Contractions Five Minutes Apart

Posted by Brenda Lane Apr 10, 2007

One question I get from new parents all the time is "How do we know when it's time?" Meaning how do they read signs of labor to know when it's too early to get to their place of birth versus when it's too late. Fathers are notorious for worrying that the baby is going to be born in the car. Those stories are the ones that get published in all of the local papers, often with quite a bit of drama.

Several things parents should realize is that almost all emergency births happen to mothers with later babies, not with the first pregnancy. The other is that the other 98% of labors that last for hours or days and parents get to their place of birth too soon, they are never dramatic enough to publish in the paper.

Some parents hear in the childbirth class to go to their place of birth using the 5 - 1 - 1 formula. Contractions 5 minutes apart lasting for 1 minute for 1 hour. This can be a place to start, however, bear in mind that this formula says nothing about intensity. Your contractions should be intense enough that it causes you to start some of your deep breathing or use other pain relief techniques in order to cope with it. Not to mention that you should also be focused enough in between contractions to not have any desire for conversation.

For more information about things to consider, read the latest article on When to go to the Hospital.

Brenda