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Thanks, Barbara.  I tested positive for Strep B.  I want an epidural.  So, if I wait until I'm contracting at 3 - 5 mins apart and 30 - 60 secs each one, will I still be able to get one? ::: ~Carol Ann ::: EDD Mar 22 a lot of practitioners recommend first time moms coming to the hospital sooner than this.  talk to your OB about when you should come in.  you don't want to be in the hospital forever, but you don't want to deliver on the side of the road, either! randi mother of megan, 10, riley, 13mo, and chloe due in 3wks 2days!

I'm due in 16 days!! WOW!!  I can't believe it!!

Carol Ann < This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it wrote in message Thanks, Barbara.  I tested positive for Strep B.  I want an epidural.  So, if I wait until I'm contracting at 3 - 5 mins apart and 30 - 60 secs each one, will I still be able to get one? a lot of practitioners recommend first time moms coming to the hospital sooner than this.  talk to your OB about when you should come in.  you don't want to be in the hospital forever, but you don't want to deliver on the side of the road, either! Actually, it's with second-time and subsequent moms that getting to the hospital prior to the 3-5 minute contraction range is generally recommended (usually, the recommendation is for a multip to head to the hospital at 4-7 minutes). It is *very* unlikely, statistically speaking, that a first-time mother will deliver in the car on the side of the road if she waits until contractions are 3-5 minutes apart because first labors are nearly always longer than second/subsequent labors. First-time mothers are *far* more likely to end up arriving at the hospital too early in labor (i.e., before they're even able to get an epidural) because they don't wait until their contractions are 3-5 minutes apart, 30-60 seconds long, and too uncomfortable to talk through. And really, if you want an epidural, it's probably best to wait until you have good reason to believe you can actually *have* it before arriving at the hospital. Otherwise, you're going to wind up having to cope with more of your early labor in a hospital, which is usually less pleasant than doing it at home. Now, I agree that Carol Ann should ask her OB about this. But 3-5 minutes, 30-60 seconds long is the standard recommendation for first-time mothers, AFAIK.

Now, I agree that Carol Ann should ask her OB about this. But 3-5 minutes, 30-60 seconds long is the standard recommendation for first-time mothers, AFAIK. If it's at all possible it's worth having someone observe you at home, or listen to you on the phone, I was having contraction every 2-3 minutes lasting 30 seconds 4 days before ds was born.

Now, I agree that Carol Ann should ask her OB about this. But 3-5 minutes, 30-60 seconds long is the standard recommendation for first-time mothers, AFAIK. If it's at all possible it's worth having someone observe you at home, or listen to you on the phone, I was having contraction every 2-3 minutes lasting 30 seconds 4 days before ds was born. Were they so uncomfortable you couldn't talk through them? That's the other really key ingredient for active labor. It is perfectly possible to be having very frequent contractions but if you don't have to stop what you're doing and concentrate to get through them, they're probably prodromal rather than active labor.