I’ve often encountered overly nervous first-time moms who rush to the hospital when false contractions appear before labor. They want to be admitted to the hospital as soon as possible, because they don’t feel comfortable at home,” they say, adding that they feel that being admitted to the hospital is the same as staying in a safe deposit box. If you want to go into labor naturally and avoid medications or medical interventions, it’s best to stay home as long as possible before going to the hospital. In fact, most low-risk pregnancies are a good idea to stay at home during false labor or during the incubation period after labor. The reason is that for a considerable number of primigravid women, most of them will have a one or two day period of false labor before the real labor, at this time, their paroxysmal pains are irregular and of varying durations, getting better during the day and worse at night, but the pains are still bearable, which is actually preparing for the labor. When labor is actually imminent, that is to say, there are more and more regular paroxysms (usually spaced at least 5-6 minutes or less), first-time mothers need an average of 8 hours or even more to enter the active period after 3 centimeters. This is why many maternity hospitals in the U.S. only admit women with a cervical opening of 4 centimeters or more. This is partly because there is not much medical treatment prior to this point, but rather just patience and waiting for labor, and partly because recent studies have shown that early hospitalization increases the rate of unnecessary cesarean deliveries. Because when pregnant women are admitted to the hospital too early for labor, they spend a considerable amount of time in bed, they may also need to be monitored for a long period of time to watch the fetal heart rate and uterine contractions, they may need to be constantly disturbed by temperature monitoring, blood pressure monitoring, listening to the fetal heartbeat, having meals delivered, as well as having to be restrained from moving around or even walking in and out of bed, and the doctors and midwives will need to keep track of their labor and may have to make some medical treatments. All of this is not necessarily necessary for low-risk pregnant women until the incubation period. In recent years, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) has redefined the course of labor, defining active labor as dilation of the uterine opening to 6 centimeters or more. This is also due to the clinical finding that the incubation period before 6 centimeters may be longer than expected for primigravid women, and we need to be patient and wait for a longer period of time. In order for you to have a smooth and natural labor, and to reduce unnecessary manual intervention, you can try the following four methods at home. 1.Activity Walking, swaying, squatting, sitting cross-legged, doing yoga balls …… These forms of activity can ease your irregular contractions and allow you to go into labor as early as possible, while gravity and contractions will help the head of the fetus enter the birth canal as early as possible. Another point is that exercise can slow down your tension and allow you to focus on the movement rather than the pain caused by the contractions. We can easily do these exercises at home without any hospitalization restrictions. When, no matter how much you exercise, your contractions are less than five minutes apart and show a tendency to get stronger and stronger, and this lasts for an hour or more, you may consider going to the hospital. But when you feel contractions 5 minutes apart while lying in bed, then it’s better to get up and move around; it’s usually not a good time to go to the hospital yet. Often pregnant women who come to the emergency room say, “I was just having five-minute pains at home, and strangely enough, I’m not having too much pain on the way.” Lying still and being in an anxious state of mind can magnify your pain, which is one of the reasons we recommend activity. 2, Hot Baths Hot baths are a good friend to expectant mothers in labor. Hot water can help ease your sensitivity to bouts and relax the muscles in your back, abdomen, legs and perineum while uterine contractions are still going on normally. When you start to become intolerant to the bouts, you can try a hot bath or a hot boil of your seemingly breaking back or exploding belly with a homemade soybean pack, all of which are very useful in early labor. When neither hot baths nor hot beanbags relieve your increasingly intense bouts, you might consider going to your birthing hospital. Some hospitals are equipped with water birthing rooms and specialized birthing tubs for water births. Of course, the doctor will assess you further beforehand, and you can try the water birth that is both pain-reducing and closer to nature under the premise of ensuring the safety of mother and fetus. Rhythmic deep breathing, meditation, self-hypnosis or other relaxation techniques can be used at any time after labor to help you eliminate uncoordinated contractions and facilitate the progress of labor, but only if you are not easily disturbed. Once you’re in the hospital, your nurse will come in regularly to take your vitals, strap you in for fetal heart rate monitoring, open up veins, draw blood for lab tests, and even unfamiliar surroundings can bring on a sense of insecurity. But at home, you can light candles, close your eyes, put on music, meditate with your breathing, or create any kind of atmosphere that makes you more relaxed. If your contractions are getting stronger and none of your techniques seem to be working, try getting up and moving around or taking a hot bath, changing positions, or contacting your doctor to see if you need immediate medical attention. 4. Be patient Some women have a long period of false labor before they go into labor, during which they have trouble sleeping because of intermittent false contractions. Even after the contractions become more and more regular after the labor, for most of the first-time mothers, the incubation period will continue for quite a long time, so at this time we can do, in addition to the three points mentioned above, only – wait patiently. Labor is an endurance run for most first-time mothers, not a final sprint. Of course, if you are experiencing vaginal fluid, or abnormally heavy vaginal bleeding, or abnormal fetal movement, or if you are experiencing any of these symptoms, don’t just hang in there, go to the hospital as soon as you can.