To question the "partners only in active labour" current NHS policy?

[RainMinusBow]

Define "active labour." How can this be determined?

I honestly think if I was close to term with ds2 or ds3 now, I'd plan an unassisted birth.

In many places home birth is being discouraged in case of problems where emergency transfer to hospital is needed and there are not enough paramedics

If you won't allow them to determine active labour by default no visitors

Please bear in mind about home births that if God forbid something went wrong, there is a huge shortage of ambulances at the moment.

Of course you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do, and midwives will always stand by the fact that it’s the woman’s choice. I can’t see a world where there’s a midwife at the door saying sorry you can’t come in until we do a VE.

Instead of asking on here, to people who aren’t midwives or are working within maternity but could be in any hospital other than yours, I strongly suggest you get in touch with your community midwife or the hospital in some other way who I’m sure will be more than happy to clarify for you!

I’m sorry OP I understand this is a really stressful time & must be really worrying for you not knowing what will happen. Hopefully if you speak to them they can reassure you!

Well my contractions were all over the place. And because of this the hospital told me to stay at home.
I ended up having lo in an ambulance on my road.
Worse was that they couldn't do VE, so I had no idea if it was right to push or not: I was stuck having to guess.
As this wasn't my first pregnancy, I remember a midwife previously telling me not to push because I wanted to but to push when I couldn't prevent it.

So there's me scared and stuck not knowing what to do.

You may not want a VE but they are important.

People haven't got time for bullshit now, go in have the baby let them see if you're in active labour and have a visitor if not crack on have no visitor either way have the baby as safely and quickly as possible and get home.

It is your right not to have VE. Never feel pressured into having something done to your body that you don't want.

But then you don't get a birth partner. That's the reality.

It's a global pandemic. Everyone is put out. Actual lives have to be put first. Not comfort or wants.

@Gibbonsgibbonsgibbons Awesome. So I guess what I could ask my Trust is if I would be made to have one? I still don't know exactly why mw's need to know how far dilated I am at any point?

Nobody will make you have one.

You need to decide do you not want one more than you want a birth partner.

OP, do what you like but don’t expect anyone to change the rules for you because you are being difficult. In some areas, if you haven’t already elected for home birth you now cannot either. No one wants to be in this situation, we are all sacrificing for the health of others so accept this is not a choice.

@Buffalocauliflower I assume it is to protect the midwives and other patients as they bounce around. More people, greater chance of cross infection to otherwise healthy births/newborns?

Thanks all. We're sticking with the IM and homebirth option 😊

Ideally we like to know if you're in established labour as otherwise you may take a delivery room and a midwife unnecessarily. For how long? 2 hours? 3 days? 2 weeks?

A VE is a useful tool, not the only tool but certainly has its uses.

I hope you manage to find the best solution for you.

Our home birth and mlu are suspended at present. Yes it's rubbish but we cannot safely staff it.

@Jojo19834 Not being difficult, making an informed choice regarding what I believe is the safest place to deliver MY baby. I see a some of your point about ladies choosing to hb in light of purely cv, but we booked to have hb in August.

@FootInTheRave Thank you, I thought in a hospital setting it might be due to room availability. At least at home this isn't an issue.

A a final examination has ots uses but is not the only wayto assess labour.

It can give you (and the midwife) a guide to how the Labour is progressing.
It can tell the midwife the baby is head down and the position of the baby’s head. Some head positions can mean longer labours.
It can rule out things such as cord prolapses.(very rare).

Beyond that as a midwife I never found them vital, you just know when a woman is in labour by her behaviour and the contractions,

Much more important is how the baby copes with the labour hence giving birth unassisted can be a massive risk.

Absolutely your choice where to give birth. The point about ambulance availability is one you need to think about (I feel for any woman due to give birth at the moment) but you would be a priority if you needed to transfer,

@Walkingtohealth So helpful, thank you. I didn't think VE'S were vital.

@Walkingtohealth Is the best way to determine how baby is coping to listen in? Thank you so much for your advice x

OP, I fully appreciate your right to choose to decline VEs, however, this is absolutely not blackmail and it is outrageous for you to suggest it. You are not the only patient being told this - it is a nationwide decision to try and keep people safe and alive. Not to mention the staff.

You are probably stressed and anxious with your impending labour but please, I beg you, don’t be that person on the labour ward complaining about this.

Yes I’d always advise monitoring the baby and response to labour in some way, The midwife will be listening for things like decelerations in the heart beat and where these occur (if they do) in response to contractions.

'Rights' do not trump safety.

Rights trump everything. That's the point of them. They are fundamental. You have the right, as a birthing mother and human being, to refuse any medical treatment, provided you have the mental capacity to understand the options being presented to you and the potential consequences of each of these.

@BrooHaHa I agree. So if my Trust were to say "VE or no partner" (and this hasn't been clarified), is that lawful?

Absolutely. But there is no right to having a Birthing partner in a hospital. There is one patient. They have rights.

Yes. It's lawful