Getting to hospital in labour if you have no car. HOW?

[M2T]

Neither DH nor I drive.... although DH is starting lessons next week I doubt we will be able to afford a car before the baby is due(7months time).

Our local hospital has closed it's antenatal and postnatal wards and we now have to travel about 18 miles to the nearest hospital. My parents stay further away so can't take me and DH's parents are 400 miles away. 2 of my friends drive and live relatively close (within 5 miles). But surely I don't have to rely on friends to take me to hospital when I go into labour.

I don't want to have to phone an ambulance as the MW told me that it could take 2 hours or more to get to me as I would be lowest priority! Even if I'm pushing?????? My 1st labour was 7hrs even though ds was posterior presentation so I think that is quite quick. I am so frightened about how I will get to the hospital that I'm considering a homebirth...... even though I would rather be at hospital.

Are there no provisions put in place for those who do not have there own transport?

Any views would be great. Is the safety of me and my child really that unimportant that an ambulance would take 2 hours???

Love Northerner's idea of DH "sneaking" you into a taxi in the throes, M2T! Maybe you'd be lucky and get a deaf driver.

Must say I'm astonished and concerned that it's so complicated to get to hospital if you don't have your own transport, especially when they insist on closing local facilities so people have to go miles (or get an idiot taxi driver like pie's).

Hope you can sort something out in good time!

Almost forgot this. When I had my booking appointment and was discussing how I would get to hospital I told the MW I was thinking about a Homebirth. She said that she would need to get someone out to my house to "assess the facilities" before they could agree to it! EH???? What facilities?? To check if I have a gas & air cylinder in the corner of the living room.... or a birthing pool in the bathroom?

What could she mean?

I have a 2bedroomed semi-detached house. Pretty normal really.

M2T, you have a right to a homebirth. Don't opt for one if you don't want to, but don't let them put you off either.

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M2T - maybe by facilities ther mean access to hot water and lots of towels!

lol Northerner - That must be it!

i took a taxi too,all my dp could go on about was the filthy state of said car and one of the rear seatbelts didnt work.Not to freak you out,but a real query-who will look after your ds?couldnt whoever does that take you?dont worry about putting peple out-its hardly a weekly occurance is it?

Yoko - That's a whole other problem. Ds will have to come with us however we get to hospital and my parents will meet us there.... whenever they can make it there. They are about 10 miles in the other direction.

Does the hospital itself or the local League of Friends or WVRS run any kind of hospital transport service, M2T? It might be worth enquiring.

I'm in complete agreement about the way they're closing units. My 84yo MIL now has to attend an eye clinic nearly 40 miles and three bus rides away, or pay 28gbp for a hospital car. What is so outrageous is that on her appt card it still says 'Eye Clinic, X&Y Hospitals' but underneath in titchy letters it says (at Z hospital). Sorry to go off topic but adding in that three of her local post offices have been shut down and that the Pensions people haven't paid her since last May I feel in ranting mood.

Suedonim - I would have hoped that the MW would've mentioned that when I expressed my concerns about delivering on my own in the house with ds.... then again you can't really rely on that eh! I'll give them a phone tonight. Thanks.

That is disgusting isn't it. How they can justify it I will never know!

We didn't drive for the first one i walked, i lived down the road. The second a taxi, on a bibbag

M2T - if you're considering homebirth, I'd recommend it!

However, a good friend of mine is a paramedic, and after the birth of my dd (which was 4 hours from first twinge to holding baby), joked that if I had any more, he would phone the ambulance himself! He's delivered loads of babies, and certainly is prepared to be called out to pick up labouring mothers!

Hope you find a good solution.

M2T, I was told the exact opposite about calling an ambulance. The first time I went into labour, it came happened so suddenly and quickly, no taxi would go near me. Many won't if you say you are in labour. I called an ambulance and they were there in 15 mins, but still too late to move me because the head was crowning, so they called out the flying squad as they called them., and I delivered at home about 20 mins later. Second time round, I was away and went into labour early. The local doc refused to attend, and told us to call an ambulance. Got to hospital pushing dd2 into my tights, with 3 minutes to spare. With number 3, and knowing my history I was positively encouraged to call an ambulance, even though they knew the chances were I would deliver at home. Which I did, with the help of the ambulance gas and a speedy arrival of a midwife about 10 mins before ds1 arrived. I had number 4 induced for various reasons, so no ambulances needed that time.

Never once was I made to feel like I was wasting time. Personally, i think being in labour is a perfectly good reason to call an ambulance, especially if you are quite close to delivery.

All my ambulances came within about 15 mins btw, although dh did tell them I had precipitous labours. Not that they believed him until they saw me though, lol.

Don;t hesitate to call an ambulance - a friend of mine delivered on the bathroom floor as she didnt want to trouble an ambulance....her dh was on the phone to 999 throughout her 2 minute, yes 2 minutes delivery!!

Popsycal, that labour reminds of an old friend's experience. She lived next door to the hospital so planned to walk to the MU but her labour was so fast she had the baby on her front garden path!!

My dh and I don't drive either. And I may find myself in a similar situation to yourself. We're also in Scotland.

When I had our dd (6 years ago) we were told that if I was in labour I could phone an ambulance and tell them I was in labour and I would get one, if once at the hospital they found I wasn't in labour they would charge us £99 or something like that. But that was for our local hospital. In the end we didn't need an ambulance and we got a taxi to the hospital.

Our local maternity unit is now under threat, I'm due in May and if they get their way and close down our maternity unit before I deliver (we're all still fighting for it to stay open) I'll have to travel 20 miles to the nearest hospital, which will be a 30 minute journey. I wouldn't hesitate to call an ambulance for me if that happens and I don't think you should hesitate either.

I'm sure that they would send an ambulance to a woman in labour if the only hospital is 18 miles away. I would think you'd be classed as a priority, labour is unpredictable. Assuming that there haven't been any major accidents etc using all the ambulances up I'm sure they would send one out.

It's awful the way they are closing down hospitals left right and centre. Our hospital was all renovated a few years back and then they started closing wards down and sending them to the other hospital. We've been fighting to keep the maternity unit open for a few years now, they keep downgrading it but not closing it completely. Our city although smallish has a population of around 48,000 people and they even wanted to close down the accident and emergency department as well, madness. Luckily they didn't, not yet anyway.

Still I digress, I think that if you need an ambulance then you should call one.

m2t - if you are a way away from a hosp, you have difficulties getting there, and you are worried about a fast labour (which you should be if you had a fast 1st labour and your mum had v fast labours), then HAVE IT AT HOME! Honestly, it will be great. Or at least think about it. Go on, we will all support you all the way and you won't regret it. And as everyone says, if you decide you don't much like it once you are there and in action so to speak, your ambulance will come quicker and at least you'll have a MW by your side in case it doesn't come fast enough!

M2T, you say you would rather be in hospital. Have you really looked into the facts concerning home v hospital deliveries?

I eventually opted for a homebirth with ds2, but only made the decision at 28 weeks or so. My decision was not based on practicalities but on the fact that I'd had a traumatic hospital labour with ds1 resulting in a ventouse delivery after a 4 hour 2nd stage. I knew I wanted something to be different the second time but couldn't get my head round the supposed risks associated with a homebirth.

I did a lot of reading. Can I recommend something which I think is called "Safer Childbirth?" by Margorie Trew. (I'm going on memory, somebody else might be able to correct me if I've got that wrong.) It's full of facts and figures, and a bit hard-going, but very interesting. I read Sheila Kitzinger's "Homebirth" which I think is out of print, but she's just brought out a new book which I think is along similar lines. Anyway, gradually I came round to the idea of homebirth, and, indeed, saw it as the safer alternative. I went on to have a wonderful homebith with ds2: so,so different from my experience first time around.

The thing is, if you opted for a homebirth, you'd have two midwives with you, who at the first sign of a problem, would be able to call an ambulance - which would come there and then. I was told that the ambulance service were aware that there was a homebirth going on and ready in case of an emergency.

Anyway, don't stress yourself too much about this. I'm sure whatever you decide, things will work themselves out. Oh, and don't worry about the midwives saying that they have to assess whether your premises are fit for a homebirth. I'm sure they're only checking that you don't have rats running around. If you don't, I'm sure it will be fine!

Sheila Kitzinger did a good book called something like 'Having the birth you want' - worth reading!

Thanks folks,

Khara - I have looked into it and I was thinking about a homebirth anyway regardless of transport problems. One thing I am concerned about is breastfeeding. DS had real problems latching on and the MW physically wrestled with my breast to get him to latch on!!! After I got home I had no support and stopped trying after 4 days.
Anyway, I discussed it properly with DH last night. He's so old fashioned and would prefer me to be in hospital. But I pointed out to him the it would be much safer starting out at home and being transferred to hospital at the 1st sign of trouble rather than maybe not getting to the hospital ontime and some hairy taxi driver delivering the baby. He soon came around to the idea....

I have a date for my scan next week so will hopefully be able to discuss it properly with them.

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Totally agree Twinkie. It's disgusting isn't it?? I think the homebirth idea is a good solution all round as long as I have a simple pregnancy. HA!!! Are any of them??

Phoned an ambulence, here within 30 minutes... I never even considered a taxi. I suppose not wasting NHS resources is a good argument, but a £35 taxi fare is a big discinentive... besides, the ambulence men carry Nitrous Oxide . I had had a show but otherwise it wasn't urgent. Did homebirth the time after that. I got bugger all help with breastfeeding in hospital, M2T, wouldn't rely on that!

M2T - ds born in hospital, stayed in 3 days to try to feed him - huge problems getting him to feed, eventually managed, but by that time he was on mixed feeding. Not what I wanted. Dd - born at home - now 5 months, still exclusively breast fed.

I know with dd I sort of knew what I was doing, but it was so much easier being at home. The nurses in the ward I was in with ds didn't have a clue, but were supposed to give me support in feeding. They just kept taking blood samples to check his blood sugar, that was the only "support" they gave me!

Good luck whatever you do! I'd recommend home anytime.