Birthing centre not connected to hospital

[bearface1983]

Hi all. I am thinking of a midwife led birthing centre birth. There are two options near me and the nicer centre isn't attached to a hospital. My concern is a transfer if it's not going to plan. Anyone had good/bad experiences? I really want a natural birth and am doing hypnobirthing just apprehensive as it's my first xxx

My first birth was in a stand alone mlu, and I did have to be transferred by ambulance to the hospital in the end (rising blood pressure). The transfer was absolutely fine, but please be aware that your birthing partner will not be able to go in the ambulance with you (a midwife travelled with me). DH has to follow in the car and then went the wrong way, the stupid fucker.

Second birth was in a birthing centre attached to a hospital (high risk pregnancy, plus they'd knocked down the mlu - hurray for nhs cuts ). I was very pleased that an epidural was then on offer!

Hi Everyone

I have weighed it up and I have chosen the Birth Centre that is on the hospital site. When i went to have a look they were equally as set up for the natural birth I want. The stand alone had nicer grounds and a guaranteed pool but apart from that they were pretty similar. I think for me Midwife led units are perfectly safe and I will use it but just the comfort of this one being next to the emergency areas gives me piece of mind with my first baby, I dont feel I could fully relax and use the hypno-birthing techniques with the location at the back of my mind . I am just not ready. I am 100% looking at it for next time or even a home birth if I am lucky enough to have another go :)

Hi,

I had my baby at a birthing centre and I did end up needing an ambulance to transfer me to hospital as I had a hematoma. I do not regret my decision going there though and if I am lucky enough to have another I will be going back.

Good luck on the birth of your baby

Momo27

I feel like your post was directed at me. DS could have been resuscitated yes, but not ventilated in an incubator. He also needed secretions drained from his lungs immediately. My pregnancy was low risk with nothing picked up on scans.

I know that my case is thankfully rare but so much of the discussion around birth choices centres around what is best for the mother. Being born is risky for the baby too.

Not directed at anyone; simply stating the fact

My view is that it’s down to individuals to make the choice best suited to them, within the parameters of choice available to them. Unfortunately some people (not you) do scaremonger and I was pretty pissed off with other expectant mums who raised their eyebrows in surprise that I ‘dared’ to have my first baby in a stand-alone MLU. It did make me feel as though it was a veiled dig of ‘how could you possibly put your baby at risk?’

The plain facts are that MLUs have an exemplary safety record - they can’t afford not to. And you are only allowed to deliver in them if you meet the criteria.

There will always be some level of risk in giving birth but MLUs are no more risky than hospital for a woman who meets the criteria.

FWIW I feel I’ve experienced all ways: ds in a stand-alone MLU, dd was c section for medical reasons, and ds2 then had to be consultant led care in hospital- no way would the MLU have touched me with a barge pole as I was now high risk. As it turned out it was a natural VBAC.

The MLU birth and my Csection were positive experiences, mainly Because although totally different from each other, I felt in control and that the decisions were right for those babies. Ironically the only birth I felt unhappy about was the VBAC. Big, busy hospital, real lack of aftercare compared to the MLU, unfamiliar staff and a quite dirty surroundings outside of the actual delivery suite Of course, the short comings in hospital care are a whole other thread.

Hi op, I had both mine in midwife centres that wet 10 miles from a hospital.
I really wanted natural births, and I felt strongly that the less pressure I was under, the better my labour and births would progress. I’d been a student nurse on a busy central London obstetric unit, and I felt that Z’s could be a bit of a production of cline at times, with births being medicalised to fit in with shift patterns etc. Only a bit but enough to put me off.
And that is what happens for me, I shouted mostly at home, and progressed on my own way, at one point the head my swift thought my bp was dangerously high, and monitored me closely. If I had been at an obstetric unit it is really likely that the cascade of medical intervention would have kicked off , but luckily I got the natural births I wanted. I was 38 so statistically a risk but the midwives trusted my body, and I trusted them.
Go for it op