London: childbirth and tube strikes - transport

[blondecat]

DH went into a be prepared stage - he studied the dad to be book I bought him and is making contingency plans

All v good but in the interest of not being embarrassed to death we need advice - here's the situation he worries about:

I go into labour early while he is travelling
It's a tube strike day so it is impossible to get a taxi or even get through to a cab company
None of our family live in the country, our friends are working and stuck or too far out

What do we do?

His solutions so far
He bribes a doorman of nearby hotel to drop everything and drive me using our car to hospital
He gets me a chauffeur for a month - I suggested he may just as well get me a bodyguard on the ridiculousness scale and he thought it might be a good idea as the man could lift and carry things for me

Then he said "there must be a solution. There are cat sitters. So there must be companies for this"
Like wife sitters.

Anyone has sane tips? Saner than his?
Anyone tried walking to hospital? Ours is 25 minutes away for me now I can see it would take longer if one was in labour. Am I being crazy for thinking of this?

I don't want to call and ambulance unless it is a real emergency, eg if something Is going badly wrong

Sorry blondecat - I had to have a little laugh at this, I think your DH needs to settle a little!

Right, just to be clear. He's trying ot plan for a day when a) he is away and b) the tube is down. Cos if he's around, presuambly he can just drive you - you say you have a car - or otherwise escort you.

So, if it is just you

a) yes, you could walk. Walking during labour is supposed to be good for you - mobile labour etc. Although, you would also be taking your hospital bag too. I had a home birth, but otherwise I was going to walk in to the hopsital in labour - c15 mins.

b) bus?

c) I'm not sure that taxis companies are flat out on tube strike days - especially not to a woman in labour

d) get a friend or neighbour to drive you in

e) call your community MW and see if she could help bring you in and/or ambulance

Mostly I think I might gently suggest that DH doesn;t travel at the time of the likely birth.... After all, if you go into labour well ahead of schedule, then actually you probably do justify an ambulance.

Lol, where in London are you?

When I was due with ds1, dh was paranoid that if I needed an ambulance it wouldnt get through the traffic going to the Ally Pally fireworks

When i was 8months pg with ds2, we took ds1 to the Cbeebies roadshow on the other side of London, on the first day of a tubestrike My master plan was to sleep at dh's work if we really couldnt get home, which freaked him beyond all belief!!

Btw, a tube strike is a pain, but it doesnt stop ambulances getting through!

If you go into labour and you're alone and can't get a lift ( e.g. with friends/family) or get a taxi, you are supposed to call an ambulance.

Thank you. I am glad you laughed - I did too. And cringed as he laid out his plans last night.

I am glad to know to hear what I suspected i.e. I may well be able to walk. And it may even be good for me - after all the books say a gentle walk around might be just what the doc/midwife ordered!

Are we really allowed an ambulance? I read that childbirth is not considered an emergency. Then again if I am v early it may well be one.

DH is lovely. He is planning to drive me. And then get our car towed (he thinks hospital car park is too far). He is also refusing all travel in the 2 weeks around EDD (saw his blackberry agenda - delivery date - luckily he did not put a time) but he just clocked that baby might be uncooperative and arrive early or late. And he cannot refuse over a six week period. Sigh.

Why can't he park the car? I don't get that. Getting your car towed will only mean you have issues getting home and then after the birth.

Normal labour is not an emergency. Going into labour alone with no means of getting to the hospital/MLU is an emergency unless you're having a planned homebirth and so the medical professionals are set up to come to you.

I don't think you could walk. By the time your labour is fully established and you need to go to the hospital, your ctx could be every 3-4 minutes and lasting a minute at a time. And you may struggle to stand up without help during a ctx, so walking on your own isn't an option.

If your DH is around, then he can take you in, so no need for the ambulance.

Chatting up the hotel staff now could be a Good Thing: a competent concierge can come up with just about anything. Ditto any neighbour who is halfway friendly - people ususlly rally round really well.

And find out if there is a cab firm nearby - walking to the hospital might be too much, but getting to them (and contracting in their office) will probably get you their next available driver.

Good luck - and hope none of this is necessary and DH is around on the day.

Agreed. Normal childbirth with someone to help you, don;t call an ambulance (or at least be prepared that they may charge you for it).

Very early childbirth or otherwise stuck and unattended, then do. Although Comm MWs might be a better place to start.

Are you going to do antenatal classes at the hospital or a hospital tour? Questions about the logistics of parking etc are usually answered then. Although, if you are in central London I'd be tempted with a cab, saves fuss over parking.

And as for timimg his trips, then put one in 2/3 weeks before EDD and one in 3/4 weeks after EDD so as to maximise window of availability.

Also, don't let him go just after you stop work (if you are working). There are many anecdotes of women who work on Friday of, say, 37 weeks, and go into labour on the Saturday.

I think the idea of decent neighbours is the best. I had my parents here the second time around since my husband does not drive. My mum drove me to hospital but being from the other end of the country and the first time ever that she drove in London she did not feel reliable about finding her way back. Our lovely neighbour (whose wife was also about to give birth), came with us so that my mum would not get lost.

I cannot believe that my mum who pretty much refuses to drive anywhere unfamiliar (who is 72 years old) drove me to hospital. (sorry a little off track there)

Firstly, don't forget you will probably have hours of notice. The average first labour is 16 hours, and that is active labour (i.e. post 3cm). You will probably be aware things are on the move in more than enough time, and the hospital won't want to see you too early anyhow, you are best off labouring at home for as long as you can, rather than rushing into hospital to be sent home again.

If you think things are going too fast and you are at risk of an unplanned home birth, you are very much within your rights to call the midwives and ask for someone to attend you, however... you would be better advised to call an ambulance if you think time is short. When I was planning my homebirth my midwife advised me that if things were going faster than expected, and we didn't think she would get there in time, we should call an ambulance, as ambulances travel faster than midwives (who don't get the blue lights and have to stick to speed limits) and are trained to attend births - they don't even have to take you in to hospital, they can pop 'round and help you deliver at home. Either way, if you are on the verge of giving birth, and have no way to get into hospital, you are entitled to an ambulance.

Another option is a hospital car. If you rang your maternity unit explaining that you needed to get in but had no one to drive you, the hospital would be able to arrange patient transport (either a volunteer in a car, or a non-emergency ambulance) - My GP arranged this for me when I needed to go to hospital with appendicitis, all health trusts have them, to help old people get to hospital appointments etc when they are too ill to go by bus.