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!

BTW I only went for home births for the 2nd two because an ambulance would have had to drive past my house to get from the MWU to the hospital.

Def NOT option 3 for me. Wouldn't forgive myself for putting the baby at risk. I had to have an ECS with dc1 and even 10 min would have killed us

The option with the best drugs.

I’d go for option 1: you just don’t know how your body will react with a first baby. In my NCT group (of 10) no-one had a natural birth and we had a full range of birth settings.

[quote OhToBeASeahorse]@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.[/quote]
I'm sorry you had that experience. I really am.

But when I say tiny I mean tiny; the different between 2 midlife led units in the same area will be minuscule and IMO not enough to warrant risking any emergency treatment.

If fairy lights are the only difference, take your own fairy lights.

If it was just fairy lights, I'd agree with you. That's why I think OP should look at the outcomes for each and see if there is any difference.

Option 2. You can still plan the water birth but if something happens you can be dealt with there and then rather than having to transfer and use an ambulance.

Option 2. You have gas and air at home and Pethidine if you want it and you're near enough to hospital to get there quickly if you needed an emergency Caesarian.

The problem with both 2 and 3 is that you cant guarantee the water pool because someone else might get there first.

Could you hire your own? That's what I did for my first, though things didn't quite go according to plan and I never got to use it.

I also hired one for my second, which was a home birth, and it was brilliant. It was a smaller pool than the first time, but actually I think it was the depth that was important rather than the size and the small one was nice and deep.

Option 3

2 for me. My DD was born with her cord around her neck, I was in the labour suite (had to be induced) and they struggled to get her breathing, within minutes alarms were going off and the room was filled with doctors and everything was okay but I think I’d always want to be near a hospital just incase.

Option 2 would be my choice, as you’ve not given birth yet I won’t back it up with my birth story

It is so common to have complications with a first birth. I went to a midwife centre 10mins away all 3 times. 2 of those I got blue lighted to hospital. It was fine, but hospital is really important for new mums and babies. Birth isn't always easy.

@Merinocool

2 for me. My DD was born with her cord around her neck, I was in the labour suite (had to be induced) and they struggled to get her breathing, within minutes alarms were going off and the room was filled with doctors and everything was okay but I think I’d always want to be near a hospital just incase.

Babies often have the cord around their neck and the midwife slips it off.

@jessstan2

Quite clearly that posters experience was more than just a simple cord around the neck that could be slipped off.
Don't be so dismissive of people's voice.

@Fifthtimelucky

The problem with both 2 and 3 is that you cant guarantee the water pool because someone else might get there first.

Could you hire your own? That's what I did for my first, though things didn't quite go according to plan and I never got to use it.

I also hired one for my second, which was a home birth, and it was brilliant. It was a smaller pool than the first time, but actually I think it was the depth that was important rather than the size and the small one was nice and deep.

Sorry if I've got confused, but you hired your own water pool to use in the hospital?