During Birth: When to Come to the Hospital

If you think you are in labor, please come to Labor and Delivery at Overlake Medical Center. Park in Garage 1 and take the elevators to Level 1 and use the Building 1 public elevators on your right to access Level 2 for the Labor and Delivery receptions desk.

If you feel birth is imminent, follow signs to the Emergency Room (ER) and park in the ER surface lot. Enter through the Emergency Department entrance and use the Building 1 public elevators on your right to access Level 2, where you will find Labor & Delivery.

Please call Labor and Delivery prior to your arrival at 425-688-5351 to let the nurses know that you are on your way.

Early Labor

Labor is when you have regular, painful contractions that cause the cervix to dilate or open and soften. Often contractions start every 10-15 minutes and are irregular. Then, over time they intensify and come more frequently and consistently. The early phase of labor when the contractions are irregular and not as painful may take many hours or even days.

Active Labor

The active phase of labor is usually when you are having regular, extremely painful contractions (so painful that you cannot walk or talk in the middle of them) that occur at least every 5 minutes, lasting approximately 1 minute in length that have been going on for at least 1 hour. This is also known as the "5-1-1 rule."

If this is not your first baby, your labor may progress faster than this rule and you may need to go to the hospital sooner.

Sometimes labor starts when the bag of water breaks, but sometimes your bag of water breaks and you do not have any contractions, and you may not be in active labor.

When to Call:

• If your bag of water breaks. Signs of ruptured membranes include a sudden gush of clear, watery fluid or continuous small amounts of leakage that does not smell like urine.
• If you are having regular painful contractions. Once you start to contract, when you need to go to the hospital will depend on the strength and frequency of the contractions, how far you were dilated at your last exam, and the length of previous labors, if any. Ideally, it would be best if you were 4-6 cm dilated prior to arriving at the hospital. For most of our patients the "5-1-1 rule" described above will apply.
• If you have bright red heavy vaginal bleeding and/or the baby is not moving normally. Heavy bleeding may signify early release of part of the placenta from a placental abruption or placenta previa.

Where to Call:

• During the weekday office hours: Call our office at 425-455-0244 and ask to speak to one of the nurses. During office hours, we may ask you to come to the office first to be checked.
• On the weekends or at night: If you think you are in labor, your water has broken, if you are bleeding, or having regular painful contractions that meet the criteria above, please come to Labor and Delivery at Overlake Medical Center. Park in Garage 1 and take the elevators to Level 1 using the Building 1 public elevators on your right to access Level 2 for the Labor and Delivery receptions desk.
• After hours and you are not sure if your water bag has broken or you have questions about whether you are in labor: Call Overlake Labor and Delivery at 425-688-5351.