I can tell you that if the water has already broken, they want the baby to be born within 24 hours, because otherwise the risk of bacterial contamination is higher. (At least this was true 15 years ago, with my daughter.) So they will induce if necessary.
It was true 10 years ago, too. My water broke early on a Saturday morning, but I wasn't yet in labor. You know, a few squeezes now and then, but nothing too strong or regular. My husband & his sister & my best friend & I spent the day waiting impatiently -- I took a few walks around the neighborhood in hopes of encouraging things, but no luck. By that evening, they told us to come in to the hospital. Still no labor, so they started inducing me. I asked for drugs
as soon as I heard the word "pitocin." All I really wanted was the edge taken off, but it put me to sleep. I'd wake up for contractions but then zonk out again. I had to call my labor coach the next morning to find out what happened (hubby's a wimp & stayed in the waiting room down the hall--his sister kept him apprised of events). My son was born early Sunday morning.
(FOLC-related note -- this was during 4th season but luckily L&C wasn't on that weekend. Oh, and my best friend was Chris Mulder who I'd met through fanfic)
Second baby, totally different. I had false labor for weeks (including during the Kerth Awards
). Went to the doctor on a Tuesday of the week I was due; she said she wanted to wait a bit more but did something called "stripping the membranes". By that evening, I was having contractions again but was too cynical to do anything but go to bed. I woke up a couple of times in the night to say "ow". I got up around 6 & timed contractions for an hour -- every three minutes like clockwork. My water hadn't broken yet, though.
We called the doc, she said to come in when they, and I quote, "hurt like hell." I decided we were close enough. Had to call a (FOLC) friend to come over and watch our two-year-old, and get Chris to meet us at the hospital, then hubby started driving me in -- 8am rush-hour traffic, of course. The contractions definitely hurt like hell by then. Somewhat to my surprise, I found that the relaxation/breathing thing really does help. By the time we got to the hospital, I was desperate for some drugs; it seemed to take forever to get checked in. I remember walking back the hallway when another contraction hit me; I had to grab onto somebody but I kept walking 'cause I *really* wanted those drugs!
They sent me into the bathroom to change into a hospital gown -- that's when my water broke in a big gush, right into the toilet. I waddled back out and told them I was feeling a very uncontrollable "urge to push" -- they saw I was fully dilated and got the doctor in there asap. "Don't push yet!" they said. Yeah, right. Like that's an option.
Ten minutes later, my daughter was born. The doc got there in time to catch her. Hubby was just outside the room & had just about decided he needed to take a walk when he heard the baby cry.
This is what I call accidental natural childbirth. They managed to give me a local, but that was it. Oh well. It certainly made subsequent trips to the dentist less intimidating. And it was a very easy recovery.
Chris claimed to be annoyed with me 'cause she'd wanted to have the whole day off work, but instead I was done at 9am
They took Marissa away to clean her up, etc, and moved me to a regular room. Three hours later, they hadn't yet brought her back. We had to ask the nurses -- "no, really, I'm pretty sure I had a baby this morning, so where the hell is she???" Turns out they'd heard a heart murmur and took her for x-rays. Nothing serious, though. It just would have been nice if they'd *mentioned* it.
My step-father-in-law was a corporate big-shot at the time, and he was in town that morning for a ceremony that made the papers. To emphasize that he had ties to the area, they reported that even as he spoke, his daughter-in-law was being rushed to the hospital to give birth. We ended up getting a note of congratulation from the governor
PJ
