Labor
Keywords:Labor starts with contractions or the rupture of fetal membranes, i.e. the waters breaking. Always call the childbirth helpline before leaving for the hospital to give birth.
You should come to the hospital when contractions
- come regularly less than ten minutes apart
- last for approximately a minute
- feel so intense and painful that you are only able to focus on the contraction.
Before the start of actual labor, contractions have usually already lasted for several hours.
If you suspect that your waters have broken, place a sanitary pad and monitor the situation. If your water has broken and you are experiencing strong and painful contractions, call the childbirth helpline.
If you do not experience strong contractions after your water has broken, call an obstetric emergency department. They will give you more detailed instructions. After the waters have broken, you can often still wait at home for contractions to begin. For the majority of mothers, labor will start within 24 hours of the time when the waters have broken, but you should come to hospital earlier than this.
Childbirth services will relocate from Lohja Hospital to the Women’s Hospital, Espoo Hospital, and Hyvinkää Hospital
Patients coming in to give birth will be admitted to Lohja Hospital until November 27, 2024, 8 a.m. Surgeries, emergency care, and inpatient care in gynecology and obstetrics in Lohja Hospital will end on November 29, 2024.
Emergency services during pregnancy and labor
At the obstetric emergency departments, we treat patients in need of urgent care. Please call the hospital before seeking medical attention at the emergency department or coming in to give birth.
What to bring to hospital?
The labor process
Newborn
Further information
Units
Maternity wards N6C and N6E, Espoo Hospital
On Espoo Hospital maternity ward, we treat women who have given birth and newborns after childbirth. We also provide guidance on caring for the baby…
Gynecology and Obstetrics Inpatient Ward, Hyvinkää Hospital
In the Gynecology and Obstetrics Inpatient Ward at Hyvinkää Hospital, we treat gynecological patients, pregnant patients, and postpartum families.
Maternity Ward, Lohja Hospital
Our cozy ward in Lohja Hospital provides a peaceful place to get to know the baby during the first special days. We follow the Baby-Friendly Hospital…
Appointments for postpartum women, Jorvi Hospital
At the Jorvi Hospital appointments for those who have given birth, we provide advice and guidance to the families with newborns. We also make midwife's…