Midwife led or a Consultant led hospital

[aichi]

Hi
I'm in two minds about which hospital to give birth...At the moment my birth plan is to give birth naturally, but if I can't take the pain I'd like to be in a position to be able to ask for the pain relief...

One hospital which I'm booked in for is;

• consultant led
• 10mins drive from my flat
• recently refurbished
• a teaching hospital
• doesnt offer hospital tours beforehand
• will be busy ward as one hospital nearby closed recently

or theres another hospital which has a good reputation and high percentage of delivering non invasive birth, i.e natural birth;

• midwife led (community maternity unit)
• 25-30mins from my flat (depending on traffic)
• is part of NHS hospital (theres a consultant led maternity ward downstairs if something happens)
• offers tours and antenatal classes at the ward
• quiet and has a high percentage of women going home within 6hrs or next day!

I can't decide which hospital to go for..I'm worried about a few things;

• distance to the hospital from my flat
• what if I can't take the pain and needs pain relief (in that case they'll take me downstairs...)
• not seeing/knowing where I'll be giving birth beforehand

Can you help me decide?

I didn't give birth in a midwife led unit but a hospital but what I would say to anyone giving birth is you have to feel 100% comfortable with where you are going to do it. My labour was long and after a few days of the latent phase I went into hospital and as strange as it sounds, once I arrived, my pain eased which is everything to do with panic. I would never have been one to give birth at home but many people feel the same way about getting in a panic about hospitals.

Once I was in hospital I was fine but I started off in a birthing pool (which I really found helped the pain) but my daughter was in an awkward position and I ended up having to have instrumental delivery so I was so relieved to have been in the hands of the drs.

Everyone has very personal views about where they want to give birth but if you are worried about how you cope with the pain of birth why don't you go with the hospital. You'll be able to get on with it in a room with a birthing ball or try the pool which you'd get in midwife led but then if anything goes wrong or you want pain relief you don't have to move.

Wondering where you are, as the teaching hospitals round here (London), all have "home from home" within their maternity units. Although you will be assigned to a consultant, you can have care that is essentially midwife-led.

Have you tried contacting your local NCT, or the hospital's Maternity Services Liaison Committee, to check exactly what's on offer at each place.

And either could be full on the day, so I wouldn't base a choice on usual level of busyness.

I'm bypassing 2 closer hosptials to go to one that has a midwife led unit with a good reputation. I do know that if anything happens too quickly or if they are full, I could be diverted to one of the other hospitals. Knowing that means I won't set myself up for major disappointment if I my plan doesn't quite go according to plan.

Take some time to think your choice over. If you change your mind later in the pregnancy, you should have no problem switching.

Thanks you replies.
I think giving birth is like one of these things that never really go as you planned...

I wonder if anyone stuck to natural birth no matter how painful it was for them? or didn't have choice?

I've still not decided yet, still speaking to people and trying to make my mind up...although I don't have much time as I'm 31 weeks!