Hello!
I just found out I'm pregnant with my first and I am trying to get all my ducks in a row. My closest birthing centre, at 15min, is RUH Bath Birthing Centre. Assuming I am low risk, I could also choose Mendip or St Michael's Midwife-led Unit, but they're a fair bit further away, at 35+ minutes. All the discussions I can find about them are from pre-2015, so, I was really hoping to hear people's experiences?
For me, I want as natural a birth as possible. A calm, quiet environment, minimal intervention, no coached pushing, etc, and the option of a water birth because I've read they have some great benefits. I love the calm, homey environment offered by the freestanding centres but an ambulance ride just feels too risky to me. Instead, I like the idea of the attached units with the adjacent hospital as a safety net just in case anything did go seriously wrong.
From the virtual tours, Mendip and St Michael's seem to have spacious birthing suites, and apparently double beds! So, they seem quite appealing on the surface. RUH the rooms do look nice though they seem a lot smaller, and every room seems to at least have a bath if I can't get the pool room; the biggest thing for me really is just how much closer it is. But are Mendip or St Michael's worth the extra distance?
I would love to know your experiences and which you would recommend, please? Especially if you've been to more than one of them! Thank you so much 🥰