Painful contractions or not, irregular or frequent, loss of water or cracks in the pocket … How to make the difference and know when is the right time to go to maternity? Our advice.
Unless childbirth is programmed, difficult to know exactly when baby will point the nose! Contractions, water loss, fatigue, nauseaS … listen to your body: some signals may tell you that work has started. However, before rushing to the hospital, know how to spot the concrete symptoms of childbirth. For a serene departure at maternity, we take stock with Lucile Hewener, midwife.
1. Water loss
Losing water marks the start of the delivery process. Indeed, the first reason to go to the emergency room of your maternity is the Rupture of the water pocket. Concretely, if you feel an abundant loss of hot and clear liquid (the amniotic liquid) Along your legs and that it continues to flow with each of your trips, it is a frank loss of the water pocket and generally, the work begins a few hours later. These “waters” are actually the amniotic fluid contained in amnios or amniotic pocket, which houses the fetus. AMNIOS fills with liquid as and when fetal development. “”Put clean protection and clean linen and quickly come to maternity, within an hour, even if you do not yet feel contractions“, Specifies Lucile Hewener in the same way as the woman must go to the emergency room”If it loses blood in significant quantities (like rules) or if something abnormal is happening“. Generally, the loss of water is accompanied by very painful contractions. On the other hand, if it is a Water pocket crackthat is to say, if there is only a small amount of water flowing, like a small urinary leak, wait a bit. Put a protective towel, wait to see if it is getting wet, or not. If so, head to maternity. “”In any case, the pregnant woman can call maternity to chat with the midwife, expose the symptoms to see if it’s too early to come or on the contrary, if necessary“, advises the specialist.
| Water pocket is made up of two very resistant membranes. The internal membrane, the amnios, contains the fetus and the amniotic fluid. The external membrane, the chorion, is in contact with the placenta and surrounds the amnios. The water pocket protects the baby in her mother’s belly and gives him a sterile medium for his good development. Generally, when the delivery is close, the pocket of the water breaks leaving the amniotic fluid escape. |
2 – The loss of the mucous cap
The latter acts as a barrier to prevent microbes from entering inside the cervix and thus protects the fetus from infections during pregnancy. From the 9th month, a few days or a few hours before childbirth, the pregnant woman can “expel” the mucous cap which is similar to thick, mucus, white or gray secretions, sometimes accompanied by blood if the collar is weakened: this means that the collar begins to change. However, even if it is an painless and preliminary sign of childbirth, this step is not compulsory and most women do not even realize it. Without contractions or loss of water, “No need to rush to maternity because the loss of the mucous cap does not necessarily indicate the imminence of childbirth“, Underlines the midwife. On the other hand, if he takes place at four or five months of pregnancy, he can then testify to a premature childbirth and it is advisable to ask his gynecologist a vaginal touch.
3 – Contractions
If you have already felt contractions during your pregnancy, work contractions are distinguished by their frequency and intensity. If they are spaced (every half hour for example), irregular and painful, but bearable (like menstrual pain), we can speak of “Falvail” : The contractions disappear naturally or after taking an anti-spasmodic. So no need to rush to maternity: it is certainly not yet the right time and you risk asking you to go home, once there. However, when they are gradually approaching and it “This is the first child, you have to go to maternity as soon as the contractions are very painful and regular, that they last between 30 seconds and about a minute, that they return every two to three minutes for 1:30 to 2h“explains the midwife. On the other hand,”If you have already given birth to a child, it is better to go to maternity an hour after the contractions are very painful and regular, because, indeed, the work of a second pregnancy is often faster than the first“, She specifies. Despite everything, if you feel very intense and painful contractions, more and more frequent, but irregular, Don’t waste time timing themtake the path of maternity. Likewise, if your contractions, although not painful, are closer and you cannot manage them.
How to relieve contractions?
The birth of baby is close, but it is likely that you will wait a few hours at home, before going to maternity, especially if it is your first child. To manage painful contractions, there are several tips:
- First of all, Take a hot bath and swallow an analgesic (Spasfon®). If the pains get away and they end up passing, it is because it is still too early. On the other hand, when they start to intensify and you can no longer do anything, go to maternity.
- Another method, the relaxation : Set quietly and breathe while alternating slow and long expirations to clear your lungs well with brief inspirations.
- To relieve the pain in the kidneys, stretch forward by resting the file of a chair for example. There too, if despite everything, you cannot manage the pain, direction maternity!
