Where would you give birth - poll!

[otterbaby]

Hi all,

Just looking for some unbiased opinions please! I am hoping for a water birth with gas & air as the main method of pain relief. Low risk pregnancy and first time mum, due in 5 (ish) weeks.

Option 1 - birth at my local hospital. Roughly a 5 minute drive away. DH is allowed to stay 1 hour after the birth and no visiting in the subsequent days if I'm required to stay over. No facilities for water birth, but some rooms have large baths (but not large enough to actually birth in).

Option 2 - birth at the midwife led birthing unit attached to the local hospital, so still a 5 minute drive away. DH is allowed to stay 24 hours after birth but cannot leave the room. Does have a pool for water birth but overall, rooms are pretty small, basic and amenities not great. Midwives are a bit stretched as well as they cover both the hospital & midwife led birthing unit.

Option 3 - birth at the midwife led birthing unit 30 minutes away. DH allowed to stay 24 hours after birth but cannot leave the room. Huge pool for water birth, massive room, sofa bed for DH to sleep on, poncey fairy lights, overall a great atmosphere. Receives fantastic reviews about midwife care and really positive birth stories. However, if there were complications with me/baby, would have to be blue-lighted to the hospital (possibly 15-20 min drive in an ambulance?).

Option 1 is my least favourite. I'm stuck between 2-3. I'm fully aware that when the time comes, labour might be so painful that I just want to get to the nearest unit and start sucking on gas & air. There is also the possibility that both 2 and 3 may be fully booked, but that's very unlikely. I'm just not sure if I'm romanticising Option 3, as it does worry me a bit that I would be so far from the hospital should something go wrong.

I'm pretty flexible but some outside opinions would be great!

As a first time mum I went with the equivalent of option 2 and I'm glad I did - my labour progressed extremely fast and DS's heart rate started dropping due to distress. I had to be whipped over to the medical side fast and they were basically hovering over me with the instruments as I pushed him out as they thought they were going to have to get him out ASAP! So although i didn't need the intervention in the end I was very glad it was available.

I would arrange a home birth, but if that's not an option, then 3.

Nature doesn't know what your plan is op.
The day the baby is born is the most dangerous day in its and your life!
You have no idea of the pain, or your reaction to it.

I was all geared up for the water birth, op, I couldn't move an inch, I couldn't turn my foot over! Let alone walk the very short distance to the birthing pool.
The baby was sort of back to back, the midwives didn't seem to know.
With your first I'd err on the side of caution.
With the second, although still risky, at least you know what your up agaisnt, how you felt, how you coped with the pain.

Option 3. Sounds exactly like where I had my first baby. Of course , people Will tell you horror stories of last minute dashes to hospital and “how can you possibly give birth without anaesthetists and doctors 10 feet away” but the actually reality is that stand alone MLUs are extremely safe. They have to be. You wouldn’t be allowed to deliver in one if your pregnancy wasn’t completely normal.

If you think you might want an epidural then of course it has to be a hospital because you need an anaesthetist and constant monitoring and it could lead to more interventions.

But if you’re comfortable with things like hypno birthing and gas and air to take the edge off rather than block the pain, then I would say go for option 3. Feeling comfortable and confident in your surroundings is so important

Option 4 - homebirth. I did it in similar circumstances to you. I'd do it again in a heartbeat, it was wonderful.

If not, then option 3. 15 mins is not far to the hospital - it's incredibly rare for a straightforward birth with no intervention to go wrong that quickly and the midwives will be monitoring you very carefully and have a low threshold for transfer in any case.

I’d go option 2 because I think the midwives for home births and stand alone midwife led units are very risk averse and send you to hospital for the slightest thing, but travelling at that late stage could be agony.

I had planned a home birth for DS and ended up with an emcs. I was at hospital for a late scan, a stretch and sweep broken my waters and I chose to stay as I’d been in early/active labour for 6 days.

I had planned a CS for DD and had a normal vaginal delivery, as they write on the notes, in hospital which was midwife led because she kept the doctors at bay!

Hospital despite the cramped room was fine, by the time things were getting going I didn’t care about the surroundings

Number 3!!

Option 2.

2

If you're 5 minutes from a hospital would you consider a home birth? We are 30 mins from hospital and 30 mins from midwife birthing unit which was also 30 mins away from same hospital. We went with homebirth for that reason.

Option 2 for a FTM but I’m extremely risk averse.

Thanks for all of the opinions. I would love a home birth but I don't think our house is big enough...we'd have to shuffle furniture around and to be honest, I'd rather come home to a clean and peaceful house than stress about getting everything tidied back up after (or having DH do it!). Luckily I still have a few weeks to decide, there's definitely a lot to consider!

Hahah you're the same as me, I like the idea of a home birth but I can't be done with the mess!

I’d go for number 2. I was supposed to be low risk with dc1, but ended up with baby in distress and a forceps delivery. I was strapped to the bed with the trace on and a drip in my other arm. Afterwards I ended up in theatre for 2 hours. It was all quite a traumatic experience. Birth is unpredictable and emergencies can happen to even the low risk people. I would have hated to have to get in an ambulance and be blue lighted away. It was stressful enough. We were all ok and I’m really pleased I was in hospital so they could look after us. I don’t want to scare you, but please keep in mind how unpredictable and potentially dangerous birth can be. Option 3 sounds lovely, but I personally wouldn’t risk it.

Option 2 and honestly, I've no idea why anyone would risk being 30 mins from the hospital just for the sake of being a tiny bit more comfortable.

I don't think our house is big enough...

Honestly you don't need much space and the mess is managed by with the home birthing packs and experienced midwives.

I think its worth you talking over the home birth/option 3 practical implications. Not because you have to choose either of these but talking through the more detailed practicalities with an experienced home birth midwife is useful wherever you end up going.

The striking difference for me between being at home and the hospital was the continuity of care, the calmer atmosphere (even when other DC were in the house) and being able to sleep in my own bed.

On paper my first should have been the easiest and the others (large babies, two of them B2B) more difficult. In reality the care was so much better at home that with all three I was up and bouncing the next morning whereas the first ended up classified as a traumatic birth.

@ScarMatty because a 'tiny bit more comfortable' can make a big difference to birth outcomes. So can not being in a hospital.

When I had my first baby inwas given an episiotomy and a ventilouse delivery. That episiotomy broken down and became infected. The antibiotics I was given led to me and y baby having thrush which I couldnt get rid of for weeks. When I think back to my newborn days it's all I remember.

NO ONE can give me any medical reason why I was given that intervention. I'd only been pushing for 40 mins. My baby was not in distress. The only conclusion is that it was convenient for the staff for me to give birth then

Had I not been in a hospital this may well not have happened.

As pps above - Option 2 without hesitation. In the (unlikely I hasten to add) case of a dire emergency I would want to be somewhere where I can be in theatre within 10 minutes not in an ambulance.

Option 2. I would want to be in the same building as anaesthetists, obstetricians and paediatricians in case of a problem. But I'm quite risk averse, especially with important things like having a baby.

*ventouse- sorry!

And to add, I live a 35 - 40 minute drive from our nearest hospital where I’ve given birth 3 times. It’s 25 miles so would be 25-30 on a blue light run. DC1 was an emergency forceps delivery after a long labour due to the cord being round his neck. When it came to the crunch they had 5 mins to get him out - with the paed crash team at the end of the bed- there is no way would I be anywhere but a hospital! DC2&3 subsequently born there without drama!

Definitely 2 as you are a first time mum. Reassuring near a hospital in case of any issues (or it’s possible you’ll want an epidural!). They only let you come in when you are having v regular contractions, at which point I guarantee you really really won’t care about fairy lights etc, and TBH, being in a car in active labour is an unpleasant experience IME, so the short journey would also be far more important to me than the relatively minor pros of option 3.

How do you know the midwives in option 2 are more stretched? They could be very stretched in option 3 - the staffing there is probably a lot fewer MWs because they don’t cover the hospital too.

Definitely 2, that's what i did, the reassurance of the hospital is priceless

Option 2 and take your own fairy lights! I had one awful hospital birth and two home births, but if I’d had the option of a MWU with the second two, just five minutes away and next to the hospital I’d have taken it. With a first baby, it can go on a bit, so by the time it comes to actually pushing the baby out you can be exhausted and need more intervention than with subsequent babies, so I’d err on the safe side.