What's an acceptable driving distance for your midwife?

[angiepie]

As the title says. I'm just barely preg but have to look at HB MWs already coz there are none in my area. How far away is in the safe zone for a midwife to drive to you when you're in labour? Closest to me is about 45 mins to an hour away. There is also one MW I'm interested in an she's an hr and 15mins away. I'm just worried about a MW being able to get to me in time (even though I know first labours are slow).

TIA!

 

[SarahBear]

I think most will do within an hour. The one you're interested in, might be willing to drive 1.25 hours. Personally, I wouldn't be comfortable with that distance. My first labor was only 3 hours and my midwife almost didn't make it because she didn't realize how far along I was when I called. She was taking her time until I sent a text during the pushing stage. She got there quickly after that text! Second labors are often half as long as first labors, so I'd want someone close by for my next birth. It might be helpful to find out how long labors were for other women in your family. If they tend to be quick, just be sure to call your midwife right away when you're in labor. If they don't tend to be quick, then I guess it's less of an issue.

 

[angiepie]

Great, thank you.

 

[RaspberryK]

45 mins just in case xx

 

[Bella82]

Hi there, my midwife is about 1hr 40mins away, we called her when my contractions were about 3 mins apart for my first labour, now i'm pregnant with #2 & will have her again for this one too, as soon as I start having contractions I will just keep in touch with her, she listens to how well I'm able to speak thru contractions & she will know when to leave to come to us.

 

[SarahBear]

Hi there, my midwife is about 1hr 40mins away, we called her when my contractions were about 3 mins apart for my first labour, now i'm pregnant with #2 & will have her again for this one too, as soon as I start having contractions I will just keep in touch with her, she listens to how well I'm able to speak thru contractions & she will know when to leave to come to us.

That's not always a reliable way to know when to come... My midwife was almost too late because of trying to listen to how well I was able to speak!

 

[RaspberryK]

Hi there, my midwife is about 1hr 40mins away, we called her when my contractions were about 3 mins apart for my first labour, now i'm pregnant with #2 & will have her again for this one too, as soon as I start having contractions I will just keep in touch with her, she listens to how well I'm able to speak thru contractions & she will know when to leave to come to us.

That's not always a reliable way to know when to come... My midwife was almost too late because of trying to listen to how well I was able to speak!

I could speak just fine the whole way through, I was 10cm arriving at the hospital and they didn't check me immediately because I wasn't making a fuss.
Even tried to get me to do a urine sample xx

 

[MindUtopia]

I'd be happy with someone within about 1.5 hours of me. I'd just adjust the time I called them according to how long I'd think it would take them to get there. To give you a sense of how it worked for me, our hospital (where the community midwives are based) is about 15 minutes away. My waters broke at 2:30am and labour started up after that. I called them about 6:30am. They said they could send someone right away who would have to leave when her shift ended or they could send someone after the next shift started at 8:30am. The midwife coming on that morning was one I really liked and hoped would attend my birth so I said I'd wait. She arrived by about 9:30am (had to go to the hospital first to pick up things and get herself sorted and then came out to me after). I'm glad they came when they did because it's when things were starting to get more intense and I was starting to get the urge to push, but even though it was 3 hours after I called, it was in plenty of time (my daughter arrived 4 hours later). If I'd truly needed them, I could have gotten someone sooner though. My suggestion would be go with the midwife you feel right about and then build in any extra travel time into the decision about when you call. You could always call them right away when you know labour is starting and ask them to come and park themselves in a cafe close to you for a few hours (if you want to be alone but with someone close by) or in your kitchen so you can labour undisturbed.

 

[Live42day]

1.5 hrs

 

[BunnyN]

I'd have no problem with a MW over an hour away but then my last labour progressed slowly and was 38hrs long total (probably about 30hrs active labour). Our MW was about 45mins away. Early labour started at about 11pm and I didn't call her at all until about 7am when things were kicking up a bit and my husband sent her a text msg. We spoke to her several times on the phone and I kept telling her to wait. Finally she came almost 24hrs after labour had started and then it was only so she didn't have to come out to us in the middle of the night. She came and checked on me and the baby, went away and delivered another baby and came back and had a sleep, lol. Not all labours are as slow as mine of course but the really fast ones are not that common. We don't have many options for MW's in our area and before we found the one 45mins away we were looking at MWs almost 3hrs drive away. It was that or plan a hospital birth. We live close to the hospital so if the MW had not arrived on time we still had the option of just going to the hospital. If I had no other options I'd consider almost any distance the MW was willing to travel and have a hospital birth as my back up plan.