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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To expect to be able to park at the hospital when in labour?

295 replies

Therareotherbooks · 07/03/2019 15:09

Last few antenatal appointments there hasn’t been a single car parking space on hospital site. The nearest on street spot I managed to find was 1/4 mile away and I had to call a taxi from the road side to drive me to the hospital doors.

I am now terrified about what will happen when I’m in labour. Obviously my DH will be with me so can drop me off but if he then has to go and park miles away I could be on my own for ages.

AIBU to expect there to be some designated car parking for women in labour?!

OP posts:
MeAgainAgain · 08/03/2019 10:13

This is the issue when resources are pushed, whether it's ward space or parking space or doctor time or whatever.

Becomes a race to the bottom.

Not the right answer.

TedAndLola · 08/03/2019 10:15

The whole thread is about the OP wanting to be prioritised for resources against all other patients. It's a bit ridiculous to suggest that's not what the thread is about.

TedAndLola · 08/03/2019 10:16

I'd like to hear the OP's answer to my question. It will answer HER question of whether she's being reasonable or not.

TaMereAPoilDevantPrisu · 08/03/2019 10:18

Well TBH if OP has rapid labours I'd be thinking again about a homebirth in her shoes. I'd certainly be getting someone in to sit with DS until the grandparents arrived rather than waiting 90 minutes for them to turn up.

MeAgainAgain · 08/03/2019 10:19

So you do think she's evil.

OK then.

If I was her I'd be worrying too.

Lots of people put general anxieties onto things like worrying about the journey or parking, this is very common.

OP has already said she will get her DH to drop her and then go off and park down the road and come back again. Does this not answer your question?

Your continuing insistence that she confirm or deny whether she wants CHILDREN to DIE in order to save herself a bit of inconvenience is, well, not helpful.

LakieLady · 08/03/2019 10:21

One of my EX boyfriends was a taxi driver at the taxi company of his parents. They have done plenty of long trips. It costs money, yes, but you've had 9 months to save up for it.

My neighbour recently had to get a taxi to our nearest hospital, 10 miles away. It cost her £35, and that was during the day. Given the tendency of labours to start in the night, when taxis charge loads more, I dread to think what OP's 30 mile taxi trip might cost.

And that's if she can even get a taxi at short notice during the night. Our local taxi firms don't operate 24/7, other than for prebooked journeys.

MeAgainAgain · 08/03/2019 10:21

TaMere she's already ruled out a homebirth, and her situation with arranging things to get to hosp seems to be fairly fixed, if there were a better way of doing it she would presumably have organised it.

I'm not sure it's helpful that's all. 1 in 50 is not rare but it's not highly likely either.

pinkgloves · 08/03/2019 10:23

@MeAgainAgain

Or just worried about giving birth to her first child?

It's not her first child. Hmm

MeAgainAgain · 08/03/2019 10:23

OP has already said that
Taxis in her area must be prebooked
They dont' operate after 7pm or on Sundays
And it's a 50 min drive which is not going to be cheap

Even if the cab driver is prepared to take a labouring woman on a drive that long, not sure they'd be up for it anyway.

And prebooking is impossible so cab is out.

TedAndLola · 08/03/2019 10:23

MeAgainAgain

Are you okay? You're making things up and don't seem to realise they're only in your own head. Bit worrying.

MeAgainAgain · 08/03/2019 10:25

Ooops Pink my bad.

It is indeed her second child.

That definitly means she's evil then.

pinkgloves · 08/03/2019 10:26

There are some right harridans on here, actually. Or teenagers. Who the hell calls a pregnant woman a drama lllama because she is worried about labour parking logistics? Or the 'ooh why can't you walk, so you have SPD or something' passive aggression. Really, so unpleasant.

No but to be fussing and expecting preferential treatment to save her husband doing a quarter of a mile walk whilst she's in the care of a fully capable medical team is bloody ridiculous.

MeAgainAgain · 08/03/2019 10:26

lol Ted

No I think it's other people who aren't reading.

And are just enjoying having a go at OP.

TaMereAPoilDevantPrisu · 08/03/2019 10:27

Yes I know she has, just saying in her shoes I'd reassess as nearly giving birth in the car is not fun. I provided the one in fifty statistic because someone upthread said rapid labours were very rare. They're not and I think OP has already had one which makes a second likely. Having been in her shoes there's no fucking way I'd be hanging around at home when my contractions started.

Also lolling at the people on this thread's idea of rural public transport / taxi services on tap / saving up for the taxi. Yes because when you're pregnant with your second you usually have loads of spare cash to earmark for that sort of thing.

itswinetime · 08/03/2019 10:29

There are special spaces for women in labour. It's the 20 minute drop off spaces that are there outside the maternity unit. That allows the pregnant women the patient to be dropped off and booked in then the car can be sorted. Same as the a&e drop off spaces they are there to allow the patients that need help fast to be dropped off and get sorted while someone else moves the car.

What you want it seems is designated spaces close to the maternity unit that are available for the use of pregnant women the whole time they are in labour (possibly days) so they don't have to be left at all. And also when attending appointments. That would be hundreds of spaces needed. No site has that much space just for parking. And at what point do the spaces need to be vacated as soon as the baby is born? When the mum is discharged? It would be a practical nightmare! The only solution is the one in place drop off slots. It may not be perfect but I can't see a better practical solution.

SinkGirl · 08/03/2019 10:39

Why should someone in labour get a parking space over someone who's parent/child is dying?
Or a patient getting treatment for a serious medical problem.

I really hate this attitude. Labour is extremely painful, patients are told to stay at home as long as possible and until in active labour, so often women are coming to hospital when things are already far along and very painful - the most pain I’ve ever had was severe gallbladder infection with pancreatitis and a near amputated arm, both of which got me into hospital in an ambulance - I wasn’t worrying about where to park and trying to walk from there!

Also, some pregnant women are seriously ill - I was, and so was one of my twins. Thank goodness we were able to park right outside the unit.

I spent a great deal of time visiting my son in NICU, every day for two months when he was seriously ill - I didn’t need a parking space more than someone in agony, I had time to figure out the best way / time to get there.

MeAgainAgain · 08/03/2019 10:42

"There are special spaces for women in labour. It's the 20 minute drop off spaces that are there outside the maternity unit. "

Is this true of all hospitals?

I don't remember that at ours, it was a few years ago though.

I would be surprised if that's the case in hosps in Central London for eg

MeAgainAgain · 08/03/2019 10:50

TaMere she's ruled out a home birth though so your posts won't do anything except potentially stress her out.

AngelOfDeathNix · 08/03/2019 11:02

Our local hospital has multiple car parks, but still there is often a queue time of about an hour as it's one in/one out and the queue stretches off site! There are two 20 minute spaces outside maternity (with clever parking, you can get four cars in these), but maternity is the opposite end to the site entrance, so you have to sit in traffic anyway! Worst part is, there is a staff carpark opposite where people think it's fine to park, stopping staff being able to park. Also, people parking in the ambulance bay at the front of our maternity department are also a problem as we run a neonatal emergency retrieval team and have obstetric emergencies transferred in. It's often not easy to get parked safely to unload.

It's really no big deal for your husband to drop you at the entrance and then park elsewhere, he might get lucky with a space onsite, if not, he's only going to be a few minutes. Could one of your parents drop you off when they come to take care of your other child?

Anothertempusername · 08/03/2019 11:25

Mumsnet at its best, this thread. How very dare you want a stress free birth experience, OP.

YANBU. Of course you should be able to park at or very close to a hospital. It's shit that you can't.

To everyone saying the OP is a drama llama, shame on you. Dig a little deeper for some solidarity.

domton · 08/03/2019 11:59

Yes.
I can understand wanting a stress free birth, and it could be nice to be able to park close. But if parking 1/4 mile away is going to cause that much stress...

I'd like to have stress free rheumatogy appointments, where I don't have to drive around for 20 minutes, then walk for 20 minutes through the hospital in treats because my joints are hurting.

I'd have liked a stress-free admittance to the stroke ward last week, not having to wait about 5 hours to be admitted.

In the scheme of things though, we just manage all these things surely? They are not major. I know parking is a nightmare at both my main hospitals and just plan accordingly. Not ideal, but it's the reality.

Dungeondragon15 · 08/03/2019 16:01

Why should someone in labour get a parking space over someone who's parent/child is dying?
Or a patient getting treatment for a serious medical problem.

As someone who often visits a hosptial for a serious medical condition I am quite happy with the idea of spaces being prioritised for women who are in active labour. Obviously if the dh has time to move the car without missing the birth he should do that but if not I can't see why someone giving birth shouldn't be a priority of the great majority of other visitors.

Original poster
Therareotherbooks · 08/03/2019 16:03

@TedAndLola

Do you think you deserve or need a space more than people undergoing chemo? More than patients with heart failure? More than patients with spinal stenosis? More than patients with arthritis?

At no point have I said I am more deserving than the situations you suggested. Routine appointments are easier to plan for but still deserve to be able to park and have a hassle free time as much as possible. It seems parking at all hospitals is a bit of a nightmare and it’s such a shame as anyone attending hospital should be able to do so as accessibly as possible.

I started the thread as I was feeling a little anxious about the upcoming birth but clearly it has sparked something in some people!

OP posts:
Dungeondragon15 · 08/03/2019 16:07

In the scheme of things though, we just manage all these things surely? They are not major. I know parking is a nightmare at both my main hospitals and just plan accordingly. Not ideal, but it's the reality.

That's the difference though. You can plan for your appointment and leave in plenty of time as can I when I have a medical appointment at the hospital. That's not always possible when in labour and given OP has some distance to travel she may not be able to plan accordingly.

ivykaty44 · 08/03/2019 16:20

Even at 4mph 1/4 mile is 15 minutes.

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃

If you walk at 4mph you will be walking 1mile every 15 minutes and therefore after 7:30 minutes you would cover half a mile and covering a quarter of a mile would take 3:45 minutes