Labour ward or birthing centre?

[Klouise12]

I'm in two minds of where to have my baby if I get the choice. I'm leaning more towards birthing centre (which is right next door to the labour ward if anything shouldn't go to plan) has anyone experienced a birthing centre? No one around me has. Also at what point does your midwife discuss your birth plan? No one has asked me anything so I'm not even sure it would be possible to request a birth centre as it might be too late. I'm 31 weeks

I’ve only heard good things about birth centres, but never experienced them myself. Both my pregnancies were high risk so need labour ward and he complications with both.

If you are happy with gas / air and water for pain relief then birth centre is for you.
Both mine in labour wards I found very calming, I didn’t have an epidural with either.

Start in the birth centre then you always have the option to move to the labour ward if you want an epidural. Ime it's harder to transfer from labour ward to birth centre! Do you meet the criteria for the birth centre? Ask your midwife at your next appointment. Also ask her to discuss your birth plan, or to make you an appt to do so if there isn't time

As it's so close to the labour ward I would say try the Birth Centre. I started in a midwife led birth centre with my first but had to be transferred to the nearest hospital (30 mins away by blue light ambulance!) for the actual birth. Loved the calmness of the birth Centre and really wanted to stay there.

I remember the birth plan discussion being quite late on on the pregnancy (around 36 weeks?) but not sure. The birth plan is good for the purpose of being able to explore and discuss all the possible options for different outcomes during the birth but be aware that it is not something you can really plan or control. You can research and look at all the options yourself now, it's a really good idea.

I started in the birth centre but had a really bad experience, purely down to the midwife though. I laboured really quickly and she made me feel like I was making it up that I needed to push, was in no rush to check me because it wasn't long ago that I was 3cm. She checked and I was fully dilated, started pushing, she had me changing positions every 30 seconds and I was so uncomfortable, after an hour and a half, they said baby was stuck so I was taken up to labour ward. I had to hold my pushes in to be moved. Thanks to a very encouraging and helpful midwife on labour ward, DD was out in less than 20 minutes with no intervention. I wanted a water birth but had pethidine so wasn't allowed as it could make baby drowsy. I've heard some lovely experiences though so give it a try, you can always be moved!

I had my second baby in a birth centre and it was an amazing experience. I'd really wanted to use it first time round but ended up being induced, labour ward were amazing but birth centre was more the experience I was after.

Our birth centre is right next to labour ward so for me it wasn't a tough decision, I knew any additional help & support was quite literally right round the corner.

I'd go for birth centre any day based on my 2 experiences. Having said that labour ward doesn't mean all bright lights and medical intervention. My labour ward experience was still positive & had lots of elements of the birth centre experience. The main difference was the pool, labour ward didn't have one, birth centre did.

Think they usually do birth plan at 34 week appointment? Good luck for when the time comes

I started in the birthing centre for DC1 but moved to the labour ward (just down the hallway) after 15 hours when I wanted an epidural. That worked well for me - I liked the more relaxed atmosphere of the birthing centre for early labour, but was happy to have a bit more observation / intervention later on.

For DC2 I arrived on the labour ward (different hospital) but didn't have time to move to the birthing centre as planned - baby arrived after 40 mins!

I was at a birth centre and kept being told that was the reason i couldn't have an epidural. I had a terrible labour and asked more than once, but apparently was in the wrong place and couldn't be moved, I'm not sure why. I've no idea if that's the policy everywhere but if I'm ever pregnant again I'll absolutely start at the labour ward!

I also didn't use the pool or the other apparatus that was only available at the BC at the time. Lots do, though.

I was in the birthing centre only 6 weeks ago and it honestly was the most amazing experience, I cannot recommend it enough, it's so calming and just about as relaxed as you can get! The labour ward was next door to me too so I didn't feel worried if anything went off plan then I wasn't far away from extra help!

In my trust it’s the 36 week appt you discuss the plan but you should already know if you’re ok to be midwife led. Def def start in birth centre, if it’s literally right next door (that’s what it’s like in my hospital, basically two adjoining wards) you’ve absolutely nothing to lose (unless you’re certain you want epidural).

I also had a water birth which I’d totally recommend

@maureenfrombarnsley

I was at a birth centre and kept being told that was the reason i couldn't have an epidural. I had a terrible labour and asked more than once, but apparently was in the wrong place and couldn't be moved, I'm not sure why. I've no idea if that's the policy everywhere but if I'm ever pregnant again I'll absolutely start at the labour ward!

I also didn't use the pool or the other apparatus that was only available at the BC at the time. Lots do, though.

You can only have an epidural if there is an anaesthetist and birthing centres usually only have midwives.

In my group of 8 NCT mums, only one of us managed to stay in a birthing centre for the actual birth and she had to transfer to hospital. I'd always go labour ward myself, having experienced a haemorrhage - even a short trip to transfer would have been problematic.

I had the opposite, the Birthing centre was full so birthed in hospital thank god, as I would of ended up there anyway.

But then managed after day one to get a transfer to the birthing aftercare centre and stayed for 3 blissful days, the midwives were fantastic and took my son away for 8 hours to let me sleep, we had feeding issues and I wasn't made to feel awful.

I'm forever thankful for those 8 hours sleep!!

I would say aim for birthing centre first then because your on site you can be transferred quickly if needed. But try not to let your heart get too set on the birthing centre, so many mums (including me!) get transferred to the labour ward for various reasons so don’t let it throw you if that happens.

I echo most PPs. Try to get into the birthing centre to start with. See how you go, and transfer to the delivery suite if you need stronger pain relief than is available. That was my plan anyway, up until pre-eclampsia was diagnosed, which put paid to going anywhere but the delivery suite.

I wasn't too fussed though. When I was due is usually one of the busiest times of the year for maternity services. So it would have been likely that the birthing centre would have been too busy or closed due to redeployed midwives. Birthing centres tend to have quite low threshold for transferring patients down to the delivery suite as well.

Not one of my NCT group (6) made it to the birthing centre.

I had my first in birthing centre also directly adjacent to labour ward, and hopefully will have my second there too soon. I was also debating it as wanted all equipment on hand etc etc but in the end trusted the research about environment and labour progression on the basis I could be transferred in less than a minute if needed.

Our birthing centre was lovely but I did still feel that I was safely in a hospital environment. If I'd needed an epidural I'd have been transferred to labour ward but would have depended on anaesthetist availability, although this would have been exactly the same situation if I'd been on labour ward from the start.

I had a really nice room with en suite for delivery and we stayed there for an hour or two after before being transferred to the ward. One midwife with me most of the time (was about seven cm when I came in as waited as home for a while for it to progress) and then two for pushing stage

If it was a separate centre away from the hospital I think I would choose the labour ward.

My mlu and Dr led unit were in the same building. My birth plan stipulated that I should give birth in the Dr unit. When I went into labour the midwife on duty was happy that I only needed to be on Dr unit for post birth monitoring so I got to give birth on the mlu in the pool. We were able to stay in the room for a few hours afterwards whilst we waited for a side room to be free on the post natal ward.

Birth center was amazing and so much calmer and nicer than labour ward. I was transferred there at the end very quickly and it was fine but I can't imagine having spent hours there trying to give birth. I had pool, din lights, music and everything I needed to birth calmly in birth center.

We have a birth centre at a separate site, 20 minutes from the hospital. It seems very calm. Especially with Covid I’m thinking the birth centre is the way forward. It’s not staffed when they don’t have women there - a midwife has to come over from the hospital.

I don’t know if you can stay overnight - I like the idea of not being separated from DH and going home together with baby 6 hours after the birth.

I didn't find the labour ward un-calm. I did have a tour of the birthing centre at my hospital - main difference seemed to be that the rooms were bigger with pools in them! And obviously the important difference for me was that only the labour ward lets you have an epidural. So, no contest. There was nothing stressful about the atmosphere of the labour ward ime - I still had a room to myself with my own midwife. (This may sound mad, but prior to touring the hospital I thought the labour ward was open with only curtains separating the different women! This is not the case )

The hospital seems like a conveyer belt to me. A midwife comes over to the birth centre when you are in labour as it’s not staffed when there are no women there. I prefer that to DH waiting outside whilst I’m in the MAU waiting to be examined to see if I’m in active labour before he is allowed in.