Your baby’s on the way!
When you arrive at the hospital, you will be checked to ensure that all is well. This will generally mean monitoring baby’s heart rate for a period of time with a cardiotocography (CTG) machine.
You may need to have an internal examination to see if you are in labour, or if your waters have broken. If all is well, you usually do not need to stay on the CTG monitor for the whole labour.
We encourage you to keep moving about throughout your labour and to do whatever you need to, to be as comfortable as possible.
Your pain relief options will have been discussed during your antenatal care and you can decide what, if anything, you would like to use at the time.
Your progress in labour is assessed with internal examinations, but usually there is no need to examine you more than every two to three hours.
Sometimes your baby’s heartbeat needs to be monitored continuously, or your progress watched very closely. If there are any concerns about baby’s wellbeing or how your labour is progressing, we will always discuss these with you.
Remember—we’re always available for you
If you think you are going into labour early, if your waters have broken—or if you have concerns about anything to do with your baby or pregnancy—it is always safer to have it checked out.
One of us is always on call and a second obstetrician is always available as a backup—an Adelaide Obstetrics & Fertility doctor is available every hour of the day, every day of the week.
Your first port of call should be our rooms, so please call us there between 9.00 am and 5.00 pm Monday to Friday for advice on 08 8272 7755.
If you have a concern outside of our office hours, please call the Ashford Hospital Delivery Suite on 08 8375 5237.
Please do not be alarmed if you are advised to come into hospital to get things checked out—it is always safer to come in for reassurance rather than miss something really important.