Travelling to hospital during labour

[Iggly]

I had DS at home but this time we're having DD in a MLU.

Which means travelling during labour

Now with DS I got into my zone, mooing and all, laboured in the dark etc. I can't imagine getting in a car, checking into the MLU, having to talk to people etc etc all while I'm contracting away.

Please tell me your tales - how did you cope?

Dont leave it too long [ie during transition]

Have a transport plan set up so you have someone who can take you.

Have a back up plan if plan A falls through.

Definitely doable!

I have a plan - DH will come home at first sign of labour and drive. We have childcare lined up. ILs are nearby too.

It's just the actual being in a car while everything's happening! My active labour was about 8 hours last time so not expecting a super fast one this time (tempting fate). It all just seems odd to me!

You just do cope. I remember having contractions every 2-3 mins and being strapped in the passenger seat breathing through it all. When you get to the hospital you just go at your own pace (within reason!) and when I had a contraction I would stop walking and get the contraction out the way before carrying on. TBH the actual travelling to hospital etc whilst in labour was not a problem at all compared to the actual giving birth itself!!

Get someone else to drive, and then to do all the talking. They can wave your notes to check you in without you being asked anything.

I got on with rocking, mooing etc in the back of the car almost oblivious to the traffic jams and then in the waiting area while MrNC did admin, though I do recall a MW checking to confirm I was in fact in labour and shouting "no shit, Sherlock!" at her before getting to the lovely MLU and taking up residence on a fab two-tier beanbag and ignoring the rest of the world for a good hour before being asked if I'd like to get in the pool.

I was fine in the car, the motion of the car seemed to help me starting to push in the carpark was when I started not coping!

I remember having to tell DP to drive slower, it was 3am and the roads were empty bar the odd fox!

I think he thought he needed to be quick, but I found bracing myself very difficult so I asked him to drive slowly.

Going over road humps during a contraction killed.

With my first, the walk from the car park up to the labour ward took a while as I had to stop for each contraction.

Just do what you need to do and allow your DH to do the talking once you get to the ward.

Good luck!

My lovely husband drove like a bat out of hell - he reached 100mph down the dual carriageway, hit a rabbit and he could smell rubber by the time we got to the carpark. Lucky for me it only took 10 minutes (usually a 25 minute journey). Get your DH to drive at reasonable speed and just concentrate on yourself. Don't leave it til the very last minute.

Ah notcitrus, I like you approach. Especially the no shit Sherlock bit

I think DH will be sensible driving and it's about 20 mins away max so not too bad.

If your DH is like my DH you will be there almost before you leave home.

Tbh you'll probably barely notice the journey - more important things to concentrate on! My waters broke in the middle of the night at home and contractions were immediately every 5 mins. We live just over an hour from the hospital, it was really windy and raining hard, and DH had forgotten to put the new wipers on the car! According to DH we were aquaplaning along the motorway and he could barely see where he was going!
If your MLU is good they won't bother asking you anything if you're mooing away in reception they'll just let DH tell them who you are and whisk you off to a birting pool!

Good luck!

where do you live? Hopefully not somewhere truly remote or where rush hour traffic is particularly bad? If the latter i might get husband to check for jams/roadworks prior to leaving and allow more time. my journey was 3/4's of an hour and my labour short.... 1 hour for 2nd. journey was fine...or as fine as being in labour is. husband made me sit on plastic bags and towels so i didn't wreck his seats - which i didn't.

agree you won't really notice or care about the journey or people talking to you at hospital.

Can I ask why you're not having a home birth this time? It just sounds like you'd be more comfortable with a home birth, so I'm wondering why you're having a hospital birth this time.

Also, don't estimate the length of your second labour based on your first! 8 hours is actually fairly speedy for active labour with your first baby. My first was 12 hours active labour and then my second was an hour of active labour (i.e. from 4cm) 2.5 hours in total!

I've only laboured once in the car (was induced the first time) and was dreading it as well but it was manageable. The worst bit was sitting down as it felt like DD was trying to exit through the back of my pelvis, so sitting down was not comfortable! I didn't feel confident enough in DH's driving to go on all fours (besides, there was no room with two car seats in the back).
When we were on the road, one conversation I remember went like this:
DH: So, how fast do we need to go?
Me: Fast
DH: Ok
Me: NOT THAT FAST!!!
:o

No don't say that about speedy second labours!!

I had to go in last time due to a borderline PPH and third degree tear. So would rather be at the MLU just incase. Plus i don't want to to labour with DS there and (most likely) his GPs or nanny looking after him - I really could not relax with them potentially being around and me having to moo away

Haha, fair enough, I was just curious :o

You do need to be prepared in case it is quick, myself and 3 friends have all had second babies this summer and all babies were out in under 4 hours... :o

Make sure the person driving doesn't know how to get to the hospital or where to go once there. You'll soon be in hysterics (in both senses of the word) and distracted.

At the hosp. you won't need to do much talking if you're in truly established labour. Unless they are completely clueless they'll probably be happy to point you and your partner in the right direction.

Seriously, it was fine both times. #1 I was leaning over the backseat of the car. #2 I was in the passenger seat and even though I was in more established labour than with #2 felt in control enough. I think I might have nearly pushed my feet through the floor in dealing with contractions though.

Just wanted to say good luck, the journey is as the others have said doable, but planning is essential. Its obvious but don't forget to call the hospital before you set off.

Vital point: do not let your DH go at all fast over speed humps!

My hospital is normally 10 min drive but they were replacing water mains everywhere that summer so had to take main roads through town and turns out every Thursday morning the police block off the main road to catch people without insurance/driving licences/etc. Apparently they do it at the same time to allow most people to work round it and catch mainly the idiots you don't want on the road - if they stop catching people, they'll change it.

So it took 45 minutes to get there - and 3 and a half years on there are clearly still loads of idiot drivers in Sarf London but at least we know not to take that route for dc2...

Thanks :)

I quizzed my midwife about it today as didn't have a clue how it worked re hospital births. She was also surprised when I said my last MW (an independent) had stayed with me throughout active labour so I guess that will be different too!

Sorry, I don't mean to scare you, I just didn't want you to get complacent and miss out on the journey as that would be a good waste of a thread :o

When are you due, btw?

2 December so looooooads of time...

Yeah, of course.... looooads of time....

Good luck anyway, you never know how it will go, I found it loads easier/less painful second time around (epidural with first, chatting and joking during contractions with second), so the journey will probably be fine and you will cope wonderfully and realise you had nothing to worry about :)

I'm confused - why did you go to the hospital with your first when you weren't actually in labour? I thought it was normal to wait until contractions were 5 minutes apart, or so, before going in.

My journey in certainly wasn't comfortable, particularly as DH took and wrong turning and missed the hospital entirely. I sort of squatted on the front seat of the car with my fingernails dug into the dashboard!

My SIL walked to the hospital, as it was only five minutes down the road. She was alone, as my DB was rushing back from a business trip, and she had the baby within 10 minutes of arriving. But she's well 'ard.

Oh durrr, read the OP - Home Birth!! (I'm easily confused).