Is it U to call an ambulance for labour if there is no immediate danger?

[Where4l]

Not first baby.

5-10 minute ride by taxi to the hospital or 15 mins (ish) by bus. No complications and not a high risk pregnancy. Plenty of time to get there by either of the above, as in baby not imminent, early labour but calls an ambulance to get to the hospital.

Unreasonable or not?

sorry, last sentence should have been "I suspect those who say it is unreasonable to take an ambulance..."

Completely unreasonable.

If labour isn’t full blown or and it’s a low risk pregnancy then get a taxi.

I rang the maternity unit at 20.20. They told me 3rd babies were unpredictable and to stay home as it didn't sound like I needed to go in. 40 minutes later my waters broke and I was pushing. Rang them Back and they told my husband to ring an ambulance straight away. Baby born at 21.13, paramedics arrived 5 minutes later Not sure if this was for cord cutting purposes as we both drive (paramedics were pretty pissed off that the 999 call handler had told my husband to tie off the cord with a shoe lace). After reading these comments I feel really guilty! Although I had zero control over the situation but it wasn't life or death.

If not in any imminent danger I'd get a taxi. I'd never get a bus, wouldn't get an ambulance unless I had no other option I.e danger

Ambulances are not cabs. Extremely unreasonable. If you or the person you are speaking for has this attitude, presumably you won't be bothered when no ambulances are available in actual emergencies?

You could walk it, that will help get your baby into position and out nice and fast! No neighbour that could drive you though?

@Cruiser123

My sister did this 😂 I don't think she was high risk. She lives about one hour away from the hospital and her boyfriend doesn't drive, so didn't have a car. I think she just didn't want to spend the money on a taxi. 😂

What a terrible sister you have. I'm guessing that when she or your nephew/niece have a life or death situation she won't mind if no ambulances available

@Regularsizedrudy

Righttt so it’s a story you’ve got second hand from your husband.. about his EX WIFE. I’m sure he’s been totally unbiased and factual in his retelling..🙄

This.

I always think you daft gullible thing when women talk about when their boyfriends slag off their ex

@Athlebad

A bus? While in labour? And have the waters break over the bus seat? No.

I got the bus when I was in labour with DC1, I was 5cm+ and a kind lady on the seat behind was applying pressure to my lower back for me and talking to me through the contractions (it was a back to back baby/labour and bloody horrible)

Would definitely not reccomend.

Luckily my waters didn't go until I was ready to push at the hospital.

I always think you daft gullible thing when women talk about when their boyfriends slag off their ex

Oh please shut up, did you read my subsequent posts? He has never slagged her off. This is about him thinking it's a perfectly reasonable thing to do, hence suggesting it to me as a viable option if I can't reach him at work and I go into spontaneous labour.

If I was on my own and genuinely felt like there was a very real risk I could start pushing in the taxi and had nobody else I could get to come round then yeah, I would. However it would be for safety reasons for the baby, no as a transportation solution

this seems to be part of the 'just in time' economy now, with all its attendant risks if any one thing does not function as desired.
in the past, mothers who were due would be taken into hosp/maternity home to await the birth in a calm environment.
nor were they thrown out asap, after the baby has been detached from their body.
but those were the old days. we know better now. don't we ?

I know this is was not the situation but…

• I’m pretty sure many taxi aren’t happy to take women in Labour - see the risk of water breaking etc… and the resulting ses in what is their income.

• buses aren’t great either for obvious reasons

• second babies can come much much faster than the first one. I hardly made it for my second. And actually an ambulance might well be the best answer because doing the Labour/giving birth all on your own instead can be dangerous both for baby and mum (then you are in that life emergency scenario)

Now would that i do just now knowing all the issues we have atm with hospitals and ambulances? No. But I can see how a few years ago, this was a good solution.
(A bit at more at loss at what she did her Dc1 who was sleeping though)

@Lessofallthisunpleasantness

You could walk it, that will help get your baby into position and out nice and fast! No neighbour that could drive you though?

Walk!?!

You must have had a very strange Labour of you were able to walk to go to hospital. I certainly wouldn’t have been able to 😂

@alexdgr8

this seems to be part of the 'just in time' economy now, with all its attendant risks if any one thing does not function as desired. in the past, mothers who were due would be taken into hosp/maternity home to await the birth in a calm environment. nor were they thrown out asap, after the baby has been detached from their body. but those were the old days. we know better now. don't we ?

In the old days the stillbirth rate was over 20%, children were born tiny due to insufficient nutrition and so died soon after birth, and women died in childbirth in far greater numbers than they do now. One of my aunts suffered theoufh 3 stillbirths and neonatal deaths in a row before a doctor recommended a ‘ground breaking’ treatment (taking folic acid) - she had 5 kids after that.

* ou must have had a very strange Labour of you were able to walk to go to hospital. I certainly wouldn’t have been able to*

All women should be able to walk in the first stages of labour. It’s as it approaches the second stage where it becomes difficult

Of course in a normal labour you can walk, certainly in the initial stage. Might have to stop for a contraction as they increase in strength. Then you walk again. I had DC4 in Germany where they strongly encouraged women to walk all over the hospital until the well into the second stage.

This is why when I was diagnosed with severe pre eclampsia I couldn't get an ambulance to hospital.
I was seriously ill and could have started having seizures any moment and my organs were already failing at 32 weeks but my gp couldn't get an ambulance for me for several hours. Luckily after many many phone calls someone was able to take me into hospital.
The midwives were horrified that I didn't come by ambulance but one also told me that they had 5 women come in that day by ambulance when they were in early labour and there was no need (all sent home again)

Well @goodbyestranger, I wouldn’t have been.

Just shows how everyone is different.
Or maybe that’s because in the U.K, you can’t go there unless your Labour is well established, which means contractions very close together already.
When I had dc2, even going to the ward was a challenge with many stops for contractions along the way. I’m not sure I would have liked to make a spectacle of myself in the street either.

Probably not that different, physically, Energy4You. The five women referred to in Mammy's post above no doubt thought they were 'different' too, that things were so much worse for them than for others. The hospital said different.

@Energy4You

Well *@goodbyestranger*, I wouldn’t have been.

Just shows how everyone is different.
Or maybe that’s because in the U.K, you can’t go there unless your Labour is well established, which means contractions very close together already.
When I had dc2, even going to the ward was a challenge with many stops for contractions along the way. I’m not sure I would have liked to make a spectacle of myself in the street either.

Still doesn’t mean you can call an ambulance. Stopping for contractions is not a medical emergency.

Hi, your (occasionally friendly) ambulance controller here...

Unless you are in imminent labour, part of the baby is presenting, there is a large haemorrhage, a cord prolapse, or a defined high risk labour; then you are being very unreasonable to call an ambulance for standard labour.

To bust a few misconceptions...

there is no such thing as ambulances standing by whilst you're in labour, christ, we can't get to people in life threatening situations let alone stand by in case one occurs.

the poster that advises to call an ambulance and let the experts decide - they are call handlers following a computer based algorithm, I mean they're blood fantastic, but certainly not experts. Computer says yes ultimately because it's not sophisticated enough to say no. (The person does need medical care, but they do not need a blue light emergency vehicle)

if you call in my area, the current wait time for a non obstetric emergency would be in excess of 5 hours, potentuly up to 18... I'm fairly sure the vast majority of people can make their own way before then, regardless of your distance to hospital, or your partner needing to return from work.

yes, I will absolutely call you back to be brutally honest and tell you how long you're likely to wait.

yes, calling an ambulance in this situation means someone else in a life threatening position is left waiting potentially for hours, they could even die.

'some' midwives that tell you they'll send you an ambulance literally have no idea how the system works, they can indeed request an ambulance for you, but unless they're going to come and physically locate and assign one, the decision as to who gets the next available ambulance is still mine, and honestly I'm sending on the arrests, strokes, fits, heart attacks, and Betty that's been on the floor for 18 hours first.

If it's a true emergency I absolutely will try to prioritise your case, I'll even send one ambulance for mom and one for baby if I need to, I'll call crews at hospital and I'll put out broadcasts to ensure you and your baby are safe, but the people that use us as a taxi rather than highly trained medical intervention need to realise someone else may actually die because you didn't want to ruin someone's car seats, or you didn't put £1 a week away for your 9 months to ensure you could get there yourself.

The situation in ambulance services access the country at present is critical, its not unheard of for patients to wait over 24 hours for an emergency crew to arrive. I had zero resources to send to a blue child yesterday. None. For 2 hours. I has zero resources to send to a gentleman quite clearly having a hear attack for almost 3 hours. None. Then when a crew cleared I had to choose between them, and that's without considering the other 300 patients waiting for who there were also zero ambulances available.

We are broken. Please, please think carefully.

Totally Unreasonable

@Neenaw999

Hi, your (occasionally friendly) ambulance controller here...

Unless you are in imminent labour, part of the baby is presenting, there is a large haemorrhage, a cord prolapse, or a defined high risk labour; then you are being very unreasonable to call an ambulance for standard labour.

To bust a few misconceptions...

there is no such thing as ambulances standing by whilst you're in labour, christ, we can't get to people in life threatening situations let alone stand by in case one occurs.

the poster that advises to call an ambulance and let the experts decide - they are call handlers following a computer based algorithm, I mean they're blood fantastic, but certainly not experts. Computer says yes ultimately because it's not sophisticated enough to say no. (The person does need medical care, but they do not need a blue light emergency vehicle)

if you call in my area, the current wait time for a non obstetric emergency would be in excess of 5 hours, potentuly up to 18... I'm fairly sure the vast majority of people can make their own way before then, regardless of your distance to hospital, or your partner needing to return from work.

yes, I will absolutely call you back to be brutally honest and tell you how long you're likely to wait.

yes, calling an ambulance in this situation means someone else in a life threatening position is left waiting potentially for hours, they could even die.

'some' midwives that tell you they'll send you an ambulance literally have no idea how the system works, they can indeed request an ambulance for you, but unless they're going to come and physically locate and assign one, the decision as to who gets the next available ambulance is still mine, and honestly I'm sending on the arrests, strokes, fits, heart attacks, and Betty that's been on the floor for 18 hours first.

If it's a true emergency I absolutely will try to prioritise your case, I'll even send one ambulance for mom and one for baby if I need to, I'll call crews at hospital and I'll put out broadcasts to ensure you and your baby are safe, but the people that use us as a taxi rather than highly trained medical intervention need to realise someone else may actually die because you didn't want to ruin someone's car seats, or you didn't put £1 a week away for your 9 months to ensure you could get there yourself.

The situation in ambulance services access the country at present is critical, its not unheard of for patients to wait over 24 hours for an emergency crew to arrive. I had zero resources to send to a blue child yesterday. None. For 2 hours. I has zero resources to send to a gentleman quite clearly having a hear attack for almost 3 hours. None. Then when a crew cleared I had to choose between them, and that's without considering the other 300 patients waiting for who there were also zero ambulances available.

We are broken. Please, please think carefully.

This is all made up.

@Ozanj

You OK hun?