To think sister shouldn't have DC2 in a hospital an hour away?

[alwaysreallytired]

My sister lives in Brisbane, Australia. Her 2nd baby is due in three weeks and I've just found out that they're planning on having their baby in a hospital an hour from their home, in Brisbane CBD. They have chosen this hospital over a nearer one, as they can have the baby's cord blood collected there, but not at the nearer hospital. She says that they have the kit to collect the cord blood and that her husband could do it anyway, so I don't understand why they can't just go to their nearest hospital and then just get her husband or a midwife to do it there.

I'm really worried that my sister might end up having the baby en-route and the baby or mother needing immediate medical attention. What if the baby needs help breathing? What if my sister has a haemorrhage?

I think my sister may be putting both her baby and herself at unnecessary risk by not going to their closest hospital. Am I being unreasonable to think this?

[TeggieCampbeggBlegg]

I think she should have it at home. I also think that all the blood in the cord and placenta should go to the baby and not saved just-in-case.

However it is none of my business and her choice.

[DoJo]

I live 15 minutes from a hospital, but when the maternity unit was closed because of an outbreak of norovirus, the one I would have been sent to is a 50-60 minute drive away.

[ratspeaker]

Try not to worry OP
They've made their choice, presumably they will have planned what to do when labour starts

In the UK many people live over an hour from the nearest hospital,some in rural areas, some where "centralisation" has taken place
With the shrinkage of bed numbers in maternity it has been known for women in labour to be sent to hospitals many many miles away in spite of having units in their area when said units are full
I know of one mum in prem labour sent from near Edinburgh to Kilmarnock

[CinnabarRed]

Nope, no difference in my mind between having to travel an hour and choosing to travel an hour.

OP, face it - you're on a hiding to nothing here!

All the best to your sister though!

[Startail]

Hour each way from my old welsh home town. Both with mountains that are probably impassable with snow today.

My elderly parents get sent to Birmingham, two hours away for relatively routine tests.

[5eggstremelychocaletymadeggs]

taggie you can still do delayed cord clamping so the baby gets the blood and then do stem cell/cord blood collection.

I always waited for cord to stop pulsating etc with mine and researched this revently and you can still do this and do cord blood collection.

[SolomanDaisy]

YABU, but it's understandable that you're worried about your sister and her baby, especially when you're so far away from them. Is there a particular reason they're collecting cord blood? If so, I can see that might make you more anxious.

[MrsKeithRichards]

I live 30 mins from my nearest hospital but choose to go to the one an hour away because my first was born there. I was meant to go to the closest one with ds1 but when I called up when I was in labour I was told these was no room for me so we had to make like Mary and Joseph and drive to the other one.

Fantastic birth experience, much quieter, one midwife start to finish so for my second I choose to make the journey!

[SolomanDaisy]

Teggie, cord blood donation can save lives. I looked into it, but you have to give birth in a few specific locations, which is a shame.

[AnOeufUniversallyEggnowledged]

If you Google 'cords for life' or 'charlie beard harris' (warning: v sad) you will find lots of reasons that cord donation is so incredible and about the campaign to get it into more uk hospitals.

[LadyBeagleEyes]

I'm an hour away from a Tesco Toasttoppers, even further from proper High Street shops.

[ENSMUM]

I had a very long labour with DC1. dC2 however was so quick I didn't make it out of the house, wouldn't have made a difference if hospital was 10 mins or 3 hours away. Can't plan for every eventuality, but in all likelihood an hour will be fine and they have good reasons for their choice. Surely if things are progressing quicker than expected they will be able to change to nearer hospital?

[Jojobump1986]

From my 2 minutes of googling, I'm assuming cord blood can't be collected at a homebirth in the UK? That's a shame. I'd quite happily let someone have it!

OP, if it makes you feel any better, my dad thinks IABU for having a homebirth when there's a perfectly good insanely busy, recently closed for deep cleaning after a baby died of a water-borne bug hospital just a few minutes drive away!

[GirlOutNumbered]

I live an hour away from two choices. It's not that unusual

[SavoyCabbage]

Perhaps the first hospital is teeny tiny. I live in Melbourne, in the suburbs and some people have their babies in the close-by public/free hospital and others in the bigger hospitals in the city. The last friend of mine who had a baby was telling people she was having a "free baby".

[TeggieCampbeggBlegg]

IM(admittedly limited) E cord blood is collected by private companies for personal use in the future 'just in case'. They generally need to collect at least 35ml. This is only possible if you clamp and cut very early. It is also rather intrusive to have a complete stranger hovvering wsiting through your labour, then taking maternal blood asap while she is needing suturing or trying to feed.

I know that it can be donated for research/stem cell transplants in certain places but they are very few and far between.
Obviously if you are going to early clamp and then throw it away it is brtter to actually use it but I stand by my belief that it is blood and stem cells thst baby needs now.

But it is still her choice. If that what she wants then that is fine.

[MurderOfGoths]

Our nearest hospital is 45mins away as well (if traffic is quiet) and we're hardly in the middle of nowhere, they're closing maternity wards all over the place :(

[TeggieCampbeggBlegg]

Also, if your hospital isn't one of the few eho do routinely collect cord blood the midwives probably aren't alliwed to do it, ecen if you have the kit available - hence the need for stranger phlebotomist hovvering at the door.

[VisualiseAHorse]

I live in Aberdeenshire. Now the MLU is closing, the nearest hospital is 2 hours drive. If there's no traffic.

[mrsjay]

our local hospital closed and a spanlking new 1 was built but it is an hour away from some people , I am sure your sister knows what she is doing try and not worry it will be fine and they have ambulnaces in Australia

[VisualiseAHorse]

But you could 'choose' here last year - the MLU is 40 minutes, the hospital is 2 hours away. If you chose the hospital, you chose to have a longer journey.

40 minutes in fast contraction labour on a windy country road was fun ;) So glad the pool was ready when I got to the MLU!

[VisualiseAHorse]

Oh, and I'm 1 hour 30 mins from a Tescos :)

[InVeryveryBadTaste]

Nearest and only hospital is 1hr 1/2 away (80miles, 160 mile round trip), as is the supermarket highlands of scotland

Where do you live that means you are soo close to one?! Am interested.

I see that you are worried about your sister but I'm sure they have given it a lot of thought.