Has anyone got themselves to the hospital while in labour?

[arabella2]

I'm asking because my immediate back-up plans and entourage are getting on my nerves big time and really I want to crawl into a cave and privately give birth without my parents (especially) being aware of what is happening. They are here from abroad to help and to look after the kids while dh and I go to the birth centre - I did mention something about us being able to call a neighbour over (also quicker than them coming over because though their rented flat (which they have rented for a long time, it's not that they can't stay with us, it's that they prefer to have their own place when they come over as they come over quite often) is close it's not as close as the neighbour's house) but my mother especially is very gung ho about being HERE at the time... Of course they want to see the baby but I don't see that it makes a big difference who is with our kids while dh and I are away...

Also, I feel like a watched kettle - I am now 39 + 3 - ds was born at 38 + 5 and dd at 39... Mum talks about waiting for the baby, her friends and various relatives "waiting for the baby" - also not to have it too late as they are going home on the 27th (the 28th immediately pops into my head as a good date to have it but that would be seriously overdue as it is due on the 17th)...
Then neighbour's husband was over last night telling us when to go to the hospital - going on and on about when the contractions are 10 to 12 minutes apart "stay at home" then you go when they are 5 minutes apart... As if dh and I hadn't been through all of this twice before... (neighbour has 3 kids so obviously better qualified to instruct!). So then I thought actually, I don't want the neighbours involved EITHER... I must be close to labour because little things like this are narking me a lot.
Essentially I think giving birth is private and I don't want the world to know when I am doing it - especially my interfering mother who just wants to be there for the first photo opportunity and to tell all her friends HOW MUCH she and Dad were invaluable. I want to crawl into a private little cave with a nice midwife and scream away to my heart's content if I have to without anybody knowing. After they are all free to come and form bonds with grandchild / nephew or niece or whatever.
SOOOO my latest plan is to leave dh with kids and get myself to the birth centre by taxi - bit scared of doing this but has anyone done it????

I feel the same as you, when i had dd my mum barged her way in when i was giving birth, my dad, brother and his girl friend were also waiting outside. This time i want it to be just me and dh, my mum will be looking after dd so she will know i'm in labour but at least she wont be there. Dh was realy upset about my mum being there last time as she took over and made him feel pushed out. We have thought about me going on my own, i think i could. I know 2 people who have driven them selves to hospital and given birth on there own. Good luck arabella, im 39 weeks, not long to wait.

Haven't done it but it sounds appealing to me.

How long would the taxi ride take ?

a lady Iwas in labour with when I had dd drove herslef to teh hospital so why not if it's not that far and will make you feel better

I sympathise. My MIL and FIL drove 300 miles to the hospital when they heard I was in labour and sat in the waiting room for hours. Eventually when DS1 was born I made DH show him to them so they would go home (to our house). When we got out from hospital we already had a houseful of 'help' which nearly drove me up the wall.

What if you go in a taxi first, then your dh calls the neighbour/parents over to watch the kids and he follows. That way you don't have to speak to them or see them. Does dh not want to be at the birth? Or is there a good childminder/friend you could leave the kids with so noone else has to know?
PS - Marne at your Mum barging in on labour. Is she real???!!! I know what my dh would have done to my Mum and it's not very polite!!

arabella - sympathies re. intereferring parents. Luckily my son (first and only child) was born 17 days early, so it was too early for anyone to know or turn up, except DH

I called my mother right after the birth on my mobile and she couldn't believe she had missed it all ! Luckily MIL from Hell lives abroad, so wasn't around either !

Don't worry about going in a taxi. I went in a taxi right after my waters broke. My main worry was making the taxi seat all wet, beacuse the damned water just wouldn't stop ! I never realised I could carry so much water

Once I got to the birth centre and got checked, I was sent home agian as it was too early. The next morning DH took me back there in a car, but if he hadn't been there, the mw said there is nothing wrong with calling an ambulance. I don't know were you live, but if labour is progressing really quickly call an ambulance. I hadn't realised pregnant women could do this and thought they had to get there privately, but if you have no one else around to help (or don't want anyone else to help because you want your privacy) get in a cab or an ambulance. Just make sure you are all well packed well in advnace.

Best of luck !

i went to the hospital by taxi on my own in october when i had Becky.

DH caught up with me about an hour and a half later once my dad had managed to get over to look after Jess - TBH it was nice to do some of it on my own and not have to worry.....

GO FOR IT!

Going to the hospital in a taxi by myself is our back-up plan this time around. I'm 38+4.

Ds and ds2 were both induced, so I haven't have to worry too much about getting to the hospital on time before. I didn't have a birth partner with ds2 (dh was looking after ds1) and tbh it felt as though there was less pressure to 'perform' IYSWIM.

god I totally sympathise and I am only 34 weeks

Agree with others who have said don't worry about calling an ambulance. Is there a friend nearby who perhaps wouldn't mind taking you? Or if you are feeling really private then deffo call a taxi. Just be prepared to have to make inane chat with the taxi driver

I don't think dh really minds to be honest. Not sure really - he doesn't like the "gory" aspect of it all anyway, but yes maybe it would be sad for him to miss first moments of his son or daughter's life. Yes I know Marne - not long to go - let me know how it goes...
The birth centre is about 20 minutes away if there is traffic - less otherwise... Might do it and dh can follow if I am not panicking - scared it might all go too quickly or the taxi driver might not take me there!!! Jackstini - it is the thing about not wanting to see them or speak to them while I am having contractions. Last time with the birth of dd they came over to look after ds. I was in the front room on all fours having a contraction and as I went out to the car Mum told me to "hurry up....." I really do not want that kind of parental involvement - especially as my parents still consider themselves to be very much Mummy and Daddy (though I am 37 and my sister 33 - she still calls them Mummy and Daddy for some reason I cannot comprehend - consequently my Mum is constantly referring to my Dad as Daddy and every time she does that I think she is talking about dh - Daddy to my kiddywinks - anyway I digress).

arabella - please dont worry about taxi drivers - mine was hillarious!

I was puffing and panting through a 15 minute ride with him - my contractions were 2 mins apart!

He didnt bat an eyelid and even let me off when i didnt quite have enough money to pay him!

Whenever I get a taxi to the maternity unit for hospital appointments the taxi drivers are actually disappointed when they realise I'm not in labour. A couple have actually offered to drive via the roads with speed bumps to help start things off. :o

Sorry missed last two messages. Inane chat with taxi driver while deep breathing sounds fun! Ambulance is not an option because they would be forced to take me to the nearest hospital which is AWFUL and definitely not the nice birth centre birth I have planned (which I hope I get!!!). I imderstand about the lack of pressure to perform coppertop - that pioneering French guy Michel Odent was saying maybe Dads release too much adrenaline in the room and the mother does not feel relaxed enough to let it all go and subsequently does not give birth quickly or easily enough. Were you at all scared without your dh or a birth partner? I have real faith in the midwives at the birth centre - a good midwife is a wonderful wonderful thing. I would have married the one who delivered dd :) - not the one who delivered ds though before that - totally unnecessary episiotomy grrr.

Missed the last two again!!! Am feeling better about the whole taxi thing! Sounds fun :o.

I felt absolutely fine without dh, tbh. The epidural I had worked well and I spent a lot of the time dozing off whenever I felt like it. Dh was great at ds1's birth but I felt better the 2nd time around knowing that ds1 was with dh. The midwives were great. Dh arrived literally 2 minutes after the birth so was there to see ds2 being checked over, weighed, dressed etc.

Have to add that I recently was given a note by my G.P. requesting admission for hyperemesis treatment (dehydration and excessive vomiting).

I told him I'd go home and pack a bag and wait for my dh to come home and take over looking after ds. Dh finally showed up at 8.00 p.m. after ds had been put to bed for the night so he couldn't take me to the hospital as he had to stay home with ds. I phoned for a taxi, because it's cheaper than parking at the hospital, and explained I needed one as soon as possible to take me to the maternity unit entrance(ward I was admitted to shared an entrance known as the maternity unit entrance). The taxi screeched to a halt outside our house (cue much curtain twitching by neighbours) in about 3 minutes and driver was very surprised to see me hauling my own bag and not huffing or puffing. You're very calm about it he said half way through the 10 minute trip so I explained that I wasn't about to give birth, I was only 10 weeks pregnant but a bit fat.
He duly radio'd in to say "nah, she ain't about to pop"

LOL Norms!

With Ds1 dh didn't exactly drive himself there (I was already in with pre-eclampsia being induced) the AA took him there on the back of a low loader after our 1 year old car dropped an engine component in the street!

With ds1 I drove myse;f when my BP went sky high, didn't register risk so allowed Dh to go on a pub tour to celebrate an award they had got, regretted after.

Friend drove herself ilabour- paid a fortune in parking so had necxt baby at home. She did it because rurala rea= no taxi, DH was an alkie and she was scared of him drink driving. She could have rung us though, never occurred to her.

arabella - they all sound so claustrophobic - don't blame you for wanting to avoid them altogether. Hope it all turns out well for you soon and you get the privacy you are hoping for - sneaking off in a taxi sounds like a good idea

marne at Mum barging in! I would rather do it all myself than have unwelcome intruders in the room!

arabella - I gave birth in a birth centre too. I had planned and booked in advance to give birth there. The mw there told me the ambulance would take intructions to take me to wherever I had booked in, i,e, they can not force you to go to a hospital if that is not the place you have booked in for a birth. But may be it's different where you live.

I sympathize, arabella, and when my mother wanted to come round to "help" in the weeks before ds was due, I promptly went into labour 2 wks early, just days before her arrival from the US. I, too, felt childbirth was a private thing, and I guess my body thought so too.

Anyway, for baby #2, who was also a bit early, I took a taxi to hospital solo when contractions were 3 mins apart. Taxi showed up instantly; got there quickly enough. Don't see anything wrong with that idea. (But wouldn't recommend walking or driving yourself, obviously.)

arabella2: the 28th isn't that late really. It's still within normal parameters. So maybe you could hang on to it that long...

Wasn't wrong about labour being close - I had a baby girl last night (1.06 am to be precise :)). In the end my neighbour came over and when we were sure it was the real thing, dh called her from the birth centre (he drove me there and stayed there the whole time!!! was very glad he did!!!) and she called my parents who spent the rest of the night with ds and dd. Could never have done it alone in a taxi but I'm sure everyone is different!!!We are back home now but I'm feeling a little shell-shocked.
Lots of love to everybody.

Wow! Congratulations, arabella. :):):)

I drove down to my mums to drop of the car when my contractions were 7 minutes apart. My dad wasn't there but I said not to worry, I'd manage. Mum came up to the hospital with me in a taxi, then went straight home. This was all after having been to the labour ward, being checked and getting told I was 4cms and not to go anywhere. You've had kids before so if you want to do it by yourself, it's familiar territory. Could you even pop to the birth centre yourself, then when there, get DH to call parents to come over. That way, you don't have to deal with them.

Bugger, never read far enough through the thread. Congrats.