Still undecided about where to have baby

[Cattia]

So far my pregnancy has been uncomplicated so I am classed as low risk. With my daughter, I had a very long back to back labour (three days to get to 4cm) and I elected for an epidural so I had her in the hospital. With my son, I decided to go to the birth centre and get checked over and when I got there I was already 6cm dilated, so they asked if I wanted to get in the pool. I hadn't really planned to stay there but once I got in the pool it all progressed nicely and I ended up having him at the birth centre, which was a great experience.

The issue is that the birth centre is 20 minutes from my house and a further 20 minutes from the hospital. I am just worried that if something suddenly goes wrong during labour, I have to wait for an ambulance and get transferred to the hospital. They reckon the transfer can be done in 7 minutes in an emergency, but that's once you're already in the ambulance. There is a birth centre actually in the hospital, which might be a better option, but it's much busier than the more local one so there is less chance I would be able to use the birthing pool I think, which I found really really helped with my labour last time.

Obviously this is my decision and I need to decide for myself, I am just interested in other people's opinions. I don't want to go into labour and then not be sure where to tell my husband to drive me! I wonder if I rang the hospital birth centre during labour whether they would be able to tell me whether there was a pool free or not? Of course this is all assuming that things go smoothly and I don't end up needing to be induced or whatever else.

 

[Button#]

I would go for the hospital birth centre as you'll be more likely to feel safe and secure. I went to mine on an incredibly busy night and got a birth pool no problem. If there isn't one free then they will still have showers to help with pain and other things you can use but it sounds like the transfer time is a worry for you and you should be where you feel safest.

 

[hanni]

I'd personally go for the birth centre in the hospital. I plan on using my birth centre at my local hospital but luckily the labour ward is just on the floor above should anything happen.
7 minutes transfer seems like a lot.
I'm sure if you rang ahead they'd be able to tell you if there was a pool and start filling it for you.

 

[MindUtopia]

You have to decide what feels right for you, but if I was in your shoes, knowing I had a positive experience at the birth centre before, I'd opt for that. 20 minutes isn't a long transfer time at all (and like you said, it's likely to be faster). I had a home birth with my first and I'm also about 15-20 minutes from the hospital, but rural, so it would take time for the ambulance to get out here and find us too, so realistically more like 30 minutes. I was perfectly comfortable with this. The reality is that almost nothing in birth goes from fine to serious enough to need a transfer in a few minutes. There are signs, even if you're not aware of them, that midwives look out for that can tell them way in advance that you might need a higher level of care, even if you don't need it yet. Midwives who work out in the community doing home births or in freestanding birth centres take this into account when recommending when you might want to think about transfer. If they think you might need more assistance in another 30 minutes or so, they don't wait until you need it to call for an ambulance. They make decisions sooner taking into account transfer time. Realistically, if you're in hospital, it's still going to take at least 20 minutes to prep the theatre for you, if say you needed an emergency c-section, and that's only if it's free. If it's in use already, you'll have to wait longer. When you're at home or in a freestanding unit, they use your transfer time to do all the prep so they're ready for you when you get there. If you're in hospital, you're just waiting around in your room for the surgical team or obstetric team or whoever to get ready for you, so the wait time is likely going to be the same. But the bonus of being in a place where you are more comfortable is that you're much, much less likely to need that intervention in the first place.

 

[Cattia]

Thanks for the advice ladies, it's really interesting to read different perspectives. I hadn't thought about the waiting time for theatre being a factor. My friend had a complete placental abruption during labour at the birth centre and was transferred to the hospital where she had an emergency C Section. It all went OK and she and the baby were fine, although I think it was pretty scary, but even when she got there I remember her saying she had to wait for theatre. It's really scary when I start thinking of all the things that could go wrong, but I guess there's nothing I can do about it now so I just have to keep my fingers crossed!

 

[redneckhippy]

I just posted my story about this the other day. I was tanning to have my son at a birth center 2 min from the hospital but ended up at the hospital last minute and thank God because my son was born APGAR score 1 and I don't think he would be here now if I had been at the birth center.https://babyandbump.momtastic.com/p...286221-those-fence-out-hospital-delivery.html

 

[Cattia]

Redneckhippy this is exactly the sort of thing that worries me although I'm sure it's pretty rare to have no sign during labour that something is wrong. I'm glad your LO was OK. I wouldn't be on the labour ward unless I was having interventions so if no complications develop I will be in a birth centre no matter what as I think it will be better for me, it's just deciding whether to go to the one that's in the hospital or the more local one. I think I will talk to the midwife about it at my next appointment. I suspect that as the local one is less busy the care might be better, but then there is the unlikely event of a complete life and death emergency. Arghhhh what to do!!

 

[noon_child]

It is interesting that most people say they feel safer with a hospital birth. I thought this with my first but now if I decide to have another ill probably opt for a home birth (there are no midwife led birth centres here).

Nothing went wrong in my labour but it was very very long and because they never classed me as in active labour I got very little help and support till I was actually pushing! I kept being sent home from the hospital so basically I laboured without medical attention for the majority of the time. I feel like a midwife coming to a home birth would have classed me as active labour sooner (my contractions were faster and stronger whenever I was at home and slowed in the hospital) and I would have felt more supported and less ignored.

 

[Cattia]

It is interesting that most people say they feel safer with a hospital birth. I thought this with my first but now if I decide to have another ill probably opt for a home birth (there are no midwife led birth centres here).

Nothing went wrong in my labour but it was very very long and because they never classed me as in active labour I got very little help and support till I was actually pushing! I kept being sent home from the hospital so basically I laboured without medical attention for the majority of the time. I feel like a midwife coming to a home birth would have classed me as active labour sooner (my contractions were faster and stronger whenever I was at home and slowed in the hospital) and I would have felt more supported and less ignored.

Yes, this is an interesting point too, when I was at the birth centre I had a midwife who stayed with me all the time. In my first labour, because it was so long, I had the same experience of being sent away twice before I was actually admitted. I think it's such a tough balance between feeling safe enough that you have back up, but also comfortable enough that you can relax which will make things quicker, and also avoiding unnecessary interventions but still being able to access help quickly enough if you need it. Tough decision!

 

[Phoenix82]

So far my pregnancy has been uncomplicated so I am classed as low risk. With my daughter, I had a very long back to back labour (three days to get to 4cm) and I elected for an epidural so I had her in the hospital. With my son, I decided to go to the birth centre and get checked over and when I got there I was already 6cm dilated, so they asked if I wanted to get in the pool. I hadn't really planned to stay there but once I got in the pool it all progressed nicely and I ended up having him at the birth centre, which was a great experience.

The issue is that the birth centre is 20 minutes from my house and a further 20 minutes from the hospital. I am just worried that if something suddenly goes wrong during labour, I have to wait for an ambulance and get transferred to the hospital. They reckon the transfer can be done in 7 minutes in an emergency, but that's once you're already in the ambulance. There is a birth centre actually in the hospital, which might be a better option, but it's much busier than the more local one so there is less chance I would be able to use the birthing pool I think, which I found really really helped with my labour last time.

Obviously this is my decision and I need to decide for myself, I am just interested in other people's opinions. I don't want to go into labour and then not be sure where to tell my husband to drive me! I wonder if I rang the hospital birth centre during labour whether they would be able to tell me whether there was a pool free or not? Of course this is all assuming that things go smoothly and I don't end up needing to be induced or whatever else.

Hey sweetie

I would do whatever feels right and remember loads of people have this actually happen. My sister was rushed from a birth centre to a different hospital 30 mins away as my niece got stuck on her way out. But they got her straight into an ambulance and blue lighted her across and it took 10 mins, they got her there, delivered the baby and got her to the specialist care she needed.

I know it's scary but if it were me I would go to the birth centre (just for the non assisted side of things) but if you're not sure it could affect your labour as your adrenalin will kick in.

Good luck whichever way you go x

 

[Cattia]

Thanks so much for the input ladies. I'm still undecided but it has really helped me being able to hear different perspectives. I'm going to talk it through with my midwife when I see her next week and try to reach a decision that I feel secure with.