Please talk to me about your experiences giving birth in a stand alone MLU

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I am due next week with DC1 and am booked into a local stand alone midwife-led unit.

I know that debates on mn can get very polarised with homebirth vs hospital often discussed... , but can anyone share their experiences of stand alone MLUs?

Thanks!

Both my births in stand-alone units worked really well, helped me to relax like no hospital would have done. I had a retained placenta for DC1 so had a transfer to hospital to get it removed, but it was no big deal. DH stayed with the baby while it was done. With DD1 we were all home 7 hours after the birth, with DD2 it was 3 hours.

There were two midwives on hand for both births. One of them I had seen for ante-natal checks throughout the pregnancy so I knew her well.

I'm not in the UK, though, so can't give you any concrete advice about particular places.

I had my DD at stand alone MLU (Barkantine in Tower Hamlets). It was amazing and I am hoping to be there again in a couple of months time for DC2

• lovely room with double bed
• private bathroom
• huge birthing pool
• 2 lovely midwives with me throughout
• lots of help the next day (baby born at 10pm) with breast feeding
• Husband allowed to stay over afterwards
• nurse who helped me get to the loo / shower etc

It was so nice we were worried we'd be presented with bill as we left!

I can not praise the staff enough. I was lucky and had a water birth with no other pain relief so all very straight forwards. We were home within 24 hours and could have left sooner if we had wanted. On the other hand we could have stayed another night and as it is your own private room you have none of the noise etc of post natal wards.

Good luck and enjoy!

Echo what becko says.

Stand alone MLUs have an exemplary safety record too - they have too, otherwise they wouldn't be allowed to stay open. I't as safe, or safer than hospital, a million times more pleasant, and will support you in having a natural birth.

whoops, have to

Thank you all for your responses - I've been really impressed by what I've seen so far at the one we hope to go to (the William Julien Courtauld in Braintree, Essex). I've been on a couple of visits and love the fact that there are only two delivery rooms!

In that case, have you checked how often both rooms are in use and what you would have to do if that were the case when you went into labour?

Yes, I've been told that most often only one of the rooms is in use at any one time but that if they really needed to they could use the day assessment room and at a stretch one of their postnatal rooms!

Ideally I'd like to use the pool and the the mw I spoke to last week said that in the year she has been there she knew of two people who couldn't use it (they only have the one).

I imagine that if you rang up and both rooms were already in use, they would ask you to go to the hospital instead - would be disappointed but it wouldn't be the end of the world!

I went to a stand alone MLU - the deciding factor for me was that I was guaranteed one on one midwife care. The day I went into labour they were busier than they have ever been and I was left on my own with my husband for most of my labour. Turned out to be fine and luckily my labour was very straight forward, but it wasn't what I signed up for and I didn't get to use the pool as I'd planned because they didn't have the staff.
However, the facilities were very good and I felt comfortable there. They were also very encouraging in the whole active birth thing which I liked. (it was the EBC)

Only one delivery room in the MLU I went to - so you had to time your delivery not to clash with anyone else' It was a lovely, homely 8 bed unit, the perfect place to give birth.

Seriously, if the need arose, they would simply use another room - apparently that happened now and again, but mostly there would be a maximum of only one actual delivery per day.

I had a fantastic birth in midwife unit. Much much nicer surroundings and more care than in hospital. Can't fault it. But ds had blood sugar probs afterwards and we ended up in shithole hospital anyway. Worth checking out the nearest hospital to the unit as well, just in case.As they take you to the nearest hospital if there are probs, rather than to hosp of choice. (Thats what happened to me anyway). Next baby I am going to a different hospital as although I would love to go back to the birthing unit, I don't want to run risk of ending up in the same, massive hospital again.