North Hampshire birth options

[Firerise]

Hello,

I'm being indecisive about where I want to have my second baby (due in a couple of weeks). I live equal distance between Basingstoke (where I had my dd, water birth, good experience), Winchester, which I believe has just been done up and has 2 pools now but heard awful things about parking and Andover birth centre, which is only has 2 rooms, 1 with a pool (2nd one is titchy) and midwife led and v easy parking and they aim to get you home within 4 hours which I would like.

I've had a lot of people say they wanted the pool in basingstoke but didn't get it (so I count myself lucky!) and their car park is currently half the size (I think parking must be playing on my mind as I had a nightmare the other night about giving birth in the back of the car!).

Hoping for another low risk water birth with minimal intervention (fingers crossed).

Wondered if anyone had any recent experiences of these and would recommend?

My experiences have all been at Basingstoke, I've had two births and a mmc at Basingstoke and the staff were all fantastic on every occasion. Parking was a pita though, I think DH may have parked on a grass verge when I went in to have dd.

I requested the pool for my first labour and got it (but didn't use it). When I was being shown round I was told very few women requested it, but that was in 2007 so things may have changed.

With my second they offered discharge me in 6 hours but I asked to stay overnight and they were happy to do that too.

Good luck though, very exciting

Thanks wonderstuff, I have to say I've had a great experience with Basingstoke too and being in a hospital gives my dh some "just in case" comfort and is about 5 minutes quicker to drive to so think maybe that's what I'll go with again.

TBH, I keep on hearing about 2nd deliveries happening so fast that there might not be time to get in a pool, but would be nice if I get a chance.

Not too long to wait now, v excited!

My friend had a forceps delivery first time and an unplanned home birth second time, she wasn't in much pain and the contractions weren't too long and then she was in transition! This happened a couple of months before my second was due, I was so worried about it being super quick.

Actually I went into labour at midnight on Friday, having had contractions on and off since the Monday night, called the hospital at 3am, was in by 4am and gave birth at 9am. It was a completely different labour to my first, which was a textbook 12 hours start to finish affair. The thing about second pregnancies being shorter turned out to be a myth, no.1 39+4, no.2 40+3, that last week was long!

Dd was at 37 weeks and labour was 26 hours but fine. Wondering if this time I'm going to have to wait longer, particularly as I'm fed up of being pregnant.

Have to say have been a bit worried about it going too quickly but what will be will be! Hadn't thought about it taking even longer!

I believe second stage is always quicker, I think my second second stage was 6 minutes, against just over an hour first time, just getting to second stage that's less predictable.