IVF pregnancy not allowed MLU birth?

[FatimaLovesBread]

Im due to give birth in November after conceiving using IVF. I hadn't really thought about where I wanted to give birth previously, just assumed I'd come to that decision during the pregnancy.
At my booking in appointment my midwife told me that as I was an IVF pregnancy I would have to give birth at the LDRP labour ward with no choice. She said it is trust policy for IVF birth to go to the CLU as there is an increased risk of still birth.

When I questioned her about the MLU she did say that she didn't think the evidence was hugely convincing but that the trust had its policy. She did think that if the pregnancy was problem free I could put a case forward for the MLU.

I'm not too bothered at the moment, but until I have tours I'm also not massively aware of the differences.

Has anyone heard or experienced IVF births only being on a labour ward? And have any information about the reasoning behind it?

I've heard of this once on another forum and thought it was ridiculous.

Depending on the reason for ivf (male factor, female factor/egg problem or carrying problems) it's really going to depend if you are a "risk".

Have your clinic 'signed you off'?

I had egg donation via ivf and my clinic scanned me at 7 weeks and then basically said - you're a 'normal' pregnancy and under community midwife. I told her my background, she had no issues with me and I was labelled as 'low risk'.

I couldn't find any evidence that ivf made the birth more risky, but I could be wrong (only had trusty google to search )

I would highly recommend reading Maggie Howell's book Effective Birth Preperation (can't link as on phone). If you've had ivf and feel anything like me (thinking body has failed previously, it's going to fail again during pregnancy) this book changed my thought process entirely.

I laboured and birthed our daughter naturally, on a midwife led centre at 41+2 with gas and air. My body did what it was suppose to do which I thought for years that it couldn't hope that makes sense and doesn't sound smug, hopefully you know what I mean if you've had ivf

All the best

I had an IVF pregnancy with minor complications during pregnancy for myself and also lost a twin in the early stages. I was still given the option of an MLU birth. However, I was at one of the best hospitals in the area.

Where are they getting their data from. There is some evidence that older women are more likely to have still births, and due to age, are also more likely to have had to resort to IVF to conceive. But that doesn't mean that IVF automatically increases the risk of stillbirth. I've never even heard of this and I consider myself fairly well read-up on the lay information available regarding IVF and birth.

Thanks for the replies.

Our IVF was due to male factors and so I can't see why I would be at any higher risk than if DH had got me pregnant normally.

When she first mentioned it I wasn't too bothered. I liked the sound of the LDRP suite and hopefully being in the same room for the duration. I also don't know how I'll cope with pain so I suppose there'll be anaesthetists on hand should I need them. But ideally I'd like a water birth, and there's one fewer pool in the labour ward so i'm wondering what the likelihood of it being free will be.

Thers so much to think about

I'm a student midwife and in our Trust provided the pregnancy itself remains low risk, women who conceived via IVF are eligible for the MLU. I've attended quite a few IVF births which were perfectly normal and lovely (and very moving - all births are wonderful but when a couple has overcome fertility problems it's just that bit extra special). Would be worth asking them what research they base their guidelines on as I've never heard of an increased SB risk and our guidelines are very hot on evidence...

Oh and congratulations!

I'm expecting DC1 after IVF (due this week!), and am planning on a MLU because they can guarantee a birthing pool, and it is much smaller and quieter than the hospital. The MW would have been happy for me to have a homebirth if I wanted one.

My local Trust treats IVF pregnancies as normal pregnancies, I've been "low risk" all the way through, despite IVF and my advanced age (41)! I have heard stories from other areas though, e.g. being induced at 40 weeks because they don't want to let you go overdue, or having to have consultant care because of the fertillity treatment. Policy varies a lot from area to area.

I think I have heard of there being slightly higher stillbirth risks after IVF, but it was due to the increased average maternal age, not the IVF process itself.

I'd really question this with your Trust, especially if you feel very strongly about using a MLU rather than a hospital. If you are otherwise low risk, it seems very unfair if you cannot have the same choice as every other pregnant woman.

I was talking to a consultant the other day who said there is some evidence that placentas don't work as well in IVF pregnancies and there is some argument for continuous monitoring in labour. Don't know what the resaerch was but ask at your hospital. Ask them if they want to monitor you in labour and if not then why can't you have MMU.