uk ladies, where to give birth?

[EmmyReece]

Hi

I know I don't need to be thinking of this, but I found out that our local health board is closing our local consultant led unit and just keeping it as a midwife led unit and I'm a bit freaked out.

I have 3 hospital options, all within similar distance away but was wondering how it actually works with regards to choosing somewhere to give birth, am I limited to hospitals in Wales or can I choose somewhere in England (one of our options is Shrewsbury)? Can I just turn up at any hospital in the UK in labour and give birth there (I'd prefer a consultant led hospital for my first in case there were any complications)?

I'm sorry if I sound like a total nut job for wondering about this at the moment, but I'm a major planner and not knowing what my options will be is upsetting me a bit, plus I think I'm due af so probably a bit irrational because of that too

 

[Alyssa Drough]

When you get a positive pregnancy test you can either:

1) Contact your GP and talk to them, they will then refer you to a certain hospital so you might be able to discuss options.

2) See if your preferred hospital has a self referral form. My hospital had an online one so I didn't even need to contact my GP at all. Just filled out the online form then got a letter in the post with a booking appointment with the midwife.

Either way you need to be referred to a specific place so they can take care of all your details, scans and appointments.

Or you could go with the midwifery led unit if you are considered low risk and want a fairly natural delivery.

 

[Buggzxxx]

Hi. My midwife brought this up at our very first appointment. Our local hospitals maternity unit closed down a while back but scans and EPAU still operate there. I was prepared to be asked my preference so told my midwife which hospital I had chosen and she did the rest. Im very lucky as pre and post natal care in my area is top quality! Its a shame my local hospital no longer is a choice as its five minutes away by car, I gave birth to DD there and could not fault the care I received. Im apprehensive about giving birth elsewhere but I hear good things about the hospital I have chosen. Anyway to answer your question! My midwife took care of all the referrals I just had to make the choice x

 

[EmmyReece]

Thank you for the answers

Our local hospital is just 30 minutes away. Even if I did manage to be allowed to labour at the midwife led unit there would still be a 1.5 hour transfer to the next closest hospital in case there were any complications and to be honest I think that's what scares me the most, so I'd prefer to just choose somewhere that already has a consultant led unit as well as the midwife led one.

I probably sound like a total idiot worrying about it, but I want to prepare myself for how long a journey I will need to do in labour for when the time does eventually come

 

[pinklizzy]

Shrewsbury is the nearest hospital to me (about 30mins) and it's a long way from Aberystwyth! I delivered there last time as DD was breech but this time have opted for the birth centre nearest to us.
Your midwife is probably the best person to talk to about your options for delivery-I could've had the choice over the MLU or Shrewsbury/Wrexham hospitals.

 

[EmmyReece]

We're about half an hour away from aberystwyth and it generally takes hubby about 1 hour and 45 minutes to get to shrewsbury

In all honesty I do think Carmarthen is going to be the best choice for us
1) it's the hospital I'm assuming the midwife will recommend when I eventually get pregnant
2) we don't have to travel over the mountain roads to get there (I'm always on edge when we do one particular road as it's so dangerous)
3) it does have both the midwife and consultant units which I want

I already feel loads better and lots less worried than what I was

 

[pinklizzy]

Glad you feel a bit better now, I'm the same-I need to be able to prepare for things! I'm just desperately hoping that this bubs co-operates and is head down so I can avoid Shrewsbury!!

 

[EmmyReece]

fingers crossed for you

 

[NurseSooz]

It's your body and your choice. You call the shots. As long as you're not asking for anything daft like birthing in the Edinburgh Infirmary then the choice is yours. Think about all the women that birth at home!

 

[EmmyReece]

With not having a lo I have no clue about these things lol, so wasn't sure if it was a case of you have to go wherever your midwife/dr says

Fingers crossed we can make a difference to that from June onwards (we're hoping to properly start ttc when we go on honeymoon)

 

[Pearls18]

Is there a reason you need a consultant led unit? I heard about Bronglais, shame as I heard good things and the EPU were great with me, I'm from mid wales originally and opted for Hereford for my first but I wouldn't for subsequent children, I had a low risk labour and would have given birth en route with my second if I'd attempted the same. Isn't Carmarthen a bit far if this will be your 4th? Just wondering

Edit: Totally ignore me, I read "3 options" as being 3 children lol, in which case I would do exactly as you are thinking and that is pretty much what I did do. My local town only had midwife led care which for a first I wasn't comfortable with I wanted pain relief options lol (amongst other reasons with my hubby being away at the time in England) so I opted for a hospital 40 miles away, the journey wasn't pleasant I won't lie and we cut it very fine, but I had a lovely birth once there and felt safe. It's crazy how few options we have in Wales now.

 

[EmmyReece]

I'm assuming I will be consultant led for a while due to my weight, but I could be wrong on that.

Either way I think Carmarthen will be the one for us as (like you) I want the pain relief options on hand just in case I want to use them.

I know it sounds stupid, but when I first found out about Bronglais I actually sat and cried It's something I really wanted to share with my mum and have her visit us in the hospital, but that's not an option now as she can't travel to Carmarthen and back on a whim as it would make her seriously ill (she's got several disabilities plus heart failure), when she used to have appointments in Stoke she would have to rest for 3 days before and 3 days after as long journeys take so much out of her