Positive birthing centre/hospital birth stories

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It's looking more and more likely that I may need to give birth in a birthing centre or hospital, as my local home birth team are currently understaffed and able to offer their services only intermittently.

I was aware it could be a possibility (and there would have always been the possibility of needing to transfer) and I thought I was mentally prepared to facilitate a positive birth outside of my own home, but now it's actually 'official', I'm having a bit of an internal freak out and struggling to envision how a birth in a clinical setting could ever be a positive experience, as all I can think of is non-consenting interventions, screaming patients being ignored and overworked, overtired staff equalling a lack of care.

I don't think it's helping that my first (planned home) birth was very quick, so I'm not exactly expecting to have much time to get settled into wherever I will be before everything is a-go.

So, would anyone who had a positive birth in a birthing centre or hospital, especially anyone who perhaps had a quick birth, care to share their story, so I can chase away those thoughts?

My friend went to hospital in the car and the second baby exited her Body in the car in the car park without consciously pushing once- no chance of any interventions being forced on her!

if you have you birth partner with you they should help you feel happy and comfortable

Both mine have been hospital births, the first was on the midwife led birthing unit, i got into the pool around 4.30, and delivered at 7.20, not as speedy as some, but was a good experience, I didn't stay in the pool as felt hot and bothered, but felt supported at all times by the midwife and once DD was born we had some time in the room for the first feed and a shower and didn't feel rushed.

Second was induced because of age, almost required intervention, but again the midwives were very supportive and thankfully i avoided intervention, although when i thought intervention was needed and i was worried for the baby, saying no was the last thing I could think to say.

If you aim for midwife led birth centre then they will act as if it is a home birth just in a different setting. I had my second in a birth centre but was only there less than half an hour before she was born. The pool wasn't full enough to get in but it was a really positive experience and I gave birth kneeling over the back of the bed- midwife was happy for me to move however I wanted.

They let me stay there for about 6 hours to establish breastfeeding- no pressure to move to postnatal ward but that was because they had no ladies needing to come in. If they had I would have been moved but it was lovely and nicer than my first birth on a labour ward (although that was ok too).

Edited to say good luck with it all!

Both of mine have been hospital births. Both quick (1st four hours and 2nd 2.5 hours). I had zero intervention for my first birth. My second was induced (with my consent and the midwife checked everything with me - I am diabetic) with a pessary which was removed once contractions started but that was my single only intervention, in fact she even arrived as i was being moved to the labour ward....

I would say make sure you have someone where whether partner or mother or friend who knows what you want and knows your red lines. With a fast labour which it will likely be due to your first being fairly quick they are generally more intense and it may be hard to communicate. Be firm but not rude. I don't think forced things happen as often as social media make it sound....obv the ones who have positive stories are very rarely the ones that post whereas those with negative ones probably put it everywhere as warning.

I know plenty of people, including those who wanted home births, who have had positive birth experiences in the hospital and even more so a birth centre. my friend who had her second in a birth center wing of a hospital and was absolutely in awe of it.

My first birth was in an MLU, I had a room with birthing pool, music, low lights (it was nighttime) and one midwife who stayed with us. I did then have a post partum haemorrhage and it do get a bit busy but I obviously needed all those people. With my second, I was on labour ward due to previous PPH but I had a room, low lighting again and a very positive experience. I actually posted on here afterwards about it as it was so positive. Both labours were 8 hours from start to finish, unmedicated, very short active pushing, no interventions with second baby. With first I did need some additional injections/support/checks to ensure all of the placenta was out but they checked with me to get consent and let me know what was going at every stage. With both I had the same midwife with me, until a shift change with second baby. I was able to move around the room, choose the position I wanted, do skin to skin afterwards etc.

I’m not going to lie, going on to the shared ward afterwards wasn’t fun. It was hot and light, not too noisy but 6 mothers and babies in a room it was difficult to sleep and both my babies were born very early morning so we moved out onto the ward mid morning. I went home later in the afternoon for both.

Both my birth centre births were lovely

Birth centre was lovely for my first, although I did have to move to the ward for the actual birth as he just wasn't coming out and needed some interventions. I actually appreciated that I just had to walk 10 feet or so when this became necessary.
Second child I wasn't allowed to use the birth centre due to unexplained bleeding meaning they wanted to induce labour (with my consent), but while it obviously looked more medical, everyone on the labour ward was just as kind and respectful.
Post natal ward was a different story both times, as my local hospital is an older one where they still have bays rather than private rooms, and they were clearly understaffed.

I had two birth centre births, both water births. My second was planned for home birth but there were no ambulances available (apparently they have to have one on standby) so they had to suspend the service. I did have to be transferred to the hospital post delivery ward second time as the birth centre post delivery wasn't open.

The birth centre itself was great. First I was only 90 mins before delivery, second less than 10 mins :S Only reason second wasn't born in the car was because I sat upright seated not lounging to reduce pain....on advice by the midwife.
Very home like. Calming and not clinical at all. Lovely big baths for water births. Little kitchenettes for if you are there longer (we didnt use them!). Nice ensuite rooms.
Post delivery wards were very different though. Birth centre was relaxing, hospital was not.

All of my six births have been quick and in hospital, ranging from 10 minutes from starting induction, to the slowest at an hour. Every midwife has been lovely, one remembered me twenty years later when she saw me in A and E as I’d been her first sole delivery and baby had popped out so fast.
Remember to tell them you are precipitate, and trust your body. Don’t worry if you get the shakes straight after, it’s perfectly normal if you’ve been quick but maybe reassure yourself by waiting to hold baby if you get them; they do go fairly quickly. Try and mindfully focus on feeling safe, it really helps, maybe take in your pillow or wear your favourite perfume, help the senses ground in to being safe. Cosy socks definitely.
Good luck, you’ll be grand.

I had one of my children in birth centre, it was lovely very minimal intervention. But I also had four births on a delivery suite so my expectations were probably quite low. I went into the centre at 2:45pm and he was born at 3:30pm. I loved it because every other time I had a baby the midwives were examining me and telling me not to push but with that birth they were like it’s your body if you want to push do it.
It was a chilled experience and we got to take our little boy home a few hours later. I had 3 at home though so might have liked the night in hospital 😂

I gave birth on a midwife led birth unit. I’d been examined earlier in the day and was 3cm and very irregular contractions so was sent home and told to have a bath and get some rest. I went back 5 hours later with regular contractions and was 4cm so allowed to stay. They asked if I wanted to try the pool so got straight in there and stayed there until DS arrived 8 hours later.
The midwife checked his heart rate every few contractions, I did the whole thing on gas and air. I thought about asking for pethidine at one point but knew I’d had to get out the pool and quite honestly couldn’t be bothered.
The room was lovely, low lights and spa music. I didn’t tear and placenta delivery was straightforward so we stayed in that room until we went home about 8 hours after DS was born.
At no point did the midwife pressure me to do anything I didn’t want to do, as long as DS was safe and well, she was happy to let me continue how I wanted.

My birth was in a midwife led unit attached to a hospital labour ward, it was a very positive experience. I arrived very far along (9cm) which had happened quite quickly at home, then was taken straight to the birth room with the pool ready for me (as this was in my notes so they got it ready as soon as i was assessed). Didnt see another patient at all during this time! We had our music on, fairy lights, dim lighting, very calm and quiet except for my own noises...! Gas and air was provided and I delivered in the pool a couple of hours later. Same midwife throughout except for her breaks, and we had plenty of time after birth to rest and skin to skin etc in the birth room before taken to the recovery ward. Home 12 hours after that (might have been quicker if second birth or if paperwork wasn't slow).

In the end I almost needed surgical intervention for placenta delivery and it was reassuring to be in the hospital in case that had been required. No other suggestion of interventions etc during my labour, monitoring was all pretty minimal and not too invasive.

I also have a friend who had first birth at home and 2nd birth in similar setting to mine (instead of planned home birth because of growth concerns). She was very positive about how the midwife unit experience compared to the home birth, said it was basically almost as good an experience.

Hope you get a positive experience and some reassurance from others' experience, and good luck!

I had both of my babies on the labour ward and felt that I had exceptional care. Always had a midwife present and she was not stressed or over worked. The care on the actual labour ward is really high. The post natal ward is always where it felt strained. My last baby was an emcs and we arrived down to the ward at 3am and my partner was told to leave immediately and it took a long time to get help when I couldn’t move. That wasn’t easy.

Trust me that's speedy compared to my labours of 48hrs, 48hrs, 36rs, 32hrs, 10 hours (that was a good short one) and 27 hours !!!

It's definitely possible to have a calm experience in a hospital. I had a really fast delivery with my second and the staff were actually great at just letting me do my thing. As long as you communicate your plan early, they usually respect the space.

Thank you for your lovely stories – they have been very reassuring! I’ve spoken with the midwife team and asked if I can have a look around the birth centre, in the hope that having a visual reference will help me feel more prepared.

A related question for those who gave birth quickly: at what stage did you go to the hospital and how did you get there? We don’t have a car and I’m not confident a taxi would accept us (but maybe that’s just the movies?). With my first I’d had a couple of what I’d thought were mild cramps before bed, which I now assume was actually early labour (I’d had a sweep and was told to expect some mild cramping). Would I go in at that point? All the literature says to go in at 3–4 minutes but that’s what it was like when my waters broke and woke me up at 2:30am, but at that point I almost immediately felt the need to push and was in no state to travel 😅.

I rang when my timing app told me to, and the midwife said to try and stick it out at home a little longer but we made them aware we were 45 mins away so she said to call back when I felt I was struggling which was an hour later.
I would just make them aware of what happened previously and ask their advice, they’ll advise when to go in. I think you’ll be fine in a taxi, take a puppy pad and a towel to sit on just in case.

Ds1 I woke at 5am with an upset stomach then lost my plug at 6:50am and had my first contraction. I went into hospital at 8:30am and they put me on the monitor saying they'd be sending me back home as it was my first and I was 3 weeks before my due date. They done an internal at 9:40am said I'd be having this baby soon and I walked to the delivery room, then ds was born at 9:50am. I had two student midwife's with me on their first day of placement, and two midwives. The giving birth was the easy part, the stitching was worse after!

ds2, I lost my plug at 14:10 so immediately phoned dp and went to hospital. Got into hospital at 15:30, and contractions started, ds was born at 16:10. I had a midwife and student midwife's present. I stayed the night and came home the following day.

So two very quick births and I enjoyed them both. With ds2 they had a twin mum labouring at the same time, so I gave birth and they then had to rush to her. So they didn't weigh ds until 6pm as they were busy. Really felt for her though as she delivered the first and they then needed to do a c-section for the second. I was finally allowed home at 11:30. Had a bit of a wait as the dr who needed to see me to sign me out was busy with twin mum. But on the whole two pleasant experiences.

I had a fantastic experience in the labour ward (? Do I mean that? I mean the bit with consultants and machines, not the birthing centre). By the time it was all in full swing I didn’t really care where I was - the midwife who stayed with me was an angel, she knew exactly what I needed even when I couldn’t ask. DH was with me and he knew my preferences. The consultant popped in occasionally to check on me which was also reassuring. Honestly it was brilliant. Can’t help with the driving but we rang up to check if we should go in and described my status they said yes so that was helpful.

I’d really recommend reading these stories https://thepositivebirthcompany.com/blog

also, just to say, positive doesnt have to equal quick or intervention free. Assuming it’s your first baby; statistically it’s more likely you will have intervention so it’s best to prepare for that. I had a 3 day labour ending with forcep delivery; and I would describe it as positive as everything felt like the right choice. And I had great care on the postnatal ward. I think you need to shift your mindset about the birth centre or hospital/ surely it’s better you plan to birth there, most likely you’d end up there anyway if you tried a home birth (that is not my opinion, it’s fact!)

I had quite a fast first labour so during my second pregnancy, my midwife told me to just go straight in as soon as I thought I was in labour as it would likely be even quicker. She put that in my notes so that they wouldn’t turn me away. I just took a taxi in.

Thanks all. I spoke with the home birth team as well and they’re going to book me in a tour of the birthing centre and labour ward so I can see what to expect if I need to go in. They were also reassuring that they expect to have expanded the team by the time I’m due, so it’s still likely they would be able to attend at home (I think it’s currently about 50/50, so if they get more on the team by then, it chances at home would increase). They also explained they’ll talk me through what to do in ‘emergency’ situations (e.g. if they’re unable to attend and I’m unable to get to the hospital) at my next appointment when we go over birth choices.

Birth centres are usually lovely and have a different fee to a traditional labour ward. I was initially in the birth centre for my DC1 and it was magical. I had to move to the labour ward for a staffing reason but that isn’t common! The room I was in was beautiful and I’m not sure I could have even replicated it at home! Do go and have a look at the birth centre. I really do think they’re the best of both worlds!