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Childbirth

Share experiences and get support around labour, birth and recovery.

Original poster

Would you go to a hospital that's 1-2 hours away from you? Antenatal & Childbirth

31 replies

EasterBunny7 · 05/07/2022 20:27

Hello. A hypothetical for me at the moment but I have had bad experiences with the local hospital and other hospitals close don't have great CQC ratings. Is it unrealistic to consider hospitals that are 1-2 hours away from me? I imagine I could deal with the journey during the pregnancy for check ups, but am I dreaming if I think I could make it that far for childbirth?

OP posts:
Singleandproud · 05/07/2022 20:34

If you or baby have to stay in for any length of time it'll be a really hard journey to make.

The journey home will be difficult as newborns really shouldn't be in car seats very long.

Oblongogo · 05/07/2022 20:36

As someone who had a very fast labour I would say no, is a homebirth an option?

HSKAT · 05/07/2022 20:42

I wouldn't.
Like you say fine for apps but the stress and worry for getting there for birth would be too much for me

SmellyWellyWoo · 05/07/2022 21:21

One of my children was born in the car- so no! 🤣

Trainfromredhill · 05/07/2022 21:24

I did.
first labour was 15 hours, so I didn’t think it was be quick. Closest hospital during second pregnancy was awful and at about 32 weeks I transferred my care to a hospital I was working in at the time. It was an hour drive, but I took the train when I was in labour. It was all fine.

ISeeTheLight · 05/07/2022 21:25

Absolutely not. I was 10min away and I almost had DD in the car!

FastandLoose · 05/07/2022 21:29

Definitely not. Things can progress quickly and whatever stage you’re at, a car journey can be pretty grim. The shorter the better!

TabithaTittlemouse · 05/07/2022 21:33

If you live in certain areas of Cornwall it’s reality, not a choice. We have one big hospital or you go to Plymouth, either way you need to travel.

Natsku · 05/07/2022 21:33

I had to, my nearest hospital was an hour and a half away. I left for the hospital earlier on than I would have liked, to make sure I got there before labour progressed too much (shouldn't have bothered though, it was a 25 hour labour - there was no rush!) but otherwise it was fine, but we had a family room so OH didn't have to go home after visiting hours, would have not been good if he had to drive back and forth all the time, and you have to make absolutely sure you have everything you need with you because there's no popping back home quickly to get something that's been forgotten.

DockOTheBay · 05/07/2022 21:34

Not for me. I only just made it to the hospital 20 minutes from home, and the car journey was very stressful and uncomfortable (putting it mildly!). If I had to drive for 2 hours then she would have been born in the car 1.5 hours away from the hospital and then what?

Even if you have a slower labour - partners usually can't stay over so he would have to drive you there, then leave and drive 2 hours home, ten drive 2 hours back the next day to visit or bring you home.

On the drive back you would have to stop at least twice as newborns shouldn't be in the car seat much longer than 30 mins. Also don't underestimate how uncomfortable it can be to be a passenger if you have bruising and stitches etc. Bumping up and down in the car is no joke.

Also some hospitals require you to go back there for the 5 and 7 day checks, or to go to a local clinic or birth centre. I don't know if they would be able to transfer you over to your local postnatal team or if they are responsible for you until you're discharged from midwifery to health visitors.

Of course for some people they don't have a choice but to go to a hospital very far away, but if you have other options I would consider them.

Dontknowwhyidoit · 05/07/2022 22:00

I had my last 3 children at a hospital 1hr 20 minutes drive away as that was the closest one to me. I was induced with all 3 so no issues with rushing there in labour but the comment about people visiting was a problem. My husband didn't come every day (I was I for nearly a week before each delivery) to see me due to the distance and working long hours and I didn't have other visitors due to it being nearly a 3 hr round trip.

twomumsonebump · 05/07/2022 22:12

My hospital was only half an hour away but I was so uncomfortable the whole, I can't imagine being stuck in the car for that long!

Original poster
EasterBunny7 · 06/07/2022 09:09

Thank you all for responding. Almost unanimously a no. The real experience of women has been very helpful to me. Back to the drawing board.

OP posts:
BobbleWobble1 · 06/07/2022 09:21

I wouldn't voluntarily choose a hospital that far away however our nearest is about 30 minutes in good traffic but could easily be 60-90 minutes in peak time. I was low risk in both pregnancies so only went to hospital antenatally for scans. Post covid any other hospital appointments were telephone. I was also very well during both pregnancies so other than the added time and inconvenience, it wouldn't have been a problem for me.

Labour on the other hand. First time yes I had tons of time but car transfer in labour is hideous. Half an hour was more than enough. Second time, baby arrived 12 minutes after I got to hospital so no I wouldn't have made it anywhere close to a hospital 2 hours away!

I think there's a lot of factors and personally not something that I'd be comfortable with. Uncomplicated pregnancy and elcs, probably doable. High risk and/or spontaneous labour, probably not. Difficult to know in advance which you will be.

Schooldil3ma · 06/07/2022 09:25

Oth of my dc were born within an hour of getting to the hospital, so no chance.

lillyrabbit · 06/07/2022 09:33

Our hospital is about 25 minutes away and I was so uncomfortable in the car! definitely couldn't have done a longer journey, it was incredibly painful every time we went over a bump!

YorkshireTeaCup · 06/07/2022 09:37

Just to add to others, if baby has to have an extended stay in hospital for any reason, being so far away will be hard. DD had two weeks in NICU and as we picked our nearest hospital, it gave us time to get home, have a shower, eat food etc and still be back for the next feed. If we'd have been further away, it would have been an added stress on top of an already stressful time.

amigreedytowantmore · 06/07/2022 09:42

No

My twins were moved hours away when they were in NICU as no space available in my hospital where they were born. I was lucky it was hours. I was told they could be moved to Scotland 5 hour drive away

FYI the NHS is under zero obligation to provide either transport or hotels so you can stay with them either and I wasn't offered a parent room to stay with them. I was discharged after 2 nights post c section they spent 3 weeks in NICU - during lockdown when few hotels open and limited food options - DH has to stay behind to look after our eldest.

SwayingInTime · 06/07/2022 09:51

There’s a big difference between one and two hours though and with your first you chase more options usually as no other childcare responsibilities. For example, could you book into a hotel nearby at the last minute if you do present in early labour and need to go home for a while to establish? You could look through the obstacles raised above and see if the solutions would be possible and acceptable to you.

It is increasingly common for your booked hospital to be full when you need to go anyway and to be ‘deflected’ to another hospital so it’s something to be prepared for.

Routine community midwifery would be provided by your local hospital no problem but other issues can arise in the immediate postnatal period that would mean you had to travel back to the hospital you gave birth in for assessment potentially - excessive bleeding, infection etc

in addition we would probably want to readmit the baby to the birth hospital if needing treatment for jaundice or weight loss (this is probably not an absolute requirement) and definitely would want you to return there if eg a scan was needed or tongue tie snipped.

SwayingInTime · 06/07/2022 09:52

Chase? have !

Dogtooth · 06/07/2022 10:06

I had a ten min journey in the car to hospital and that was bad enough. Being strapped down and in a seated position when having a contraction plus the stress factor of being in traffic is not much fun. I would not have wanted to do it for two hours.

Plus - hospitals tend to only want you when you're in 'established' labour, contractions every three minutes or so - it would be really hard to predict when that would be if it was a two hour journey. So you'd risk leaving it late or arriving too soon and having to labour on a ward for a long time, which is not the greatest thing.

Have you toured the local hospitals, and looked into the CQC ratings in a bit more detail? Were your bad experiences with the maternity services? Different departments of the same hospital can be very different, and I think CQC ratings might not always tell the full story, a bit like OFSTED ratings. Do you know anyone who has used the hospitals fairly recently who could tell you about their experience?

Original poster
EasterBunny7 · 06/07/2022 12:50

@Dogtooth looked at cqc ratings in relation to maternity services. My experiences (numerous occasions) are of the antenatal services. I have many acquaintances living in the same area who accessed the hospital for childbirth and were shocked by how they were treated whilst in such a vulnerable position. So, all in all, it's not something I'm considering on a whim but based on the overwhelming response that it will be tough, I am going to look through other local hospitals now.

OP posts:
Dogtooth · 06/07/2022 13:00

Fair enough OP, I hope you find somewhere you like!

Original poster
EasterBunny7 · 06/07/2022 13:02

@Dogtooth I appreciated your logical method of working through it. 🙂I'm just going to have to suck it up.

OP posts:
Floydthebarber · 06/07/2022 13:05

No, I was unable to sit on the loo to have a wee during labour, a 15 minute car ride was absolutely awful. Also if you go and they turn you away because your labour is not progressed enough to admit you, what will you do?

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