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Childbirth

Share experiences and get support around labour, birth and recovery.

Original poster

how many cm dilated were you when you got to hospital?

101 replies

lennon80 · 16/10/2010 16:56

Hi there,

I am just wondering when women first presented at hospital (ie couldnt cope dealing with the pain at home) when you were examined how many cm dilated were you.

It seems that labour is so varied that some women present at all different stages but just curious to know so when I go in I know if it is usual to present at two cm or six cm etc

Also for anyone who had an epidural how many cm were you when you had it?

Thanks

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rubyslippers · 16/10/2010 19:03

DS - 3 cm and had him 10 hours Later, gas and air and pethidine

DD - 4 cm, water birth with gas and air. Had her 2.5 hours later

zanz1bar · 16/10/2010 19:16

9cm with Dd
5cm with Ds

Emergency c-section with Dd and full general anaesthetic.
Again emergency c-section with Ds but awake this time.

Just didn't feel like pain, just wanted to put my head under the diver and ignore it all - not a good tactic!

zanz1bar · 16/10/2010 19:19

Meant Duvet, god knows what a diver is?

i don't
Ike pain so tend to pretend it isn't happening, but both Dc where breach and placenta abrupt.

again not a good tactic. You don't get medals for coping with pain, you get scared doctors and emergency c-sections, so my advice is get to hospital early.

warthog · 16/10/2010 19:21

about 1cm with dd2. they told me i wasn't in labour. she was born 2 hours later.

sometimes they really should listen to the mother.

choufleur · 16/10/2010 19:26

7cm - ds born 2 3/4 hours later.

Wallace · 16/10/2010 19:29

Also we are 25 miles away from the hospital so that is a factor.

MiasmARGGHHH · 16/10/2010 19:30

I was in hospital already and had been a bit crampy and had an Internal and was told I was 4cm. Started contracting properly about an hour later and then Further 3 hours till dd was born. I didn't believe i was in labour!

MoonUnitAlpha · 16/10/2010 19:32

One of the reasons I was keen for a homebirth was that the midwife would come to me, check how things were going and go away if not far along - whereas friends who planned hospital births had to go back and forth to the hospital a couple of times before being dilated enough.

Even though I transferred in the end this time, I would plan a homebirth again in the future.

chickbean · 16/10/2010 19:33

DS1 about 3cm, 29 hours after waters broke, born 14 hours later.

DS2 fully dilated, born about 40 mins later

DD 5cm, born about 40 mins later

MidlandsMom · 16/10/2010 19:49

I was 10cm and pushing already! She was born half an hour later so there was no time for an epidural.

I think we stayed at home too long because my contractions were never regular and we had been told to wait until they were. Also the nurse I spoke to on the phone seemed in no rush to advise me to come into hospital! Contractions did get harder and harder to bear so I think I should have listened to my body rather than the timing.

I am pregnant for the second time and will go in a lot sooner this time!

Horton · 16/10/2010 19:52

If I'd waited until my contractions were as regular and long as I'd been told they should be, I would have had an unintended home birth. I think you do need to listen to your body. I knew the baby was coming, don't ask me how but I did.

mazzystartled · 16/10/2010 19:55

dc1 6cm
dc2 semi-elective c/s
dc3 10cm and pushing (or rather, trying not to)

hawesmead5 · 16/10/2010 20:03

Full dialated with DS1
Didn't make it to hospital with DS2!

expatinscotland · 16/10/2010 20:07

With DD1, my first, 2cm. She turned out to be back to back with her hand up cupping her head over her ear. I was in agony and gave birth via forceps 18 hours later.

With DD2, fully dilated save a lip of cervix which they moved out of the way. She was born about 20 minutes after arrival at hospital.

With DS, 6cm. But he stalled, the cord wrapped round his neck, and was delivered via ventouse about 6 hours after arrival.

bubbahubba · 16/10/2010 21:17

first one, laboured at home for 17 hours and was 6cm, baby born 5 hours later in water.

second one - refused internals and from start to finish was 7 hours at home.

DeadlyPoisonPassionBerry · 16/10/2010 21:26

I was 5cm when I got there.

I went in when I wasn't getting a break between contractions, they were coming really fast. Drive to hospital was the worst bit of the whole thing. Contractions slowed down once I got in the pool and DD arrived about 3 hours after I got to hospital.

Ishtar2410 · 16/10/2010 21:27

DD was induced. Got to 9cm before I was offered an epidural - I had stopped progressing due to oedema of the cervix (or something similar). She was also back to back and it was a bit painful.

I was 3cm with DS when the midwives arrived at my home. For some reason they thought I'd be delivering here...contractions were long and only 5 mins apart. He was still not engaged, though (at station -3 or something) I insisted on travelling to the hospital and was found to be 4 cm with DS fully engaged. He was born 2hrs 18min after I arrived. It was a water birth and I had gas and air for pain relief.

JamieJay · 16/10/2010 21:29

Fully dilated - 4 hours after my waters went / contractions started......

Justanormalmum · 16/10/2010 21:29

7cm when I transferred to hospital from a homebirth. Had the epidural at this point. Took quite some time to get to 10cm after this but think the transfer stalled things.

I think you'll know when you need to go in. You just reach a point where you feel you need extra support. In my case the midwife I had at home wasn't supportive of homebirth and made that clear. I think I knew I wasn't in safe hands. For some of my friends it was more in regards to pain and wanting some extra relief.

My best advice for labouring at home is to keep moving - it made the contractions bearable.

Good luck! xx

Justanormalmum · 16/10/2010 21:33

Oh, and on the epidural front, you do have to be rather 'forceful' in regards to an epidural if you go in at a later stage. I was probably a right pain in the arse but I knew that if they wanted to hook me up to drugs to re-start my labour then there was no way I was doing it without pain relief. I was demanding and a bit of a pain but I got what I wanted. Unfortunately this does seem to be the case a lot. Being polite, quiet etc does not equal getting what you need. (In mine and friends experience anyway - might be different for some lucky mumsnetters!)

Lynli · 16/10/2010 21:36

IME how much I was dilated had nothing to do with how much pain I was in.

24 hrs of contractions every two minutes with 1st baby still 1cm.

One hour of contractions every 6 minutes 6cms dilated with second baby.

ivykaty44 · 16/10/2010 21:36

7cm dilated when I got to hospital - I had been driving the car 6 hours previous

back to back and dd took a while so about 4 and half hours after I got to hosptial dd was born

glasgowlass · 16/10/2010 21:41

Arrived at hospital 5 hours after first contraction, was 6cm dilated, DS born 3 hours later. No epidural, G&A for 20 mins, waters broke 12 mins before I delivered him.

mamatomany · 16/10/2010 21:48

Justanormalmum There is a point in a normal labour where an epidural just won't be effective or completed in time and would slow everything down, that's why some people miss out.

I'm told 6cm is the optimum time, the window of opportunity if you like, but many people find they are fine at that stage.

lisalisa · 16/10/2010 21:50

Just interested as to why anyone would refuse internals? I have just been in hospital at risk of prem labour and had to have internals which I found very uncomfortable but was more or less told they were obligatory. How and why are you able to refuse them and are they detrimental to labour?

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