Transfer time to hospital - did this influence your decision?!

[Ziggie]

I'm really interested in home birth. The more I read the more I want one. My midwife is pro home birth and we are discussing tomorrow.

My concern is I live rurally and it's a 45 min drive to the nearest hospital. And should I need transferring this feels like very, very far away. If it was 5 mins up the road I don't think there would be any question.

Does anyone have any advice or stories?

First baby so I don't really know what to expect.

 

[Mrs Dragonfly]

FTM so I don't have the best advice, but I would ask about the things that can go wrong and what would cause a transfer to a hospital. I think statistic wise it's usually from mother exhaustion or not making enough progress in labor, but there are definitely times where time is of the essence. So it's definitely something to discuss with your midwife.

 

[JenStar1976]

But if it's 45 mins for you, would it not be shorter if it was an ambulance transfer? Even if you were already in hospital, as an example, it takes 20mins for a theatre to get ready for an emergency csection, so in theory you could have enough time for an emergency transfer if necessary. xx

 

[Button#]

It did kind of influence my decision, but the other way. With DS I had a very short first stage and the midwife advised me at the time if I had a second to go for a home birth. I don't fancy giving birth en route to the hospital so this time I plan to stay home.

 

[Ziggie]

I'd think with blue light transfer it would be quicker. It's a windy road though so I'm not sure.... It is the first question I'm going to ask!!

And button, bizarrely it is also a reason I don't want to go to hospital!! I can't imagine sitting in the car in labour for 45 mins. Longer if we get stuck behind a lorry or something

But it's that fear of the unknown I guess. I can't visualise myself giving birth in hospital, but I can visualise being at home with the log burner lit and the lights dimmed....

 

[Kitten]

Our hospital is about 45mins in any kind of traffic, 30mins if none. When my daughter was ill I swear the ambulance got us there in 15mins, it was insane how fast they drove, stuff was flying off the shelves as we went round corners! They go through red lights, they hit the speed limit and more, and everyone gets out the way!

 

[treeroot]

I imagine the midwifery practice has some experience with rural births. And I'm sure they take the hospital distance into consideration when making that transfer decision.
I live close the hospital (15min tops) and I do think that's made me more comfortable with a home birth plan. But I would still go that route even if I had a distance (hoping to move to the county next year so this will be a reality if/when I have a second).

 

[RaspberryK]

Even 15 minutes in the car in labour is too long, I'd definitely stay at home.
It's unlikely that you'll need to transfer for an emergency and the midwife will pick it up sooner as it's one to one, rather than midwives leaving you to it and looking after numerous women in the hospital.
xx

 

[emyandpotato]

Surely if it takes that long and it's a true emergency, not just you want pain relief, they could send the air ambulance? I think they try and get ambulances to people within seven minutes and if it's going to take a lot longer they'll use the helicopter.

 

[Ziggie]

Thanks ladies.

Well the plan so far is prepare for labour at home, get things ready here. But I can decide on the day what I want to do discussed it with the midwife yesterday.

Just need to get a tarp and some old towels now I should be able to get a prescription of pethidine from the docs to have on standby too. Rather have it and not need it, than want it and not have it and end up going in for something fixable.

 

[BunnyN]

We live 5mins from the hospital and that did make me more comfortable about a HB but I wouldn't discount one if I lived a lot further away. Of couse there are times when it would be better to be in hospital or close to but it is also well known that HBs tend to have less complications and interventions so you could go to hospital and end up having a complication that would have been avoided at home. MWs do tend to be on the careful side and will keep the distance in mind.

 

[Geo2]

I live about 20 mins drive away from hosp and planning a home birth, dont have my own car and dont fancy taking a taxi all that way, I was thinking i live quite far away aswell, and what if something went wrong, but as another woman says it would take them 20m mins anyway to get a theatre for eme c section or whatever anyway. Glad I'm not stressing this time about that journey, then its even worse it they send you away again.

 

[mwah_xx]

But if it's 45 mins for you, would it not be shorter if it was an ambulance transfer? Even if you were already in hospital, as an example, it takes 20mins for a theatre to get ready for an emergency csection, so in theory you could have enough time for an emergency transfer if necessary. xx

Just want to say this is not true, I went from labour room to son being delivered from emcs in 7 minutes so it doesn't take 20 mins (though my case was rare and most emcs are category 2 whereas that was a cat 1)

Hope you got the labour and home birth you wanted x

 

[BunnyN]

I think 20mins is an adverage time. Sometimes it will be less, sometimes it will be more. Even in a true emergency they don't always have everything ready and a full staff waiting for an operating room so it can take quite a while to get every one and everything together. It probably varies some from hospital to hospital and will also depend a lot on how busy they are that day etc. It sounds like you got excillent care mwah. If they knew you were having any issues they may have been getting the theatre ready for you before you left the labour room?

 

[Ziggie]

Well it's kind of all out the window now anyway as I'm still pregnant and the home birth window is closing as I don't want to go past 43 weeks.

 

[BunnyN]

Aw, I sorry. I went to 41+3 and was starting to find the wait stressful. Where I live induction is pretty standard at 41 weeks but I had no intention of being induced until after 42 weeks at least. Are your MWs supportive about you waiting over 42 weeks? Are you planning to wait until 43 weeks? If so you still have time to go naturally yet. Come on baby!!

 

[Ziggie]

Midwives are fully supportive, but after lots of discussion and heartbreak on my end I've agreed to induction before 43 weeks, basically next couple of days. No signs this baby is coming any time soon so it will have to be a miracle labour!

 

[BunnyN]

Aw, sorry to hear bubs isn't showing any signs of moving. Any chance your dates are wrong? I really sympathise. Its such a hard decision to make but I think I'd make the same one as you. I'd be happy to go a little over 42 weeks but would be uncomfortable about going as far as 43. On the plus side I didn't have much sign of labour until the day it started so there is still a little hope. Have you tried natural induction methods?

 

[Ziggie]

Dates will be max a few days out so pretty close. Tried everything including 3 sweeps in the last week! Body is happy cooking this baby and not even the subtlest sign of labour!

 

[BunnyN]

Some babies just don't seem to want to leave! At least if you are induced the chances of it going smoothly are much higher than with an early induction because your body and baby should be good and ready.

I was booked for an 'induction' massage on the day LO was born but didn't end up needing it. She had had more than one client go into labour the same day as the massage so it sounded promising.