Contractions: how long to wait before you go to the hospital?

Contractions: how long to wait before you go to the hospital?

How long do we have to wait when we have the first contractions? If you have any doubts, we will find out when is the best time if you are new or have had a baby before.

As you approach the one considered as the probable date of delivery (which as you surely know, consists of the approximate date of the day on which delivery could occur, taking into account factors such as the date of last rule and time of conception) , many are the doubts, fears and fears that assail the future mom and dad.

These doubts are even greater when we are faced with new parents, who are going to have their first baby and who have never before faced a situation and a stage in their lives that are so important (and expected).

For the most part, most doubts are related to the moment of delivery, and ultimately everything related to it: from the symptoms or signs that can alert that it is approaching, to what elements or things we should catch before to go to the hospital.

In this sense, when the pregnant woman begins to have the first contractions, it is common for a lot of questions to arise, being the most usual when it would be the best time to go to the hospital.

Why do we usually have doubts about when to go to the hospital?
It is very common that, when labor is approaching because the first symptoms or warning signs begin to appear, both the future mother and the future father have doubts related to what would be the best time to go to the hospital.

This is because it is not appropriate to go to the first one, quickly to the least symptom, nor wait too long (with the obvious risks that entails). In fact, if you go very quickly to the hospital (for example, after the first contractions occur), you are probably not the first pregnant woman who is sent home again for “being very soon”.

As stories we know many, it is absolutely normal that this is one of the first doubts or fears that the couple faces.

When is the best time to go to the hospital when having contractions?
The majority of gynecologists, midwives and obstetricians differentiate between moms who are new and those who have been mothers before.

If you are a beginner: It is advisable to go to the hospital or clinic when the contractions are regular and increasing in intensity every 5 minutes for more than 1 hour.
If you have already been a mother: In these cases it is much more likely that the delivery will be much faster. Therefore, it is advisable to go to the hospital when contractions are taken every 10 minutes.
You should keep in mind that the frequency of contractions is counted from when a contraction starts or begins until the moment in which the next contraction begins.

What can we do at the beginning?
There are times when, especially at the beginning of the contractions, false alarms occur, especially when these are regular (occur every 25 or 20 minutes for example), as the woman is at rest tend to be spaced in the time or even may disappear.

Therefore most specialists recommend staying at home and try to stay as entertaining as possible, while being aware of the symptoms and other signs that may occur.

A good option, for example, is to keep quiet at home doing something you like: reading, listening to relaxing music, doing letter-puzzle entertainment … The key is, above all, to stay calm.