Question about labor/driving

laceymm888 · #1 June 6th, 2011, 04:27 PM

So this really freaks me out. DH only works from 4-9am and is usually home around 9:40ish. I work from 7:30-4:30 right now. What do you do if you go into labor at work or when DH is not around? Do you drive yourself to the hospital? I'm sure if it happened at work then someone there would take me because it would take DH about 20 mins to get to my work and then 25 minutes to get to the hospital. What do I do what do I do?! LOL

Momma2BraylonandMadeline · #2 June 6th, 2011, 04:36 PM

They don't advise driving during labor but that being said it's very unlikely that you will go into labor and need to be at the hospital right away anyway. You will probably have lots of little contractions spaced farther apart and they won't want you to come in unless your water breaks or they are much closer. So you should have some time.

thepinkleprechaun · #3 June 6th, 2011, 05:00 PM

Don't go to the hospital right away! It's usually better to wait at home while you're more comfortable, a lot of times your labor will slow down once you get to the hospital because it's an unfamiliar environment.

I would just call your DH if you're having regular contractions, that way you guys can get everything ready and head off to the hospital together when it's time. I think they say contractions five minutes apart?

*KaraBeth* · #4 June 6th, 2011, 05:06 PM

I agree. After my water broke I stayed home for about 4 hours and still didn't have any bad contractions. Not everyone is like that though. Talk to your doctor though but unless there's some reason for it I wouldn't go to the hospital RIGHT away because I personally would rather be at home for as long as possible because they have you so confined at the hospital.

MommySiobhan · #5 June 6th, 2011, 05:07 PM

Ditto. I've typically gone into labor in the early hours and got up at some point to take a shower, then woken dh up and told him we have to go, so theres been time.
With one of them I wasn't sure if it was real labor or not so I told dh to go to work. About an hour after that I was calling him to come home!

I wouldn't advise driving unless you have to.
You should have time to call dh.
Don't panic yourself, there's still time

Mum2LGandC · #6 June 6th, 2011, 05:40 PM

If I happen to go into labor at work, I will drive myself home as long as the contractions are far enough apart and it's not a super fast labor. I want to be able to take a shower and labor at home for as long as possible.

Andrea1122 · #7 June 6th, 2011, 06:34 PM

My guess is you wont go into full blown labor right away, so you will have time. If you do happen to go into full blown labor(i did with DS my2nd) then you will want someone to drive you to the hospital. It will work itself out when the time comes. Thats the part you cant really plan. I hate it casue im such a planner.

#8 June 6th, 2011, 06:44 PM

I was in labor for about 8 hours before I realized it fully. Then I drove myself to the hospital. Had 7 contractions during the 30 minute drive. Not my best idea, but had not other options. There's not much you can do about it. Unless it's an induction, it's not something you can plan for, but you really should be ok to drive to get there.

Momof4Boyz · #9 June 6th, 2011, 07:01 PM

I don't have any real experience with early labor, I went from nothing to pushing in like an hour. But even my midwife encouraged me to stay home until the contractions were 4-5 minutes apart - depending on your drive of course, if you'll be driving for an hour you might want to go sooner. I can tell you though that mine were 2-3 minutes apart when we finally left for the birth center (dh forced me lol) and there is NO way I could have drove myself. I think if you suddenly end up in an intense near-pushing stage of labor... call 911 lol!

MsSilverSpec · #10 June 6th, 2011, 07:44 PM

I remember my old OB telling me that if my water did break, to not come to the hospital until contractions are about 3-5 minutes apart. He even said it's much better to labor at home for a bit.

Dont worry, youll make it in time!

taralyn · #11 June 6th, 2011, 09:40 PM

Ditto what everyone else said. From what I've heard it's rare you'll just go into full blown active labor without any warning. My water broke with DD in the middle of the night and I waited for DH to wake up, took a shower, stopped by work, all before I went to the hospital...and I still wasn't feeling any contractions.

Cruiser · #12 June 7th, 2011, 02:50 AM

Ditto everybody else - it likely won't be a mad rush to the hospital, you'll have time to get organized. My water broke at 4am and we didn't leave the house until 7:30 (after feeding the horses, of course!) when my contractions were getting to be about 5 mins apart.

The drive did suck though, we're about 20 mins from the hospital and it felt like 20 years.

Papasgirl · #13 June 7th, 2011, 03:55 AM

Usually, especially with first babies, your labor will begin gradually. You may feel some light contractions, maybe say, 10-15 minutes apart for a long time (like hours on end) and then they slowly get closer and closer together, 8 mins, 6 mins and so on. That could take literally all day long. With my first, I felt my first contraction at around 6 am and I didn't go to the hospital until around 11pm. They were consistantly 10 mins apart all day until about 9pm. So you will most likely have time to prepare yourself, sit and be with the idea of labor, possibly shower. Drink some water, have a light snack to sustain your energy. You should have time, no worries .However in the event you feel like you need to go and your DH is not able to get there quickly, call 911. My sister's DH works overnight and her water broke at 11:30pm, she instantly went into hard labor at home on the bathroom floor. She called 911 was rushed to the hospital and had my nephew Nicholas at 12:11am.....HOLY COW! NOT her first baby though.

laceymm888 · #14 June 7th, 2011, 04:02 AM

Thanks ladies!! I feel a lot better now

#15 June 7th, 2011, 06:55 AM

And like Papasgirl said, it IS unusual for that to happen. I do believe there's someone in our DDC who had her baby in the car because they couldn't make it in time. Yes, these things happen. But, they are so rare and unusual, I wouldn't worry to much about them. It's like the 1% of births. You'll be ok girl!!

Also, if it makes you feel better, just as soon as you think you're in labor, go into the hospital. Then, you're there and you know you're "safe". It's really a good idea if you like your hospital (I love mine) and then they can take good care of you!!

janey_2011 · #16 June 7th, 2011, 08:51 AM

For my first I called a friend who was going to be at the birth about 6 hours after my water broke and I was definitely feeling contractions. She had time to sort her two kids out and make the journey to my place which involved a 1.5 hour trip on a ferry, plus about an hour in the car, plus the wait time for the ferry. Funny thing was she still ended up missing the birth because I was in labour all day and throughout the night and she needed to get back to her kids the next day before the baby arrived.

That was 5 years ago today.

While my labour was probably much longer than most I think it is much more common for your first to take their time than to arrive super quick. I even had enough time to make it to the births of my friend's three kids doing the reverse ferry trip. I will say, there is no way I would ever drive myself in active labour.

MommyShan · #17 June 7th, 2011, 09:02 AM

This is something my DH and I were talking about the other day. He's so paranoid that he'll be at work when I go into labor (he works an hour away with no traffic) and won't make it back. My last labor went very quickly after my water broke (from 3 cm dilated to baby born in about 20 minutes) but I had several hours of contractions before my water broke. I started having contractions, that weren't painful at about 9 pm. I took a bath, relaxed, and they didn't go away. Called my DH (ex now) at work, he got home about an hour later. Took my DD to my dad's house, stopped to get gas, etc. lol. But, I do worry what happens this time if my water breaks sooner and I go that quickly?!

Anyway, most first labors last hours like these ladies have said. You should have plenty of time to find a ride. But I also recommend having a friend on call in addition to your DH just in case you can't get a hold of him for some reason and it does go fast. Not something you can plan but you can be prepared.

Mom2twolittlemen · #18 June 7th, 2011, 10:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Katie+3babies

Don't go to the hospital right away! It's usually better to wait at home while you're more comfortable, a lot of times your labor will slow down once you get to the hospital because it's an unfamiliar environment.

I would just call your DH if you're having regular contractions, that way you guys can get everything ready and head off to the hospital together when it's time. I think they say contractions five minutes apart?

Thats exactly what I was going to say. With my first labor took a LOOONNNG time (36 hours of ACTIVE labor), so you will have time. Promise you won't have to stress about the driving portion. You 'should' have neough time to catch a ride with someone.