How to tell the expectant mother that it's time to go to the hospital. How to understand that contractions began at the first birth and when to go to the hospital without delay

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.

Closer to childbirth, the expectant mother begins to be tormented by the following questions:

when to go to the hospital?
how to recognize the first signs of childbirth?
Are there any special signs of an early birth?
And what are these first signs of childbirth?

We answer in order. There are three main signs of the onset of labor:

First sign of childbirth:

the appearance of regular contractions of the muscles of the uterus - contractions

Most often, childbirth begins with contractions. Contractions are regular contractions of the uterus, accompanied by pulling pains in the lower abdomen and (or) in the lower back. At first, the contractions are weak, lasting a few seconds, and the interval between them is 10-12 minutes.

Sometimes contractions immediately begin every 5 to 6 minutes, but not very strong. Gradually contractions become more frequent, strong, prolonged, painful. Between contractions, the abdomen is relaxed. When the stomach is relaxed, you should try to rest.

Usually in nulliparous contractions last 10-12 hours, in multiparous 6-8 hours. Sometimes contractions are rare - after 20 - 30 minutes. These are not labor pains, but the harbingers of childbirth.

If they do not tire you very much, then you can wait and not go to the maternity hospital. It is possible that everything will stop. It is better to go to the hospital when contractions are more frequent than 1 time in 10 minutes.

The second sign of childbirth:

vaginal discharge of cervical mucus - mucous plug

The mucus plug may come off 2 weeks before delivery, or maybe 3-4 days. This usually occurs after the onset of uterine contractions to dilate the cervical canal - thus expelling the mucus plug.

The mucus plug keeps the canal closed during pregnancy. Loss of the mucous plug is a definite sign of the onset of labor. Discharge of colorless, yellowish, or slightly blood-stained, slightly pink mucus may occur.

The third sign of childbirth:

discharge of water

The fetal bladder can leak, then the water slowly flows out.

It can burst suddenly, then the waters "gush in a strong stream." From time to time this happens before the rhythmic contractions of the uterus begin.

More often this occurs in multiparous. When the rupture of the fetal bladder pain is not felt. If the waters receded immediately, before the onset of rhythmic contractions, you should go to the hospital immediately, since the longer the anhydrous period, the greater the likelihood of a complicated course of childbirth, penetration of infection into the uterus and to the fetus.

How do you know when it's time to go to the hospital? What were the first signs of childbirth you experienced?

It is believed that the issue of timely sending to the hospital worries only women who are about to give birth for the first time. They do not have the relevant experience, and therefore the feeling of the beginning of labor activity is a mystery for them. But in practice, the question of when to quit everything and urgently go to the hospital worries those who give birth a second time, and even during subsequent births. This material will discuss when it is time to go to the hospital, how long to wait so as not to risk your health and the condition of the child.

How can you understand that you are giving birth?

Contractions (contractions or spasms of the uterus) before childbirth are of two types - true, which occur against the background of the expansion and opening of the cervix, and false (or training), which are not directly related to the expansion of the cervix. Training contractions in those giving birth for the first time may well begin already in the middle of the gestation period, while in those giving birth again they usually start almost before the true ones, after 35 weeks of pregnancy. A few days before the onset of labor (and during the first childbirth, sometimes even a few weeks), preparatory contractions begin, which are called precursors.

If false contractions of the uterus during pregnancy are in no way interconnected with the uterine muscles and are manifested only by episodic tensions in the smooth muscles of the uterus, then precursor contractions have a good reason. The cervix begins to prepare for childbirth - it softens, smoothes out, because it will open up 10-12 centimeters during childbirth. By and large, a woman cannot feel the process of preparing for the onset of childbirth. Her hormonal background changes, the concentration of progesterone, which was responsible for carrying the baby throughout the entire period, decreases, and the production of estrogen and oxytocin increases. In the cells of the uterine tissue, a special protein, actomyosin, begins to accumulate.

On the physical level, the muscles of the uterus may tense from time to time, which will be felt as a sudden tension in the abdomen. Such fights do not have a periodicity, a certain rhythm. The fact that childbirth has begun, a woman can guess precisely by the cyclicality of what is happening. The contractions are felt like stretching that starts from the back and ends with the lower and middle part of the abdomen. The first sensations may even go unnoticed, especially during the second or third pregnancy. But gradually the contractions intensify, the moments of tension become longer, and the interval of rest and relaxation between them is shortened.

Initial contractions occur at intervals of about once every 30 minutes. This interval may be large, but less - hardly. The duration of the spasm itself at the very beginning of labor is about 15-20 seconds.

Neither a change in body position, nor a warm shower, nor an antispasmodic pill, which effectively help get rid of the discomfort of false contractions, can not affect the frequency and frequency of spasms when real labor contractions appear.

Owners of modern smartphones can be helped in determining the essence of what is happening by applications that are created specifically for such cases. They are free and exist under the general name "Conflict Counter". The principle of their action is that the woman launches the application when strange sensations appear, and then simply presses the button with each repetition of the spasm.

The application analyzes the frequency, frequency and makes a verdict - whether the opening of the uterus has already begun or not yet. Also, the application can signal the time when it's time to go to the obstetric facility. The disadvantage of the program is that it cannot take into account the individual characteristics of the pregnant woman, which is why errors are possible.

The road to the hospital

The latency period of labor pains usually lasts the longest, so when you find the first contractions, you should not panic and grab your phone to immediately call an ambulance. Too early arrival at the maternity hospital, if there are no pregnancy complications, can negatively affect the psychological state of the woman in labor, because the expectation is worse than reality.

In choosing the right time to call an ambulance, you need to focus on your own feelings and the number of births experienced in history.

During the first pregnancy

The tissues of the organs of the reproductive system in women who give birth for the first time are narrow, tight, the uterine muscles are less plastic, and the cervix opens much more slowly. If full-fledged regular contractions have begun, it can take up to 14-18 hours before the baby is expelled from the uterus, and therefore there is clearly nowhere to hurry. You should go to the hospital when the interval between spasms is 5-10 minutes. Such a period of time means that the opening of the uterus does not exceed 3 centimeters and the active stage of contractions, when medical assistance may be required, has not yet occurred.

Thus, the woman has time to take a shower, have lunch, check whether everything necessary is packed in the bag for the maternity hospital, call relatives and inform that labor has already begun. Some get a little sleep if they manage to fall asleep, although most of the excitement rolls over. From the first contractions, it is highly desirable for a primiparous woman to remember everything that she was taught in the classroom in a consultation or clinic where she was registered.

You should take deep breaths with the onset of a spasm and slowly exhale slowly so that the body is saturated with oxygen. This will naturally anesthetize contractions from the very beginning of their development.

At the second birth

In the second birth, the phase of latent latent uterine spasms is shorter, and pain can be expressed to a lesser extent, and therefore women quite often do not perceive the rare and weak contractions that have begun as generic. By the time when the spasms are strong enough and acquire a pronounced recognizable appearance, quite a lot of time can pass. You should go to the maternity hospital at the moment when the contractions begin to repeat every quarter of an hour.

Why so early? Because all stages of childbirth in those giving birth repeatedly proceed faster. A common mistake women make is to sit at home and patiently wait for the 5-minute interval between contractions, as in the first birth, to go to the obstetric facility. As a result, by the time she arrives at the maternity hospital, the woman's uterus is already fully open and attempts begin. Sometimes it is not possible to take a woman in labor to the maternity hospital on time - the child begins to be born earlier.

You need to come to the maternity hospital before the transition of contractions into the active phase, so that doctors can control it, because neither the second nor the third birth reduces the likelihood of complications of labor and injury to the fetus.

Thus, the multiparous woman will have much less time to collect. It is best to collect the bag and the documents necessary for registration in the maternity hospital in advance. But a woman will have time to take a shower and make a couple of phone calls. It is also important to breathe properly from the first contractions so that the overall muscle tone remains relaxed and there is enough oxygen in the body. This will help to avoid rapid fatigue, make contractions less painful.

At the third birth

There may be little difference between the second and third births. It is not excluded that each stage of labor activity will proceed somewhat faster than it was the second time. That is why you need to be extremely attentive to your feelings. It is recommended to arrive at the maternity hospital when regular contractions appear with a frequency of 1 contraction in 15 minutes.

Be aware of the increased likelihood of quick, rushed labor. Therefore, it is better to seek medical help in advance.

emergency occasions

Regardless of the number of pregnancies and childbirth that preceded the current pregnancy, regardless of the gestational age, the presence or absence of labor pains, you should go to the maternity hospital immediately, without waiting an hour, if:

the waters have broken (in full or in part);
the fight has begun, but does not end (the spasm is long and very painful);
spotting appeared (of any intensity, shade, quantity, with or without pain).

The discharge of the mucous plug in itself is not considered the beginning of labor, and therefore, after this event, an ambulance is usually not called. The exit of the mucous plug is a harbinger of an early birth, but so far - not childbirth. In primiparous, from the moment of its release to childbirth, 7-10 days can pass, in multiparous 1-3 days.

What to pay attention to?

No matter how the birth begins, a woman must definitely monitor her condition before arriving at the maternity hospital, note all the changes in order to inform the doctor when registering at the maternity hospital, thereby facilitating the task of diagnosing the condition. What you need to pay special attention to:

on the nature of the discharge- intensity, color, smell;
on the localization of pain(where it hurts and with what intensity);
to fetal movements(from the moment the fights began, they became stronger, weaker, disappeared altogether);
on the color of amniotic fluid(especially if they are dark, green, brown, brown);
for additional maternal symptoms(it becomes cloudy in the eyes, objects become difficult to distinguish, the heart beats strongly, the head hurts badly, vomiting appeared, etc.).

A competent and accurate description of sensations should include the time of onset of symptoms. All this will help the doctor to quickly understand whether there are complications in labor, whether there are grounds for emergency delivery by caesarean section. At the examination upon arrival at the hospital, the doctor will assess the degree of cervical dilatation, the strength of contractions and the condition of the fetus.

Waiting for the first birth is an exciting and anxious time. Many women worry that they will miss the onset of contractions and the baby will be born at home. However, in practice, it is quite difficult not to notice the onset of childbirth.

Start of labor

Usually, labor begins between the 38th and 42nd weeks of pregnancy. In this case, they are considered normal and timely, and the child is full-term.

When is it time to go to the hospital for the first pregnancy? Is it worth checking into the hospital in advance?

Regardless of whether a woman is carrying the first or third child, there are no indications for hospitalization in a hospital before the onset of labor.

Although this practice was common in the past. If by forty weeks the cervix of the uterus did not open in the expectant mother, and regular contractions did not begin, she was sent for hospitalization in a hospital. In the conditions of the maternity hospital, the woman was under constant medical supervision, if necessary, labor was stimulated.

To date, without indications in the form of pregnancy complications, an obstetrician-gynecologist does not issue a referral for hospitalization. The expectant mother can stay at home for up to 42 weeks and lead a normal life.

However, the proximity of childbirth must be borne in mind in order to prepare everything necessary for the maternity hospital. It is also necessary to be aware of such body changes as precursors.

Harbingers

Harbingers signal to the expectant mother that it is time for the child to be born. During the first pregnancy, 1-2 weeks usually pass between the appearance of these symptoms and the onset of labor, while in the second and subsequent ones, the baby can be born the very next day. This is due to a faster reaction of the uterus to the processes occurring in the body.

Harbingers include the following symptoms:

Change in the shape of the abdomen.
Disappearance of heartburn and digestive problems, shortness of breath.
Straightening of the back and neck.

These manifestations are due to the fact that the fetus falls lower and fits snugly with the head to the entrance to the small pelvis. At the same time, the pressure on the upper abdomen, respectively, decreases, and the unpleasant symptoms associated with pressure on the diaphragm weaken or disappear.

The lowering of the abdomen leads to a shift in the center of gravity, this causes straightening and deviation of the back and neck. Also, a woman may be disturbed by pain in the lumbar region.

Closer to childbirth, the mucous plug may come out of the genital tract. Usually it is a clot of discharge with bloody streaks and inclusions. Sometimes the mucous plug comes off in parts, and this goes unnoticed, especially if the pregnancy is the first.

The appearance of mucous-bloody discharge can frighten the expectant mother. However, this harbinger is not a reason for emergency hospitalization in the hospital.

If the water does not break and regular uterine contractions are not observed, even after the cork is released, you can stay at home and wait for childbirth.

Signs of childbirth

The mechanism of childbirth is rather complicated. First of all, it is necessary that the cervix opens for the free movement of the child through the birth canal.

This happens in the first stage of childbirth. Then attempts follow, when the contractions of the uterus are combined with a strong tension of the muscles of the press, they push the child out. The third stage is the discharge of the afterbirth - the placenta, or "baby place".

The main signs of beginning childbirth:

Regular uterine contractions.
Departure of amniotic fluid.

The expectant mother should know that, in addition to true contractions, there are also false, or training contractions. If a woman understands the difference, it will be easy for her to distinguish between them.

Training bouts

Training contractions are sometimes referred to as harbingers of childbirth, especially if they are first observed at 37–38 weeks.

However, often a woman can notice their appearance much earlier - in the second trimester. Starting at 16–18 weeks, irregular uterine contractions are considered normal.

The main purpose of this process is to prepare the uterus for the upcoming birth. Such contractions have been described for a long time and are better known in the medical literature as "Braxton-Hicks contractions".

They are painless and irregular, quickly disappear on their own. To reduce training contractions, you need to rest more, change the position of the body. Sometimes deep, rhythmic breathing helps.

regular contractions

If a woman is constantly experiencing training contractions, she may miss the moment when they become regular. However, very quickly the differences become apparent.

True fights are characterized by:

regularity and rhythm.
Reducing the intervals between uterine contractions.
Increasing intensity.
Pain is moderate to severe.

In order to understand whether these contractions are true or false, you need to use the clock. Regular contractions indicate that labor has finally begun. In addition, they do not decrease during rest or sleep, when changing position. With movement, true contractions may intensify and be more painful. Also, they are not affected by the use of antispasmodic drugs - No-shpy, Papaverine, Viburkol.

However, if the hospital is far away or difficult to get to, it is best to go as soon as the contractions become regular. You should not delay if in the family along the female line - the mother or sister of the patient - there was a rapid birth. The daughter's birth of a baby can go according to the same scenario.

Drainage of amniotic fluid

During pregnancy, the baby is in a dense shell - a bubble that is filled with liquid. It is called amniotic, or amniotic fluid.

They perform an important task - they protect the child from injuries during sudden movements, they serve as a shock absorber. In addition, they are involved in some metabolic processes. Also, thanks to the amniotic fluid, it is possible to maintain the optimal temperature of the environment for the fetus.

At the beginning of childbirth, the membranes rupture, and the waters pour out. This process, as a rule, is sudden, without any precursors and pain. Most often, women confuse the discharge of amniotic fluid with involuntary urination.

Sometimes a small amount of liquid is poured out, in parts. But the volume can reach 1.5-2 liters.

If this happens, it is advisable to go to the hospital as soon as possible, even if regular labor is not yet observed. Most likely, the contractions are simply too weak, and the woman in labor does not feel them yet.

A long anhydrous interval threatens the baby with the addition of an infection, so you should not postpone going to the hospital. The sooner a woman is examined by a doctor, the lower the risk of complications.

Pathology

Sometimes labor starts early. This happens with the first and subsequent pregnancies.

Preterm birth is considered if it started before 38 weeks. At the same time, the child or the woman in labor does not always suffer; in the period of 36–37 weeks, most often everything ends well.

To date, doctors nurse babies from a weight of 500 grams. Of course, in this case, the risk of damage to the central nervous system and other complications is quite high.

That is why it is necessary to strive by all means to convey pregnancy. Preterm labor can begin like normal labor, but a few weeks earlier. With this option, it is necessary to call the ambulance team as soon as the woman noticed the regularity of contractions or the discharge of amniotic fluid.

Sometimes delivery is forced - for example, with premature detachment of a normally located placenta, eclampsia.

A pregnant woman needs emergency hospitalization if the following symptoms appear:

Regular contractions.
Departure of amniotic fluid.
Sudden, sharp pain in the abdomen, lower back.
Bloody discharge from the genital tract or signs of internal bleeding (loss of consciousness, a sharp drop in blood pressure, tachycardia, dizziness, sudden severe weakness and pallor).

How do you know when it's time to go to the hospital? During the first pregnancy, this issue worries all women without exception. However, almost no one gives birth at home because they missed the start of labor. Their signs are so obvious and palpable that errors are extremely rare.

Women are looking forward to when that happy moment comes and they can take their child in their arms. But before that happens, you still have to go through the contractions. Yes, and to the hospital in time to be in time. Many do not even understand what contractions are. And this is a signal that you will soon meet with your baby. Contractions are expressed as regular contractions of the uterus, which are accompanied by pulling pains in the lower back and lower abdomen.

Start of contractions

When the contractions are just starting, they are still very weak and last only a few seconds, while repeating every 10-12 minutes. But there are such cases that everything starts from stronger and more frequent contractions of the uterus, which gradually increase. Also, do not forget that this is just the beginning, as you feel only a slight discomfort due to a feeling of heaviness in the lower abdomen.

Such sensations can arise and cease, but labor activity does not begin at the same time. But when the contractions become more regular, but the interval between them is 25-30 minutes, this also does not mean the onset of labor. In most cases, a woman does not even pay attention to such contractions. And you should not go to the hospital until the time interval between them begins to gradually decrease with each subsequent contraction and, accordingly, the level of pain will increase. this reduction in time will continue to 3-4 minutes.

It is also worth noting that pain in most cases occurs in the abdomen, and in the interval and between contractions it does not exist at all. The lower back begins to hurt, then the sides, and lastly, the entire focus of pain is placed in the abdomen. The very first few contractions are very similar to a slight tingling, and when the duration of the contraction itself increases to 10-15 seconds, the pain becomes more intense. In women who give birth for the first time, contractions can usually last almost 12 hours. For those who have not given birth for the first time, this figure can be reduced by almost half.

Let's go to the maternity hospital

Whether it is necessary to go to the hospital is very easy to determine by contractions. If the repetition time of contractions is less than ten minutes, then you can already get ready. You can also determine by the fact that the amniotic fluid has departed. Although they can leak a little bit, which will be almost imperceptible. Or pour out in several portions. In this case, you should immediately go to the maternity ward and in no case expect the onset of contractions. You can’t wait because if the period of waterlessness is very long, then this threatens to cause complications during the birth itself, and even infection in the uterus is possible. Although usually during the first birth, the waters depart relatively slowly, and only during the second can all of them leave at once.

Already right in the hospital!

Also, you can not pull with a visit to the hospital in the event that spotting has appeared. In most cases, a few days before giving birth, a cork closes the cervix in women. It looks like a small lump of mucus, often with blood impurities. It is quite safe, but it is still better to go to the hospital as labor can begin at any time. Therefore, it is necessary that there is someone nearby. Or a future dad or, of course, a better specialist.

It is also desirable that during the contractions, one of her relatives should be next to the woman in labor, because it is during this period that she needs support as much as possible. But not only moral, but also physical in the form of stroking the abdomen or a light massage of the lower back.