital? i already had one false alarm, I was having regular painful contractions 5 minutes apart for over an hour, accompanied by back pain, but got sent home because I was only dilated to 2cm and didn't progress. I'm really worried that I won't be able to tell what's real labor and what's not... advice please!!

Answer

this is my second and with my first my water broke. I'm praying the same thing happens again because I honestly don't know how to time them. you'll know when your having the real contractions. you can't walk or talk.

Answer

Same happened with my first and they told me not To return to the hospital until I could not walk or talk through a contraction. That’s the test. It’s not just cramping. Literally, the contraction is so strong it stops you in your tracks, you can’t speak, and all you can do is breath through it

Answer

This is #5 for me...I got sent home with #1 (real labor started a day later) and #3 (10 days later)... If I feel like I'm having contractions...I will wait about an hour after drinking something and moving around and if they stay I time them until they are consistently 5 minutes apart (from beginning of one to beginning of the next) And lasting about a minute each for at least an hour and a half to two hours. With #4 when I went in, I figured the contractions would stop...so during the hour of evaluation before they decided if I'd get to stay I just laid there flexing my abs off and on... Don't know if it actually helped but made my contractions get stronger and closer together pretty quickly and I dilated 2 more cm and got to stay.

Answer

Don’t feel bad or embarrassed, it can be so hard!! I had not 1 but 2!!! false alarms with my first baby! My issue was that my contractions were there and the right timing but I too was not progressing from 1cm dilated and they sent me home both times!! For me they stopped my contractions the 2nd time with morphine and when the contractions came back, they were WAY more painful than the last 2 times! Really that was the only thing that differed for me and then they started getting so bad that I really had to make an effort to breathe through them bc id catch myself more or less holding my breath through them instead 🤣 I’m actually slightly terrified that I may have that happen again this time with my second baby and feel like I should know but everyone is different!! Go with your gut it’s totally better to be safe than sorry! I always called my doctor prior and they’d ask me questions and suggest if i should come in or stay home and monitor myself a bit longer!

how did you know?

Let's Glow!

The Top Baby Tracker App: Embrace New Beginnings with Tender Care

The Top Fertility Tracker App: Your Path to Achieving Pregnancy

The Top Pregnancy App: Nurturing Your Journey to Motherhood

The Top Period Tracker for Empowering Your Menstrual Health Journey