How long do you have to wait when you have the first contractions? If you have doubts, we will find out when is the best time if you are a first time or have already had a baby before.
As the probable date of delivery approaches (which as for sure you know, consists of the approximate date of the day on which the delivery could occur, taking into account factors such as the date of the last period and the moment 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 such an important (and expected) situation and stage in their life.
For the most part, most of the 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 take before going 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, the most common being when 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, quickly to the slightest symptom, nor to wait too long (with the obvious risks that this entails). In fact, if you go to the hospital very quickly (for example, shortly after the first contractions occur), you are probably not the first pregnant woman who is sent home again for “being too early.”
As we know many stories, 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 for contractions?
Most gynecologists, midwives, and obstetricians differentiate between new mothers and those who have been mothers before.
- If you are a newcomer: 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 occur every 10 minutes.
You should bear in mind that the frequency of contractions is counted from the beginning or beginning of one contraction until the moment when the next one begins.
What can we do at the beginning?
There are times that, especially at the beginning of contractions, false alarms occur, especially when, although they are regular (they occur every 25 or 20 minutes for example), as the woman is at rest they tend to become spaced in the time or may even disappear.
For this reason, most specialists recommend staying home and trying to stay as entertaining as possible, being aware of the symptoms and other signs that may occur.
A good option, for example, is to stay calm at home by doing something you like: reading, listening to relaxing music, doing entertaining exercises like wordsearch. The key is, above all, to stay calm.
