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What happens when I’m first admitted to hospital in labour?

Every hospital has its own specific procedure for women who are due to give birth, but most will give you some form of routine check on admission.

If you’re actually in the process of giving birth when you arrive at the hospital don’t worry, you’ll be taken straight to the delivery room where a medical team will be there to help and guide you.

If you’re in an earlier stage of the process you’ll be taken into an assessment room first and asked a variety of questions and given a physical exam.

Your assessment

Your midwife, or doctor if there are problems, will ask you questions about your labour so far. They will ask if your waters have broken, and about your contractions.

You’ll need to have made a mental note or even have written down when the contractions started and their frequency and duration. They will also want to know what sort of pain you’re in. If you have a birth plan, this is the time to make sure you show it to the people who are going to be caring for you as they may not have a copy to hand.

The physical checks that will be carried out will include taking your blood pressure, pulse, temperature and respiration rate. Your urine will be checked for the presence of protein, sugar and the amount of white and red blood cells. Your baby’s heartbeat will be listened to and its position assessed by feeling your abdomen.

An internal examination will be carried out to see how much your cervix has stretched or dilated. This allows the midwife to determine how far your labour has progressed and how close you are to actually giving birth.

Pain relief will only be initiated when it’s been determined that you are definitely in labour, as otherwise the treatment may cause your natural labour process to slow down or even stop.

Will I be seen by the same midwife I saw during my antenatal visits?

You may not have the same midwife who saw you during your check-ups. It all depends on the shifts that people are working on that particular day or night.

For more advice about the birth, take a look at our PDF download »