What r the labour signs

Labour signs include REGULAR contractions and/or water breaking. Be carfeul about both signs as the uterus contracts on and off throughout the pregnancy anyway, definite signs will be contractions every hour, 20 mins, 10 mins... Time them to be sure you don't rush to hospital for nothing. Water can and cannot be a sign: my mother's water broke a whole week before I was born! In other cases, waters don't break until just before delivery...

Your hospital stay will depend on your delivery mode and how well you are afterwards: 3 days (usually) for natural birth, 5 for c-section, with the first day being the day you arrive at the hospital, even late at night (but it depends on cases and hospitals!!).

As for what to take, apart from your going-home change of clothes and toiletry bag: pads, pads, PADS!!

Heehee

Hospitals provide a clean pair of pyjamas daily, slippers and all, but some people prefer to bring and wear their own clothes, it's up to you, I think.

For the baby, some hospitals will require that you bring your own nappies, while thers won't. Also bring going-home baby clothes, but call your hospital, they can tell you more about what they provide and what to bring.

You might as well pack your bag now, to be prepared.

Best of luck!!

One early sign that you may go into labour soon is the bloody muscas plug coming away. Water breaking can happen prior to labour, but often happens during labour. Established labour is timed from when you're 3-4 cm dilated. The usual sign of labour is contactions. You will know the difference between real contractions and braxton hicks. Go to the hospital once they are every 5 to 10 mins apart.

In HK if you're going through the public system you need to take pretty much every thing.

As to staying in, it depends how you feel, my 4th and 5th were born here. I stayed in 1 night with the 4th and came out the same day with the 5th, but 3 days is more usual, and 5 days for c-section.

Pack your bag around week 35-36 so you have it ready.

There is some useful information on the maternity section of our website and a list of what to bring into hospital with you. If you have the site saved you may need to refresh as we are now running a new site.


Lynne - 2849 0328

Matilda International Hopsital

Hong Kong

http://www.matilda.org

Its actually very unusual I think for the waters to break whilst you're out, haven't heard it happen to anyone. And often the waters don't go with a big gush but a trickle. The contractions may start whilst you're out, but to start with they'll just be like the Braxton Hicks contractions, it will probably be quite a while before you realise its the real thing. You should have plenty of time to go home have a shower and get your bag before heading off to the hospital. I wouldn't make youself home bound, you need to get out, even if its just to go and sit in a cool swimming pool, or a gentle walk, plus you'll be on weekly visits to the dr by then, you'd probably go stir crazy sitting at home all the time.

In HK it is normal to do an episiotomy, but make sure they don't do one without your permission (which is what happened to me in Germany), and only let them do it if its necessary, the dpctor actually told me they do them as routine here, not out of necessity. But I wrote in my birth plan that I didn't want one and it was stuck to both times. I've had 5 kids, a small tear with the first, an episiotomy with the 2nd, and neither with the last 3. The tear was easier to recover from than the episiotomy. Yes the labour is painful, but very hard to describe, its also true that the minute you hold your baby, you forget the pain. I wouldn't say I have a particularly strong pain threshold, but I managed to have 2 with only a small amount of gas and air, and 2 without anything. And at the end of the day it is only a few hours.

I asked this question too before I went into labour recently and in hindsight think its fair to say it can be different symptoms for different people. One thread above and also advice I was given that when waters break it will only be a trickle. I certainly think NOT SO. Luckily I was at home when my waters broke, haven given up work the evening before. I had no contractions and no other signs of labour. There was no way I would have been saved if I was out and about. There was a prolonged gush of water and no tissues, pads or the like would have helped the situation. So be warned, it can happen anywhere and is not something you want to happen in a public place. I went to the bathroom for a pee and it gushed out on and off for about 30 mins. I called the hospital and they told me to come in. You are not required to go in urgently, can have a shower, pack your bag, get sorted and then go in. My baby was born within 20 hours. The reason they ask you to come in is because baby needs monitoring as no water surrounding him/her. Hope this helps.

I said the waters often go with a trickle, not always. I know it can sometimes gush out, just that personally out of everyone I know, no ones had it 'gush out in a public place', they've all had the 'trickle'.

My water broke when I was out shopping. It was not dramatic and I wasn’t really sure what was happening, just knew there was something dripping. I had been losing my mucous plug that week and lost a big chunk that morning, so I thought that it may have been a continuation of that. My water leaking was defiantly more a trickle than a gush. I think that how your water leaks depends on your baby’s head. If the head is near the opening of the uterus, it will act like a cork and be more like a trickle – this should be the case for most women near delivery. If the head is high up, the water will gush out.


Anyhow, for myself, I did a bit more shopping after my water broke (I think I was in denial) and I managed to walk home, and call my doctor. I went to the hospital after a shower, packing, etc. My doctor said that if your water breaks, you have to deliver within 24 hours, though I read that it is actually within 24 hours that you have to go into labour.


I also had no contractions at all (apart from the Braxton Hicks contractions, so I think) and had to be induced in hospital to speed things up.


I insisted on not having and didn’t have an episiotomy. I healed quickly and took no pain relievers at all after birth. Of course I hurt, but it is really not that bad, and it is true that you forget everything when you see your sweet baby.

In my experience, and from other moms, the first weeks of breastfeeding are more painful than birth.

To be quite graphic. For losing mucous plug, I had been having small pinkish gobs come out for the few days prior to having the baby. For the water trickle, I did have to use pads, or it would have really made quite a mess, even though it was a trickle.


Actually, I hear that it is really rare for a woman’s water to break before contractions.


I had an epidural soon after I arrived at hospital, and so I never really felt contractions after I was induced, and didn’t have that much pain during birth. During crowning (where you have to pant so that you won't push or tear), I just felt the whole area become painful and very heavy. It was over really fast. After birth, I took no pain relievers at all in relation to the birth process. Besides it not being that painful, I didn't want to mediate while breastfeeding (though I understand that it is fine).


For breastfeeding, it was really painful for me, especially with cracked nipples, and a bout of mastitis a few weeks after birth. Despite this, breastfeeding your child is so worthwhile...

I have had both natural birth and c-section. I went natural with my first, however I was induced as I was suffering terribly from symphasis pubis, which is basically when the ligaments all separate in the pubic area and by month 8 I had to basically have my husband dress me as I couldn't lift my legs for the pain. The day before going into to be induced, I was suffering terrible backpain which was actaully the start of labour as I found out. The day before I had diarrhoea which is a classic sign of the body beginning to get ready. That was all the signs I had, oh I had the heaviness in my pelvis, like my baby was pushing down so low.


I had an episitomy, which I didn't even notice. The doctor cuts when you have a contraction and trust me when you have a contraction, you don't feel anything anywhere else. Mind you, my baby was also posterior so I had labour pains in the back as well. Unfortunately for me the epidural did not really do alot, I had many top-ups without much relief. After 16 hours and pushing for nearly solidly for 2-3 hours I had forceps delivery. One word, if they say forceps, then PUSH!!! An epesiotomy is a walk in the park compared to forceps. The episotomy site healed up nicely and I have never had any problems at all. No problems or pain with healing either. When my baby crowned, I had a burning sensation which is the skin stretching, but for me it was all so out of body experience, I felt the pain but was so bloody exhausted I think you could have sliced me open then and there and I would have been relieved!


As for breastfeeding, funnily enough I didn't have any problems at all with my milk coming in or latching. I'm surprised because I never thought of myself as the earth mother, maternal type person, but I took to it like a duck to water. I successfully bf for 13 months.


My second baby was a c-section due to placenta previa and it's a completely different experience, very clinical obviously. Obviously the recovery is much longer. With natural I was up and walking around straight away, with c-section I was up the next day but bent over double.


I thought bf would not be any problem at all, but unfortunately my baby had other thoughts, it was a screaming match for an hour due to poor latching and sucking. It was really distressing, he just didn't want the boob. I was devastated. I stuck at it for 7 weeks, but in the end it was just too stressful for not just me and bub but the rest of the family. Even now nearly 4 months later, I still mourne it, I truly loved bf.


Good Luck, the body is an amazing machine especially when another life is being made. Best piece of advice I could ever give someone, is just go with it, if medical intervention is required, ie., epesiotomy, c-section, forceps or whatever, then your doctor does know best, so go with it. They are doing what is best for you and baby.

I have to say I was not a happy, serene, "pregnancy really suits you" type of person. I didn't enjoy it, and I just wanted to get it over and done with! Don't stress about the bf, once you get the hang of it, it will be fine. I just loved it with my first and the times when my second baby latched it was great. Maybe I put too much pressure on myself with bf this time round. Either way, don't put the pressure on yourself and do what is comfortable for you and your baby.


As for the eventual trantrums, I think I may have been one of the lucky ones, as my first child was and is pretty good compared to text book cases. She certainly could turn them on but they were few and far between and when she did turn them on, I simply stepped over her and told her to take it to the bedroom as I am wayyyy to busy thankyouverymuch! She worked out very quickly that I won't rise to her screams and so she just stopped.


I didn't really remember getting the epidural anyway because of the labour pains, so try not to dwell on that or episiotomy. Easier said than done I know


You know what? I always thought of myself as one of the most unmaternal women on the planet but when that little child looks right into your eyes and gives you their first proper smile (and you will know when it's a real smile, not just wind), your heart will leap into your throat and the love you thought you already had for that baby will grow even more, if you ever thought that was possible.


So anxiety, epidurals and episotomy's aside, it really is worth it. Look at that light at the end of the tunnel and focus on that.


Oh I meant to say, if you can have a swim or just a float in the bath, it makes a huge difference to the pelvic pain with the water. Sheer bliss. If i could have spent my 2 pregnancies underwater, I would have been a happy fat mamma!