When Should I Come to the Birth Center During Labor?
Whether it’s your first pregnancy or not, it’s natural to be nervous about the details of the big day when it’s finally time to bring your little one into the world. It can be confusing to consider what stage of labor is the right time to move to the birth center, but we are here to help and guide you all the way.
When you begin the early stages of labor, you’ll be in contact with us via phone so that we can decide together when it’s time to come in. There are some key things that we look for, and here are some tips to help you out.
How Do I Know When to Come into the Birth Center?
To start off, you need to recognize the signs of active labor, which is around when you’ll need to get going.
Signs of active labor:
- You start to feel stronger contractions than you might have previously experienced
- You see a bloody show as the mucus plug comes away from your cervix
- Your water breaks, which is usually experienced as a gush of fluid from your vagina
- You feel this constant pressure on your lower back and your bladder
- Your contractions start to come more often and last longer as well
How Does Willow Midwife Center Help?
If you’re going to deliver at Willow Midwife Center, you can start by calling us when you feel like your labor has begun. Our midwives speak to you over the phone to assess how your labor is progressing and if everything is okay on your end.
We recommend spending the early stages of labor at home since labor progresses better while you’re in the comfort of your own home relaxing. You can move around, rest, practice yoga, and spend time with friends and family until it’s time to come to the birth center.
However, in some cases, you might have to come in earlier just to be safe or if you just feel that it’s time.
We admit clients when they’re in active labor. The rule of active labor is 5-1-1; which is when your contractions come every 5 minutes and last for at least 1 minute each for at least an hour.
Labor can also be assessed by how dilated your cervix is. A dilation of 6cm or more is usually considered active labor.
Once we believe that the active stage of your labor has begun, we admit and monitor you for labor progress and help you finally bring your baby into the world!