Drive to hospital and drinking

[archersfan3]

We're expecting number 2 soon and I just wondered what everyone else did if their partner likes a drink but would have to drive them to hospital at an unexpected time? How do you avoid the situation of going into labour and partner being over the limit? He would only be over a few times a week but sod's law says that's when it would happen, and we would need to go straight away as it would be a VBAC and I would need monitoring as soon as I'm in labour.
We are in a rural area some distance from the hospital and from our families so taxis/lifts are tricky. (Not sure if taxis would even take me - might phone to enquire though?)
I know most babies arrive within 2 weeks either side of the due date but a request for complete abstinence for up to 4 weeks will not be popular!
I remember considering this last time but really cannot remember what we decided in the end, and so I was interested in what everyone else did? I have a feeling we might have decided that he restricted his drinking to days x and y and we would just have to go in a taxi if it happened then. This time the situation is complicated by having our toddler too.

Sorry I should have made it clearer, I meant that I would look up taxi prices in case I need help convincing him (they will be expensive, it's a good 35 minutes away), not that I would be at all keen to get in a taxi.
I haven't properly asked him about it yet, just wanted to find out what everyone else did first, so a lot of the comments here about being selfish etc are a bit premature.

"He would only be over a few times a week"


"a request for complete abstinence for up to 4 weeks will not be popular!"

Not really premature given what you said above, it is selfish to go over the limit several times a weeks and to not be happy that your pregnant wife 'requests' no drinking in the final weeks.

I haven't properly asked him about it yet, just wanted to find out what everyone else did first,

You shouldn't need to ask him, he should just know it's not normal to drink to the point you can't drive when your wife is close to giving birth. Everybody else will just not drink unless they are stupid.

I say this as a person who likes to have a drink and also my husband does too.









You need help convincing him?
What about if you have a child who is unwell? Will he still drink? God forbid but some children need 24/7 care. Would he still drink? It's time for him to either accept he has a problem and get help (if drinking means so much to him) or grow the fuck up and prepare to be a parent.

Even if you got a taxi, imagine having a pissed/tipsy birthing partner?!? Unless you are the most tolerant woman in the world that would be really grating!!

ALso, from his perspective, imagine a hangover kicking in while your partner is potentially still in labour!!!!

It sounds like your partner has a problem. 4 weeks is a perfectly acceptable time for someone not to drink any alcohol at all. Your having your second child for goodness sake you shouldn't be worried about if your partner is going to be sober or not. And I see you already have a child, he needs to sort his priorities out!

You concentrate on your bun in the oven.

It's his job to make sure you get to hospital when the time comes, whether that is 4 weeks early or 2 weeks late. This means he knows an alternative means to get your toddler sorted and you to hospital if he plans to have a drink. Any more than a couple of beers is unacceptable as you don't want a drunk birthing partner. He should communicate these plans to you so you are not fretting.

I had several dashes to the hospital in a taxi with both pregnancies as I had some scares and dh was working; besides, he didn't drive and we didn't have a car.

Have to say, going in a taxi was not in the least uncomfortable; drivers seemed absolutely fine with it and assured me cheerfully that they would do their bit if the baby decided to arrive suddenly. Some of them said they had done it before and one female driver was very reassuring about the maternity hospital we were going to and the care she had received there. I still use the same taxi company 20 years later and have recommended it to my dd. Have also used them for other medical emergencies and always found them a rock.

Having said this, I would totally not have been impressed if the reason I had to splash out on a taxi was that my dh couldn't stay off the booze for a month or two.

Thank you all, I often worry a lot in advance about these sort of conversations (anxiety) and then it turns out he was thinking more or less the same as me after all, but if that doesn't happen this time it will help me to be more assertive (not something I'm very good at) after hearing all of your views.