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The stages of childbirth: arrival at the maternity ward
When to go to the maternity ward?
For a first child, it is advisable to go to the maternity ward after an hour and a half to two hours of contractions every 5 minutes. For subsequent deliveries, this spacing between each contraction increases from 5 to 10 minutes. This allows time to tell the dad, to take a shower or a bath (if you have not lost the water yet), to have a light snack if you are hungry and to check your things one last time. to take with. Of course, if that reassures you, nothing prevents you from arriving very early in the maternity hospital. Or to make a quick phone call to the on-call team to ask their opinion. But waiting at home is more comfortable than in a waiting room or an impersonal room.
The contractions announcing the arrival of a baby are different from those that appear intermittently during the last weeks of pregnancy. They are not painful per se, but they are intense and tend to radiate to the back. When they do occur, you will feel the need to breathe as the midwife taught you in childbirth and parenting classes and to take support, find a comfortable situation.
Contrary to popular belief, the rupture of the water bag, which results in the flow of a large quantity of colorless liquid continuously, is not an emergency. Of course that means it’s time to go to the maternity ward, even if you don’t have any contractions, but you don’t have to rush. On the other hand, bleeding similar to periods or an absence of movement of your baby requires urgent consultation.
Warning: A multiple birth, announced by breech, on a scarred uterus or with a scheduled cesarean section, requires going to the maternity ward without delay.
Support by the midwifery office
Once you arrive at the maternity ward, the on-call team will welcome you, ask you to fill out some paperwork and collect your medical file (ultrasounds, anesthesiologist appointment, etc.). If it was agreed that you give birth with your obstetrician-gynecologist or midwife, they will contact them. You will then be installed in the labor room or directly in the delivery room.
Monitoring
Made up of 2 sensors that will be placed on your belly, the monitoring device (cardiotocograph) allows you to simultaneously monitor your baby’s heart rate and the intensity and frequency of your uterine contractions. Of course, in the event of an epidural or complications, monitoring by monitoring must be permanent. Otherwise, it can happen intermittently. Indeed, who says to be connected continuously says to be immobilized on the back. An uncomfortable position that tends to slow down labor, make contractions more painful and reduce the baby’s oxygenation.
Vaginal examination
This gesture allows the midwife to measure the dilation of your cervix. It should be practiced at regular intervals but there is no need to repeat it every hour. If you find that this exam is repeated a little too frequently for your liking, do not hesitate to discuss it with your midwife.
If you have not yet lost your water when you arrive at the maternity hospital, it is likely that the midwife herself will rupture the bag of amniotic fluid with a large needle to speed up labor. Rest assured. Even though its large needle is impressive, it is absolutely painless and harmless.
Other medical procedures can take place. They are not systematic and their frequency varies according to the habits of the teams. For example, shaving for a possible episiotomy is still practiced but it is becoming increasingly rare. Placing a urinary catheter is not mandatory either. You can discuss its usefulness with the team, while of course trusting them if it is necessary to empty your bladder well before the baby’s passage. The placement of an intravenous catheter on the forearm or the top of the hand is however important and rest assured, it does not necessarily rhyme with hypermedicalization. Simply, in case there was a problem and anesthesia was needed, at least everything would already be ready. Whether or not to use these gestures is one of the questions to ask when choosing your motherhood.
In case of epidural
If you ask for epidural anesthesia, be aware that doctors usually wait until the cervix is 5 cm of dilation before putting it in place, but this is not a written rule. There is nothing to prevent it being installed sooner or later.