How far is too far for a hospital?

[Audrey2013]

Hi everyone,

I've got my mind set on a hospital 6miles away from my house, which according to google maps would take around 20-30 mins to get to (depending on traffic).

Yesterday I went to meet some friends and had to make just a third of the same route - and it took me over 30 mins to make it...

I am now panicking:) if I get stuck in traffic and end up spending an hour getting to the hospital - that would be a disaster, right? Or is there almost always enough time to get to the hospital? How should I approach this?

(As you could probably guess I am clueless first time mum to be).

Thanks!!

That sounds like an ok journey time to me, guess theres millions that live that distance and further from their hospital. I was located an hour away from my hospital, waters broke at 4am i did some housework got ready then arrived at hospital at 10.00am. DS didnt arrive till 1pm the the following day so i had a very lengthy wait in hospital. Im sure you will be fine however i remember having the same worries but then realised i had all the time in the world and on hindsight would have gone in later.

Great, thank you very much for your responses, feel much better now!

My closest hospital that isn't just midwife led is an hour away, haven't really thought about it being to far.. Hope for the best when I'm in labour and baby will wait, first one took 24 hours so this one will most likely be a long one too

My choices are 5miles away on roads that are jammed solid in the rush hour or 16miles away along a motorway that gets pretty jammed at rush hour too...
Either way, I think it could easily take an hour if we try to go at 8am or 5pm.... but I'm assuming first-time labour goes on FOREVER (or it feels like it).

Our nearest is a 45 minute drive. And that's if the traffic is clear.

I chose to have my DCs at St Thomas' in London. It's right over the river from the Houses of Parliament so you can imagine just how awful the traffic is, particularly at rush hour. If traffic was heavy (for example at 7am on a Monday morning as it was when I went in with DS1...) it could take over an hour from my home! It was fine, not the most comfortable car journey I've ever had though and having contractions in a traffic jam surrounded by bored commuters is a tad embarrassing

What are your alternatives?

Ours takes me 30 minutes to drive to but in an ambulance I was there in 20. It does depend on traffic but that's why they have flashy lights

so if you're in the car, on the way, or at home and things get heavy, just call 999 - it's better to have paramedics there and they can get you there quickest while providing help en route.

Please don't worry. Some births are very fast, but not that many.
If you read up on births, read some of the threads on here, you will be more prepared and know when to go to hospital.
And think about worse case scenario. Whats the worst that can happen. ANd how cna you sprevent that. You phone ambulance mid way? No idela. But not end of the world.
As a diabetic, my hospital was 40 miles and 1.5 hrs away. I still made it, contracting majorly!!

Thank you all so much, very reassuring!

And you are right, I should think about alternatives/worst case scenarios (thankfully there actually is a hospital closer to me).

When I had dd, the hospital was about 25 mins away on a good journey and that was without a tractor getting the way. We lived on the very outskirts of Oxford at the start of my pg, and that hospital was about 45 mins away, so actually when we moved house I thought the new hospital was quite near. But for 2nd child, I had a home birth and mw was 45 mins away, which I coped with better than being in the car worrying about traffic. X