Childbirth: when to go to the hospital and how will I give birth? Fight guide. When it's time to go to the hospital, signs and symptoms How to know when it's time to go to the hospital

When to go to the hospital for the second birth? There is an opinion that the appearance of a second child is easier and faster, but this is not always the case. A woman in labor should be ready for anything, since childbirth for the second time may not differ from the first time. It all depends on the physiological characteristics of the body and other factors associated with the course of pregnancy.

Contractions during the second birth

There are practice matches. During such contractions, a woman should not go to the maternity hospital, since this is only a warning about childbirth and you still have to wait two or three weeks. If the pregnant woman has already decided that she has started regular contractions, then you need to control your emotional state. It is important to control the situation, not to panic, but to remain calm at all times. The contractions during childbirth are regularly repeated and intensified. At first they are repeated for five minutes, the field of which is intensified and lasts for about ten minutes.

Labor contractions last from two to four hours. If there are complications, then childbirth can last up to eight hours. The beginning of the second kind, does not differ significantly from the first, but often this process proceeds easier.

When to go to the hospital for the second time

The woman already understands that real contractions have begun and knows when to go to the doctor. But she should not forget that the second birth is faster, so hurry with sending. After all, there were many cases when a woman gave birth right on the way to the hospital. In order to prevent such situations, you should go immediately when a woman feels discomfort. It is advisable to wait for an interval between contractions of no more than nine minutes, so that you do not have to wait long for the next contractions. In the absence of severe pain, the pregnant woman should go to the doctors, where it is necessary artificially.

You need to go to the maternity hospital when there are already regular and severe pains in the back, pelvis and abdomen. women are different, but the contractions are accompanied by aching pains, as during menstruation, and then only discomfort remains.

The beginning of childbirth is a very exciting moment. Many women are afraid not to understand how he looks. What contractions look like when you go to the hospital.

A wide variety of issues are of great concern to pregnant women, and especially those for whom this is the first time.

It is important to distinguish between generic seizures, because. there are also harbingers of childbirth, when the future woman in labor is not at all necessarily in the hospital.

Therefore, in order to arrive on time, you need to know all these points. When there is even a fraction of doubt, it is better to play it safe by contacting doctors for help.

Harbingers of childbirth and labor pains - how to distinguish

The main clinical signs of harbingers of childbirth are:

  • pain in the lower abdomen in the period of 37-42 weeks;
  • pain does not violate the established regime of rest, work and sleep;
  • usually occur at night;
  • a woman practically does not feel them (but this depends on the threshold of pain sensitivity, individual for each woman).

In some cases, the harbingers of childbirth can become pathological when you have to go to the hospital. This condition is called the pathological preliminary period.

It is characterized by the absence of any changes in the cervix (its maturation) in the presence of a pronounced pain syndrome.

The lack of timely correction can lead to weakness of labor activity or disruption of the normal distribution of the contraction wave through the uterus, which, as a result, is not always treatable.

As a result, a situation may arise when it will be the only method of delivery.

Labor contractions have the following characteristics:

  • pain occurs at approximately the same time intervals;
  • at the beginning, the intervals are longer (4-6 grips per hour), gradually shortening;
  • the strength of the fight increases over time, as does its duration.

The role of harbingers and contractions in childbirth

During contractions during childbirth, the cervical canal or uterine os opens with a flattened cervix. This is their physiological meaning, and pain is a “side effect” that modern medicine does well with.

Spinal or epidural analgesia for labor is used.

With each contraction, the length of the cervical canal decreases, which leads to a smoothing of the cervix, and its opening is also observed in parallel. However, sometimes there may be complications of this period.

In some situations, the contractions retain their soreness, but this does not properly reflect on the condition of the cervix, suggesting the weakness of labor pains or their discoordination.

In order to remove such pathological conditions, an appropriate correction is carried out. If this is not done, then the birth is delayed, and sometimes even stops completely, which requires operative delivery.

In addition to labor pains, there are also. They are regarded as harbingers of childbirth. They prepare the cervix for the upcoming important event.

At this time, it acquires a certain anatomical and functional maturity. The main characteristics of the process are:

  • its softening;
  • shortening;
  • little opening;
  • location on the wire axis;
  • low location of the fetal head or pelvic end, depending on the nature of the presentation.

When to go to the hospital

It is necessary to call an ambulance in the following cases:

  • regular contractions after an average of 5 minutes;
  • the appearance of any bloody;
  • constant aching or cramping pains that prevent a woman from falling asleep (most likely this is a pathological preliminary period).

A woman should know: you should not panic during contractions, since childbirth is a long process. It is customary to distinguish three periods:

  • dilatation of the cervix (this is the longest period);
  • the birth of a fetus;
  • follow-up period.

The initial period of childbirth is characterized by contractions that are not intense and short-lived, the intervals between them are relatively large, so do not rush to call an ambulance.

It is necessary to wait until the intervals between them are reduced to 5 minutes.

The indicator corresponds to about half of the required opening of the cervix, being the best option for admission to the maternity hospital.

However, we should not forget: sometimes childbirth is fast or rapid, which are characterized by a fairly intense rate of cervical dilatation. This should be considered in the following situations:

  • previous births fit into the category of fast or impetuous;
  • the intervals between contractions very quickly become equal to 2-3 minutes;
  • fear of a woman even between contractions;
  • appropriate heredity, when the mother of the woman in labor had a quick or rapid birth in history.

As soon as the pregnancy approaches completion, many expectant mothers begin to worry: when will they go to the hospital? And most importantly - how to understand that the time for this has already come? In fact, everything is simple: there are several main points that you need to focus on.

Are these contractions?

Contractions are the main sign of the onset of labor. Even before they start, you can feel that there is heaviness, a slight pain in the lower back, in the lower abdomen, the uterus is tense and feels very dense to the touch. But it is important to recognize true contractions, and not "training" ones, which can occur as early as the second trimester of pregnancy. Real labor pains are repeated at regular intervals, which are gradually shortened, and the duration of the fight itself increases, training fights are irregular in time, and their intensity is almost always the same. Real contractions, unlike training ones, are very painful, they do not go away after a change in body position or a warm shower.

Calculate the interval between contractions

If the contractions have definitely begun, you should not immediately go to the hospital. After all, the first stage of labor lasts long enough, and it is much more comfortable to spend it in a familiar home environment. Therefore, first calculate how often contractions come and how long they last. It is usually recommended to go to the hospital if the interval between contractions is approximately 10 minutes. usually pass faster than the first, so if you are expecting a second child, then the opening of the cervix will pass much faster and you need to go to the hospital as soon as the contractions become regular and rhythmic.

Prepare for the trip to the hospital. Find out what is allowed to take to the maternity unit in the maternity hospital where you plan to give birth. Make a list of the necessary things and, closer to the date of delivery, collect the main things included in it.

The road to the maternity hospital

The maternity hospital may be located next to the house, or it may be located at the other end of the city, district center, region. That's why calculate the time it takes to travel. If the maternity hospital is located nearby and you can get to it quickly, then you can safely wait for the recommended interval between contractions - 10 minutes. If you have to go through the whole city and traffic jams are possible on the streets, then it is better to leave the house early, for example, when the interval between contractions will be another 15-20 minutes.

If the waters broke

If the laundry has become unusually wet, and even more so if liquid has flowed down the legs, this is a sign that the waters broke. It doesn’t matter how much fluid is poured out - a little or all 1-1.5 liters, there are contractions or not, you don’t have to wait for the start of regular labor (it will start a little later). Go straight to the hospital. After all, if the waters have poured out or are slightly leaking, this means that the integrity of the fetal membranes has been violated and the child is no longer protected from the influences of the external environment, primarily from infectious agents. In addition, if the contractions are already regular, the outpouring of water indicates that the birth of a baby is just around the corner. But if the mucous plug (a clot of a jelly-like substance) has come off, this is just a harbinger of childbirth and you don’t need to go to the hospital right away.

Immediately to the hospital!

Rarely, but there are situations in which you need to go to the hospital immediately and without hesitation. This must be done if:

  • spotting appeared from the genital tract, especially if they are significant;
  • the uterus does not relax between contractions, the pain is very strong;
  • the child has changed: they have become either very weak, or, on the contrary, have intensified;
  • the head hurts a lot, blood pressure has risen, vision has changed (it has become fuzzy, “flies” flash before the eyes);
  • if childbirth began before 38 weeks of pregnancy or labor began during multiple pregnancy.

Be sure to keep in a conspicuous place all the documents necessary for childbirth: exchange card, passport, compulsory medical insurance policy. If childbirth is planned with accompaniment, then the partner will also need documents: a passport; if the birth is without a contract, then permission to accompany the childbirth (it is taken in advance from the head physician of the maternity hospital or his deputy); the results of examinations of the partner in childbirth (the list must be clarified in advance at the maternity hospital).

To the maternity hospital by ambulance or on your own

There are two ways to get to the hospital: on your own or by calling an ambulance. Today, if there is a compulsory medical insurance policy, any maternity hospital is obliged to accept a woman in labor - of course, if it has free places. It is desirable that the trip to the maternity hospital is comfortable for the expectant mother.

In addition, each locality (city, district center) has specialized obstetric "Ambulance", whose phone number can be found in the antenatal clinic or simply by dialing "03". A car with a midwife will come for the expectant mother and take her to the maternity hospital. True, this maternity hospital will be the closest, and if a woman has chosen another institution, then this will have to be taken into account. Often, if the expectant mother has entered into a contract with the maternity hospital, then it also includes such a service as delivery to childbirth (regardless of how far the mother's house is located).

Pregnancy and childbirth is the most important stage in the life of any woman. He divides the whole existence into before and after the appearance of the child. For those who go to the hospital for the first time, it is very important to know when to go there and how to count contractions in order to determine the time until delivery.

What are contractions?

The whole process of labor activity can be divided into three periods:

  • opening of the cervix - contractions;
  • attempts;
  • the birth itself.

The contractions themselves are an active activity of the uterus. Such muscle contractions help the child to assume the correct position and prepare the neck for full disclosure. There are "training" fights and real ones.

Before answering the question of how to correctly count contractions, it is worth understanding whether they are real or preparatory.

Training bouts

The normal time for childbirth is the period from the 38th to the 40th week of pregnancy. By this time, the fetus is fully formed and ready to be born for independent life.

Some women, a few weeks before the onset of labor, may feel small uterine contractions - these are training contractions (Braxton-Hicks).

It is also a process of preparation for normal labor activity, and the closer the birth, the more noticeable it becomes. They may appear once or several times a day. For some expectant mothers, this period may be absent or completely invisible.

If there is still a lot of time left before the birth, and training contractions begin to repeat more often (several times per hour) and spotting appears, contact your gynecologist immediately. This can be a serious symptom for hospitalization to avoid preterm labor.

If you have “false” contractions after the 36th week, then there is nothing to worry about, on the contrary, this indicates a normal course of pregnancy. Your stomach sinks down, making it easier to breathe.

real contractions

When real contractions begin, they can no longer be confused with "false" ones. They do not stop and do not become less painful. It is at this point that the question arises of how to count contractions.

The birth contractions of the uterus proceed sequentially: first in the upper part, then the tension spreads to the very cervix. At the peak of activity, the tone does not leave the female organs.

There are several main types of contractions during labor:

  • With the opening of the cervix. They continue until the opening is 10 cm.
  • Attempts. They serve to push the fetus to the exit.
  • "Postpartum". Necessary for the placenta to exit.
  • After childbirth. May appear some time after the birth of the baby. They also should not be feared, they help the proper contraction of the uterus.

There are several signs so that you can pinpoint the onset of labor.

Signs of childbirth

Many women are concerned about the question of how to count contractions before childbirth. To understand if your birth process has begun, look at the signs by which its beginning is determined:

  1. The duration of one contraction is more than 30 seconds, and the frequency of repetition increases.
  2. The period between contractions begins from 20-30 minutes, then it reaches 10 or less, which means that the process of opening the cervix has begun.
  3. Bleeding appeared, they indicate the process of opening.
  4. With all the above symptoms, there is a pulling pain in the back and lower abdomen.

When the future woman in labor has all these symptoms, we count the contractions (when to go to the hospital depends on their frequency).

We count the intervals between contractions

The main process has begun - labor activity, now the question of how to count contractions is relevant.

The interval between contractions determines whether you will be accepted at the hospital. For example, if you went there too early, that is, the contraction of the uterus occurs less than once every 10 minutes, then you will be advised to stay at home.

If a woman in labor attended courses, then she knows that they are sent to the hospital at the moment when the interval between contractions has decreased to one minute. Except for those situations when, for medical reasons, you are placed in storage in advance.

The count itself is very easy. To do this, you will need a stopwatch (usually such a function is available in mobile phones). It is desirable that next to the expectant mother there is one of the relatives who can write everything down on a piece of paper.

For example, it could be written like this:

In this case, the interval is two minutes between the start of one and the second contraction. At this point, you should already be in the hospital. The optimal time for departure is a gap of 5 minutes, it will be enough to get to the hospital on time and undergo the necessary examination before delivery.

In our time of technological development, various online programs for counting contractions have appeared. They allow not only to record the intervals between real contractions, but also to calculate "false" ones. To use them, a computer is not required, installation on your favorite gadget is possible.

Situations when you urgently need to go to the hospital

  • the waters broke;
  • the uterus has contracted and remains in good shape for more than 30 seconds;
  • severe pain during contraction, but the nature of the contractions is irregular;
  • your state of health decreased and you began to distinguish objects poorly;
  • bleeding of any intensity began;
  • strong fetal movement or, conversely, a sharp cessation of activity.

In any of these situations, you should immediately go to the hospital, and not think about how to count the contractions during childbirth.

In any case, do not be afraid of labor activity. This pain is the process that helps your baby to be born.

Which option is closer to you - go to the hospital in advance or come there with contractions?

10. Training(false) contractions- the tone of the uterus, the uterus is preparing to open sh. uterus: the stomach either becomes stony or soft ..., while pain is not necessary: ​​it can be either completely painless or painful - pulling sensations, as during menstruation. Training bouts are chaotic, erratic, without dynamics, with an interval between contractions: then 2 minutes, then 2 hours, then 2 seconds, then 20 minutes ... If at this moment we go to the hospital, we can be returned home.

The very first training contractions can start even before the stomach drops (for me they started 2 weeks before the stomach drops), and they have a very long interval: Oops! And forgot - silence for a few days / weeks ...

11. generic contractions dynamic, more powerful, interval between contractions 20 minutes. and going downhill. Evidence that the disclosure sh. uterus began.
By this time, everything for the hospital should be ready. Now you can take care of yourself: sex on the track, take a shower, manicure: cut your nails (it’s not necessary to cut it very short, you can leave it up to 5 mm) and remove varnish (it is allowed to cover nails with transparent varnish, because doctors determine by the color under the nail skin the state of the woman in labor), shave, call her friends ...

12. Labor pains are dynamic, interval between contractions 10-5 min. and continues to shrink. Until childbirth approximately 6-7 hours.
At this moment, we call an ambulance, regardless of whether the cork and water have gone or not. We eat at the hospital. If the water has not broken, the bubble will be pierced in the maternity hospital.

The strongest and longest labor pain lasts 1 minute, all other contractions last a few seconds.

The speed of cervical dilation is 1 cm (1 finger) per 1 hour, full cervical dilatation is 10-12 cm (10-12 fingers) at 10-12 hours.

Cramping pain begins gradually and increases in increasing increments, from completely painless contractions / then: “Oh!”, - and forgot, to: “God, kill me!”. - Not like in the movies, - a woman is quiet, calm ... and then abruptly for the whole house: “Ahhh ...”, and it began ... After 5 minutes. she is with a baby in her arms ..., - this does not happen in life !

The peak of the cramping pain falls on the moment when sh. the uterus is already fully opened up to 10-12 cm, and the child descends into the small pelvis. In this case, the pain is accompanied by strong desires to push. At this moment, in no case should you push, because this can break through your sh. uterus, also at this moment in no case should you sit on the priest, because this can damage the head of the child (you can only squat or fitball; if you lie down and want to get up, you need to get up avoiding a sitting position), - the first tight contractions must be breathed out !

When the child is completely lowered into the small pelvis, the cramping pains will pass, the midwife sees the back of the baby's head without touching you, and you can touch the back of the baby's head with your hand - from this moment you can push ... It is important to obey the midwife in everything!

The first birth lasts about 10-12 hours on average. The second - 5-7 hours on average. Third - even faster.

You can go to the hospital in your own car - by gravity. In this case, admission occurs in the order of the general queue and after those who arrived in an ambulance.

But if you decide to go to the maternity hospital in an ambulance to a particular maternity hospital of your choice, the following tips will help you:

1. When the team arrives, explain to the driver which maternity hospital you need and offer the driver money - a reward. Usually the reward to the driver is 500 rubles - 1,000 rubles, but the amount can grow up to 5,000 rubles, or even up to 10,000 rubles. The ambulance must for free take, only to the nearest maternity hospital, where there are free places or to the maternity hospital indicated by the dispatcher.

If the driver is against taking you where you need to for a fee and continues to insist on his own.

2. Refuse the services of this team and call a friend. In this case, they do not have the right to take any money from you, such as a penalty.

3. When calling a new ambulance, the dispatcher must be informed that you will give birth in a specific maternity hospital and indicate the address of this maternity hospital. In this case, the arriving team will be obliged to take you exactly where the dispatcher says and for free, and not where they are closer.

In the case of your arrival at the maternity hospital in an ambulance, admission occurs without a queue, but in the order of the queue of those who arrived in an ambulance before you.

And finally: Before leaving for the taxiway, do not forget to wash off the nail polish. This is a very important point, because by the color of the nails, doctors monitor the condition of the woman in labor.

Good luck and happy childbirth!

____________________________
P.S.: I called an ambulance to go to the RD when the contractions were going on with an interval of 5 minutes, and the interval was shortening. Arrived quickly, within 5 minutes. The emergency doctor determined the disclosure sh. uterus 2 cm (2 fingers). They asked me which taxiway should I take? I called the desired RD. The doctor asked, and if there are no places, then where to go? I named an alternative version of the RD. The doctor asked, and if there are no places there, then where ...? I said, then at your discretion ... After that, she called the desired RD, to find out about the availability of places there ... They drove for free. We drove for 30 minutes.

There were places in the desired RD and I was gladly accepted, because the opening of sh. the uterus was already 4 cm. uterus 6 cm ... She gave birth completely free of charge according to her Plan of Birth:
Birth plan

The only thing is… When I was discharged, my husband, the midwife who gave him his daughter, gave an envelope with money, but it was his personal initiative… The midwife accepted the envelope, and, without opening it, put it away…

Details here:
My first birth in 2012: Natural vertical, no delivery!

Video:
When to go to the hospital during contractions:



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