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

[EasterBunny7]

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?

You should also consider what would happen if you needed care for pregnancy related conditions. I had cholestasis so had twice weekly appointments at the maternity unit from about 34 weeks, appointments for carpal tunnel syndrome and weekly bloods which all had to be done at the hospital I was under.

My closest acute hospital is 60 minutes away. The closest hospital in my CCG is 80 minutes. So yes, because that’s the only option and I don’t consider it a problem.

Could you afford a private midwife who is able to support you to birth at one of the local hospitals/home?

@ZuliKyanLarsFoz I'm afraid not. You know, listening to women describing how even 10-15 minutes was excruciating makes me very nervous. My closest birthing hospital is 20 minutes away!

My local hospitals have both delivery units and standalone midwife led units, does yours have both? Might be worth asking friends where they had bad experiences.

If you do go with a local hospital and you can afford it, a kick-ass doula might be able to help with the thing about being treated poorly - they advocate for you and stay with you through labour. They don't hang around afterwards if you're kept on the postnatal ward though.

My nearest hospital is a 45 minute drive and I don't live rurally. I would say that an hour is fine, but 2 is being ridiculous.