When to go to the hospital with contractions? Interval between contractions

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

During pregnancy, the female body is constantly undergoing changes and towards the end of the term, slowly begins to prepare for an important moment - the onset of labor. However, not everyone can immediately determine that the discomfort in the lower abdomen is the beginning of childbirth. And it also happens that there are no pulling and cramping pains at all, but the baby is about to be born. So how can a woman decide when to urgently call an ambulance and go to the hospital? More on this in the article below.

What are contractions

At the end of the second - beginning of the third trimester, the uterus sometimes begins to harden, and a woman may experience slight pulling pains in the lower abdomen, in the lumbar region. If the menstrual cycle before pregnancy was painful, then we can say that at the beginning of labor, the sensations are a bit similar. In order to determine when to go to the hospital during contractions, it is important to know the nature of their occurrence. This is especially important for those who are experiencing this for the first time.

Periodic uterine contractions,which a woman cannot regulate, in particular their frequency, intensity, and there are contractions. In this case, a pulling, aching pain in the lower abdomen can be felt, which is transmitted to the lumbar region. In some cases, a woman’s legs weaken from impotence and tangible discomfort and it becomes difficult to endure pain while standing. At this point, the main thing is to suppress the feeling of panic and fear. It is important to switch and not succumb to the surging excitement. From a positive attitude and determination, proper breathing depends not only on the intensity, but on the reduction of pain during childbirth.

False or practice?

Before deciding that it is time to go to the hospital, a woman must determine the nature of the contractions. They can be training (or they are also called Braxton-Hicks contractions) and serve as a signal that the body is preparing for an important stage - helping the child to be born. The contractions seem to push the fetus out, helping it to pass through the birth canal. Therefore, it is important to determine and know how their intensity changes during childbirth.

If the nature of cramping pain is temporary, and there is still a month or a little less before the birth, then this is a good reason to prepare everything you need for a trip to the hospital. There are several ways to determine that they are actually false:

• Put a candle "Papaverine", drink a pill "No-shpy", which helps to relax the muscles.
• Take a warm bath, shower.
• Take a leisurely walk or just sleep.

Their main difference fromreal contractions - they pass after a short time and then do not bother at all.

Stages of onset of labor

To be accurate and understand when to go to the hospital with contractions is already worth it for sure, it is important to know at what stage of childbirth a woman is. They can be divided into three stages:

1. The first, or initial, takes 7-8 hours. At this time, a woman can still go about her usual daily activities, take a shower, eat, pack a bag for the hospital, or just sleep. In this case, the intensity can be quite frequent - once every 5 minutes for 30-45 seconds. Cervical dilatation at this stage is up to 3 cm.
2. Longer second stage, the frequency of contractions is every 4 minutes for 1 minute. It takes from 3 to 5 hours, the cervix dilates up to 7 cm.
3. The shortest transitional stage lasts from half an hour to one and a half. A woman may feel that the contractions become permanent, there is almost no time to rest between them. If timed, then they can be felt in a minute for 90 seconds. The opening becomes full - 10 cm, and the body is preparing for attempts that will help the baby be born into the world.

Intensity of contractions

It is generally accepted that it's time to go to the hospital with contractions for sure - the onset of intense, frequent uterine spasms, accompanied by unbearable pain. True, this is not always the case, because childbirth can be fast and the woman simply does not have time to get to the hospital on time. Therefore, it is worth it in advancefigure out how to recognize the beginning of the "x" time. If the pregnancy is the first, then most doctors agree that labor activity will go on increasing. At first, the contractions are weak and rare, but the more the cervix opens, the more intense and painful they will become felt.

It is believed that in multiparous women, the intensity of contractions will immediately be frequent and the process of childbirth will take half the time than those who encounter this for the first time.

How to calculate the interval

In order to facilitate the calculation of the interval of contractions before childbirth, when to go to the hospital, they will prompt special programs, which are called "convulsive counters" in the common people. Such a funny name is easy to remember, especially with the sudden onset of labor and the absence of one of the relatives nearby. It is enough to press the "Start of contraction" and "End" buttons, and the program itself will display a message that it is time to go to the hospital.

Another way is to independently calculate the intensity of the onset of labor on a piece of paper. To do this, you will also need to stock up on a stopwatch, which will help fix the time interval. This method is suitable when the spasms are not very painful and tolerable, and the interval between them is more than 10 minutes. It is best if one of the relatives will be around to help the woman in labor.

Admission at the hospital without contractions

The reason for calling an ambulance and worrying about the intensity of the onset of labor is broken water. In that case it's not worth it.to worry about whether they will be admitted to the hospital without contractions. It is better to come and be under the supervision of doctors than to try to independently control the process at home, which can become completely unplanned. This is due to the fact that even after the discharge of water or their partial leakage, contractions can be both weak and pronounced.

Each woman experiences the initial stage of labor differently. For example, contractions may be frequent but still bearable. A woman may feel that she will give birth in a matter of hours. However, during the examination, it turns out that the opening of the cervix is only at the very beginning and the process of childbirth has already been started by the body. In this case, the doctor has no right to refuse hospitalization. Control over the frequency and intensity of contractions in the hospital is carried out using CTG. This is a special method that also allows you to listen to the fetal heartbeat.

When an emergency call is needed

There are obvious symptoms when you need to go to the hospital with contractions immediately and you should not wait until they become frequent and intense. These include bleeding from the vagina, accompanied by severe pain in the lower abdomen, in the lumbar region. This may indicate the onset of premature labor caused by placental abruption.

It is also urgent to get to the hospital when amniotic fluid breaks. As a rule, after this, the contractions begin to go one after another, frequent and painful. You should not delay calling an ambulance, because on your own in this state you can get tomedical facility will be difficult and unsafe.

Is it possible not to notice the onset of labor?

If this is the first pregnancy for a woman, or it is still far from the due date, then she may not immediately determine the frequency of contractions and when you need to go to the hospital immediately. Do not forget about such a feature of the female body as a high pain threshold, in which a pregnant woman endures even intense contractions on her feet. Therefore, it is quite real that she may not notice that it is already time to go to the hospital.

Judging by the reviews of some mothers, contractions can begin at night or early in the morning, when you want to sleep a little more, and therefore many simply do not want to think about the onset of childbirth. If they are not training, then, most likely, in a few hours you will still have to go to the hospital, as the intensity of uterine contractions will only increase.

Should we wait for the waters to break?

Counting the interval between contractions, you can not notice how the amniotic fluid departs. The process of opening the neck is directly related to the discharge of the mucous plug, which protects the fetus from penetration into the infection. In some cases, it begins to go out some time before the birth itself, in particular a few days before they begin. At the same time, cramping sensations can be rare and pass after a while, have a long interval between each other.

In terms of its structure, the amniotic sac can be very dense, and it does not always burst on its own. In this case, this is done by the doctor, as a rule, after the cervixthe uterus will open up to 4 cm at the next contraction. The puncture itself is not felt, but the woman will feel the consequences of the amniotomy almost immediately. If up to this point you could just walk and wait out the contractions, breathing properly, then after that you won’t want to move again. This is due to the fact that their intensity begins to increase, and if the opening process is slow, pain relief or an epidural may be required to relieve the pain symptom.

Intensity of contractions after water breaks

After a bubble puncture or if it burst itself and the water began to leak, you should understand that there will be very frequent contractions. Before giving birth, when to go to the hospital or wait, you can decide on your own, it’s better to ask for help from relatives or a spouse. They will be able to adequately assess the situation and take her to the hospital in time so that the woman in labor is in safe hands under the supervision of doctors.

Uterine contractions are felt very sharply when the waters have broken. This period falls on the active phase, when the opening of the neck can occur very quickly. A woman during this period can no longer count the interval or think about when to go to the hospital. Contractions during pregnancy (in this case we are talking about training) will not be compared with those that have to be experienced at this moment. Only proper breathing and following the advice of a doctor can smooth out the constantly changing and one after another spasms.

First and subsequent pregnancies: difference in contractions

Doctors believe that between the first andsubsequent births there is a significant difference in time. For women who are faced with motherhood for the first time, doctors set an interval of about 9-11 hours or more. In other cases, it is twice as short. However, if contractions have begun, and when to go to the hospital is still an unresolved issue, then you should listen to your body and first set their frequency. This is the first question that doctors ask when calling an ambulance, as well as during registration in the emergency room of the maternity hospital. Knowing this is necessary to determine the stage of labor activity.

Women note that the shorter the interval between the first and subsequent pregnancy, the more painful and intense contractions are felt. However, in time, such births pass faster. On the one hand, a woman in labor suffers less pain, on the other hand, the rapid birth of a baby can adversely affect his he alth and physical development.

What to bring with you

Having decided the question of which contractions to go to the hospital, it remains only not to forget to take the things necessary for the first time with you. From clothes you will need a dressing gown, shirt and underwear. Be sure to take slippers with rubberized soles, a towel, washing accessories and hygiene products (pads, wet wipes), a phone charger to the hospital. Relatives can bring things for a newborn after his birth.

Few people think about what to wear to the hospital with contractions. It will be better if it turns out to be clothes that are easy and quickyou can change clothes. With rare contractions, it will be possible to get together without rushing, but if the interval is shorter and their duration is about a minute, then the help of relatives will be required. Therefore, it is worth thinking about things for the maternity hospital in advance. By the way, this also applies to things for mommy and baby to be discharged.