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Arriving at the Hospital!
Your contractions have been consistently increasing in duration and frequency, and now it is time to head to the hospital.
Pre-Admittance
Ease of admittance into a hospital depends partially on how well prepared you were. If you filled out the required paperwork months in advance, that lengthy step is out of the way. If not, you must first fill out the documentation - including insurance information - and sign and date everything. That may not be such a pleasant experience when you are in labor, which is why we strongly suggest handling that step long before the time comes.
Depending on the hospital, there are certain conditions that must be met in order to be admitted as a patient and assigned a room. One of them might be showing proof of insurance coverage, which is why it is extremely important to make sure you have this information before heading over to the hospital. Second, if your cervix is not dilated enough just yet (many hospitals would like for you to be dilated at least 4 centimeters), you may not be officially admitted until then. Instead, you may be taken to a "pre-labor" room to see how and if things progress first.
Once your arrival has been recorded in the system, you will be escorted to the "pre-labor" room, where you will change into a gown, be asked to provide a urine sample, have your temperature and blood pressure checked, and have a vaginal examination to see if your cervix is dilating. You may also be asked to walk around a bit, since it can aid in increasing the onset of contractions, which will cause your cervix to dilate faster.
Admittance
Okay, you are now becoming more and more uncomfortable as the contractions are occurring every 3 - 5 minutes, lasting about 60 seconds each, your cervix has dilated between 4 - 8 centimeters, and your bag of water may have broke. The hospital staff has now decided that you are ready to be transferred to your room where you will be delivering.
Copyright © 2007, 2009 Christina Bell