Need Advice re: Travel

[MommaShark]

Okay Ladies Help Me Out Please!

I'm 36 weeks. I'm on bed rest (too many BH contractions)......

Next week DH has a week long class 4 hours from here. Original plans on DS and I to accompany him are out the window - new plan was for me to go to Bay Area (5 hours) so my sister could care for me...house sitter to watch chickens, dogs, goats, water ..... Dr. says travel is unadvised since the stress tends to bring about labor.....recommends against it.

DH won't go to training unless I go to my sisters. If he misses this class he has to redo 2 years of trainings - 2-3 weeks every couple of months all over the states......

DS would be taken care of by my sis (who'd take him to the playgroup she's running) and sis would take care of me. I'd be 10 min from Good Sam hospital.....I guess the risk is in the drive. I'm on flipping bed rest - how is being in a car in a recline going to push me into labor?

Advice?

[sarahwg]

Do you feel like you'll be stressed by the travel? It sounds like your stress level would be higher if your husband had to skip his class...

It sounds like the situation at your sister's house is pretty ideal...you'll be taken care of, your son will be entertained, and you are close to a hospital if you need to get there. Like you said, the big risk is the drive but you can probably set yourself up comfortably in the car, right?

[phrogger]

Honestly, if you have insurance that will cover a delivery in another area, i would go for it.

I drove from central CA to San Diego at 38 weeks for my sisters wedding. I did deliver 2 days after I got home, but i was willing to risk delivering in San Diego and I also was willing to deliver at any hospital along the way. I had a PPO that would cover it.

I now could not deliver outside of this area so I wouldn't risk it at all.

[MommaShark]

I'm thinking I'd be far less stressed in Saratoga - insurance is not an issue - and there are hospitals along the way - Redding, Chico, Sacramento, San Jose and in between.....

I just don't know the Dr.'s rationale - I googled travel/pregnancy and couldn't find anything terrible about it.......

[Voltige]

Could your sister come to you for that week?

If not, I'd probably risk the car ride. Although I don't know what is inherently risky about it. I'd probably go, if she couldn't come to me, especially if I could deliver anywhere along the way.

[MommaShark]

She can't - or rather she's 22 and has a horse and a dog and is working for my mom making good money so unless it's an emergency I'd hate to ask her. My other sister is available but is bipolar and won't drive alone up here and my parents are in Europe.....my inlaws are in WA - BIL lives w/ MIL and is currently suicidal.....so MIL can't come.....

I have friends who've offered to move in with me for the week or to take me in as well - but that sounds more stressful to me.

Worse case - I deliver along the way - in a hospital.

I wonder how billing will work it out if I deliver somewhere else.....

[lexbeach]

If your only symptom of PTL has been "too many BH contractions" then I wouldn't worry about it. If you've been dilating or there's other reason for concern, then maybe I'd choose to stay put. But I don't think that bedrest has really been proven to make any difference in outcome, and it sounds like you could just have an "irritable uterus." I was on bedrest from 29 to 36 weeks with my twins for "too many BH contrax" as well. I was not dilating at all, but was having contractions every 5 minutes, pretty much around the clock. Medication and bedrest reduced them to more like 4 or 5 an hour. When I got off bedrest and stopped taking medication, my BH contrax returned to their old pattern (sometimes coming as often as every 3 minutes all day long), and STILL I did not go into labor. My twins were born at 38 weeks, 2 days via scheduled c-section (they were both breech).

Anyway, all of the research I did after that seemed to say that there was no reason for me to have been on bedrest all that time. During my second pregnancy, the BH started at 13 weeks gestation, and by 30 weeks they were again often very regular and frequent (every five minutes). But I chose to ignore them completely, knowing that I have an "irritable uterus," and my baby was born the day after his due date.

So, maybe not the answer to your question exactly, but do you really need to be on bedrest? Have you researched it fully? I wish I hadn't just taken my doctor's word for it. Bedrest was awful, and I can't imagine how it would be with a little one to take care of.


Good luck whatever you decide!

Lex

[MommaShark]

Lex - re: bedrest - I cheat a lot! I've researched it and since my cervix was changing too early decided to listen - sort of

My DH decided to not go to the class - he wouldn't feel comfortable being so far away............while this makes me sad since I know how much makeup he'll have I'm a bit relieved.

Thanks for all your input - it made his decision harder to bear but I understand it!