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.
HUS is preparing to relocate childbirth services from Lohja Hospital to other HUS maternity hospitals
HUS is preparing to permanently relocate childbirth services from Lohja Hospital to the Women’s Hospital, Espoo Hospital, and Hyvinkää Hospital. The plan is to perform the relocation gradually, so that patients giving birth will be admitted to Lohja Hospital until November 27, 2024, 8 a.m.
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
Labor Ward, Women's Hospital
In addition to the normal deliveries, the labor ward at Women's Hospital treats the most high-risk deliveries and extremely preterm births in the HUS area.
Labor ward, Espoo Hospital
In the labor ward of Espoo Hospital, we take care of deliveries and ensure the well-being of newborns.
Maternity unit, Hyvinkää Hospital
On the Hyvinkää Hospital labor ward, you can give birth starting from 35+0 weeks of pregnancy. The maternity unit comprises the Maternity Outpatient Clinic…
Labor Ward 2S, Lohja Hospital
In the Maternity Unit of Lohja Hospital, we offer individual, high-quality care that is based on the wishes of the women giving birth, and is family…