When to go to the hospital with contractions.

Question

I live 35 minutes away from the hospital I will be delivering my baby at. At what point with contractions should I head for the hospital?

Answer

When they’re painful, and consistent / timetable. With my last daughter I was having period like cramps all evening I went to bed and woke up in pain at like 4 am. They were still like periods camps just bad ones. They were about 5 mins apart. I showered and got ready it took about an hour, and then we headed to the hospital which is a 45 min drive for us. We got to the hospital around 6am. When I got there they hooked me up and monitored me for 30 mins, told me that yeah they were real contractions. They checked my cervix and I was dilated to a 5. 5 hours later my daughter was born. That was the only time I’ve been able to experience going into labor on my own. With my other two I was induced due to low amniotic fluid.

Answer

I would call your doctor first. If you're having real contractions it could mean preterm labour so I'm sure your doctor would want to know.

Answer

I would atleast call your doctor or after hours nurse line (if you have one, otherwise call the hospital directly) for advice when contractions are about 5 minutes apart, lasting about 1 minute, for about an hour. If you’re unable to speak through your contractions before an hour, or if your waters break, just go in. 
I live about 30 minutes from the hospital I deliver at, with my second baby I labored at home for 3.5-4 hours, timing my contractions. I called when I hit the 5-1-1 rule I described above (or close to it), then went in and labored about 4 more hours at the hospital. With my oldest, my doctor broke my waters doing a sweep so I was admitted right away straight from my appointment, contractions took about 4 hours to get painful.

Answer

If your water breaks, go immediately. 
Contractions will start out kind of painful but not consistent. Stay home until they are at most 5 minutes apart, lasting for a minute each for an hour or more. Early labor is pretty sporadic, so you may have some contractions that come every 5 minutes, but they’ll dissipate and start coming every 10 minutes to 20 minutes. Wait until they are completely consistent before going or they’ll send you home. If the pain is just too much to handle and they’re not consistent, go ahead and go in, as some labors go much faster than others. 
If you’re experiencing any of this before 37 weeks, call your doctor ahead of time, and go in immediately so they can attempt to stop labor. Good luck!

When to go to the hospital with contractions.

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