How far is to far

[halas]

So i had my 2 older kids at a midwifery led birth centre in the water and i had same midwife with all my 3 kids she was aswome my youngest i got a constant contraction possible placenta detaching or maybe even a torn muscle so i had to be transferred to a hospital and induced. My and dh are ttc #4 and i said i wish i could have a home birth but he thinks we live to far from a hospital its 1 hr to the closest hospital but the birth center i would want to go to again is 1hr .45 mins away. Do you think 1 hr is to far out

 

[NDH]

You will have to do what you feel comfortable with. I would be ok with an hour myself, but it would make my husband very uneasy. Many hospitals have a limit of 45 minutes or even half an hour though so you will have to look into their regulations. Is there a friend or relative closer to the hospital whose house you could use for the birth (which I know kind of defeats the purpose of being a HOMEbirth lol. but I know for me I would rather be at anyones home than the hospital)

 

[MindUtopia]

I think it completely depends on what you're comfortable with. I wouldn't want to be driving an hour and 45 minutes in labour and would personally prefer to be at home, where I could be relaxed (staying relaxed is the safest thing when you're in labour) and with a midwife I felt confident could make a decision I would trust in terms of when to transfer. If you did have to transfer from the birthing centre, how much would the transfer time vary? As in, is your birth centre close to the hospital or 45 minutes away from that hospital this is an hour from your home? If the distances are roughly similar, I would definitely opt to stay at home. What might also help is a review of your notes from your last birth. If you truly had a placental abruption, they would have known and it would have been noted. If you didn't, then it wouldn't be a risk anyway. I was only about 20 minutes from hospital when my daughter was born, but I would be comfortable still being at home if it was up to an hour if it meant I didn't have to drive that distance in labour when it's safer to be relaxed and focused on the birth.