Whilst in labour do you plan to/have you taken an ambulance to hospital?

[dizietsma]

I read a blog by an ambulance driver and it is common to hear him complain about women calling ambulances when they are in the early stages of labour, nicknamed a \link{http://randomreality.blogware.com/blog?cmd=search&keywords=maternataxi"Maternataxi".}

And I can see his point, it must be annoying to have to ferry about women in the early stages of labour when he could be helping people with more pressing needs and these women could just pop in a cab or get someone to drive them to hospital.

But I've heard of midwives advising women to call ambulances in situations which are not technically emergencies and I could certainly see why some first time mothers could panic and call an ambulance when they're nowhere near delivering- so what are we to do?

I personally got a lift in an ambulance to hospital when I was transferring from my planned home birth simply 'cos we told the midwife we were short of cash for a cab and we don't have a car. I assumed that because the midwife arranged it that it was an appropriate use, but in retrospect I'm not so sure.

well when i had dd1 15 years ago, i called an ambulance as i was just about to give birth, she was nearly born in the ambulance!
however, i dont think you should ring for an ambulance if you are early on in labour.
in your case, you probably needed to get to hospital quickly and if you werent able to deliver at home, there was good reason to go to hospital and were safest in an ambulance.

I thought that transfer from a homebirth was always by ambulance.

But no, you shouldn't use an ambulance if it is not absolutely necessary. You are using one which could be better used by someone in a real emergency.

I wouldn't call an ambulance for an ordinary labour as it's not usually an emergency. The only time I was advised otherwise was when the baby was lying in a transverse position. The MW told me that if my waters broke I would need an ambulance asap because of the dangers involving the cord and a lack of oxygen to the baby.

For early labour I wouldn't - only if there really seemed some kind of urgency/danger to me or the baby.

Having said that I am now afraid I might have to call an ambulance - I am 38 wks pg, our car is in the repair shop and the taxis are not safe in the country where I live. I really don't want to go in an ambulance. DH is 'prepared' (i.e. he was there - at the hospital - for our 2 previous births) in case it turns into a home birth and he has to deliver babe which is also not really in our wishes.

I am considering preparing a 'car birth bag' in case we 1) get our car back before I go into labour and 2) have things happening so fast it looks like babe may make an appearance in the car!

I went to hosp in an ambulance for ds1 - we had overdone the "stay at home as long as possible" bit and when my midwife got there to examine me, it was clear I was much further along than she had expected. She rang the ambulance as we had been advised that the baby must be born in hosp and examined by a paed at birth as there was a possibility I had passed on a blood condition. So we blue lighted through S London, my waters broke all over the ambulance floor and by the time we got to the hosp I was pushing in the lift up to the ward. Bit dramatic for my taste really - much preferred ds2's quiet arrival!

I do think it is an abuse of the emergency ambulance service to call for one when merely in early labour. The hospital confirmed that this is the case. Ambulances are not taxi services. But if there is any reason to believe that the mother or baby is at risk, then it is justified.

I think there should be clearer guidelines about this - I agree it's not right to call an ambulance in early labour, maybe taxi vouchers should be given to low-income pregnant women?
However, and this is really for me - I went to hospital in an ambulance once for braxton hicks contractions
It was during my first pregnancy - I was very stressed anyway (retrospectively I think it was antenatal depression) and at 20 weeks started getting a lot of braxton-hicks contractions. One night at 23 weeks they were very regular, which really worried me (I was on my own, dh was working 250 miles away). I rang the hospital (it was evening and the community midwives were only available during the day) and was told to come in by ambulance. I even told them the contractions were painless! Anyway, they made me feel like a complete waster-of-resources after checking me over on the ward and I duly felt completely sh*t.
It really wouldn't have been difficult to establish that I was only have braxton-hicks - they could have told me to have a warm bath or something FFS.
Not one of my proudest moments, anyway.

aww, geekgrrl, it was your first, you were scared and alone and the hospital DID tell you to take an ambulance. They shouldn't make you feel like it is your fault.

Why don't they just get a taxi? Generally get to you in the same amount of time, and get you there faster!

Take a bin liner to sit on though... otherwise they complain.

When I transferred from a homebirth, the mw said we could go in my car, or an ambulance. We decided to drive - I was kneeling up on the back seat giving directions to my best friend who had not driven my car before. Then she had to drop me in the street (I was pushing, albeit fruitlessly) and the door to the maternity wing wasn't open, and we had to go 250m to the main door....I should have gone in an ambulance, we would have been dropped in the right place.

Oh yeah, if money's a problem then you have no other option do you I mean you can't be expected to bus it there can you!

When I was in labour (the second time I went in!) we had to park about 500 metres from the entrance as it was full... I was having full blown contractions and had to waddle in complete agony all the way to the door, to the lift, up some stairs.... ARGH!

Beginning to think there's nothing wrong with it being a maternitaxi!

i read a story about this poor woman, who was on her own and went into labour on christams night, she rang for an ambulance and they refused to send one, she had no money for a taxi, so she had to walk five miles!!!!! to get to the hospital, by which time she was almost ready to deliver.

calld one when i was in labour with dd. Didn't realise i was in labour as i was not contracting but was bleeding with a heavy pain on my pelvic bone. Thought i was losing my baby. Ambalance was there within 5 mins. on the 5minute travel to the hospital we had to pull over as my waters broke and dd was born. Really nice to come out of the ambalance holding dd.

Never used one in abour (there was a blues n twos transfer with ds1, but that was whilst fitting so not abue) but if you're on a low income you still ahv to get there don't you? back in Somerset it was £25 standard for a taxi ride to the main hospital, £50 on a Sunday / middle of the night!

Oooh spacecadet - about the woman who had to walk 5 miles on Christmas night to the hospital because an ambulance wouldn't come!! I think I would have stayed home, called in a m/w, family member or friend to assist then called hospital/ambulance when bub had arrived - surely they can't refuse a newborn baby with mother? It would be far too scary walking outside on a cold night to risk delivering the baby outside.

Slightly different subject, but I had a homebirth this time, and I was a bit that they said to start with that no-one was qualified to do my stitches, and that I would be taken to hospital by ambulance.

I was about the stitches bit, but thats not the point... it seemed a huge waste of resources to take me to hospital in an ambulance when I was perfectly capable (if not wanting to much) of sitting in a car to get there.

I remember my trip in the cab to the hospital, the taxi driver looked so nervous - more than me :)

I much prefer picking up mothers in labour than drunks. It's usually a very exciting and happy and funny atmosphere and we have a good old girly natter - in-between contractions anyway.