Normal hospital room Vs Midwife-led rooms??

[clairesmiles]

So...

One of the main things that i've been running over in my head is my choice of birth place.

I've ruled out home-birth, that it just not happening! So the midwife gave me the choice of going to a normal hospital ward with all the drugs you could wish for, doctors on hand but of course very clinical blah blah all the bad stuff about hospitals.

OR a midwife-led unit, which is in the same building but on a different floor where apparently it's all birthing pools and bouncing balls and lights and fluffyness! Downside is that although you have access to a certain amount of pain relief, there are no epidurals done there because there are no doctors around.

I am a low-risker as i haven't had any 'problems' yet and i don't have any health 'issues'. I am also aware that if anything were to go wrong that of course id be transferred to a normal ward.

What do you think, what would you choose and/or have you ever given birth in such a place and would recommend etc ?

Merry Christmas all! xxxx

I'm hoping to give birth in the latter - the rooms look much nicer, and have ensuites and pools etc. The labour ward rooms at the hospital I'm booked into don't look great and I have a huge fear of interventions like forceps etc, which can be more common if you've had an epidural. I'd think twice about giving birth at a stand-alone MLU but if it's only on a different floor then I'd say go for it!

Giving birth in the stand alone mlu is the same as on a different floor. You cannot jump between the two. If you need to be transferred you will be, but like anyone else if there is no bed you will have to go elsewhere. Some people imagine a doctor team will come to the mlu if they are too busy for you, they won't.

I chose the mw led unit to have DS, it had a lovely labour room and 3 individual post natal rooms. Labouring there with the pool, and the tv (wonders of the universe on! DH was happy) was lush, really relaxed and calm. But I had to transfer to the main hospital 30 miles away (by ambulance).

The transfer was uncomfortable, I didn't have any extra pain relief there (but could if I'd wanted).

DS was checked by actual paediatricians, and I was able to have repair surgery quickly after. But the shared post natal ward wasn't good, it was very noisy, I was gross and yet felt on display to other visiting families etc (trying to waddle off for a shower bleeding and with a catheter in, yuk!). I could have gone back to the MLU for a day or two but by the time they let me out all I wanted to do was go home.

So, benefits and drawbacks really. If I have another, I'll go for the MLU again, and if I have to transfer I'll definitely take up the offer of recuperating in the MLU.

I chose the MLU attached to our hospital (it's next door to delivery suite) both times. First time had lovely calm water birth, second time I had a v precipitate labour, got there with 10 min to spare and then had a massive PPH, and yes, they can get a huge team of doctors there within seconds
I think if you are hoping for a hands off, natural birth then a MLU attached to a hospital is the way to go. You can labour in a nice calm environment and if it all goes pear shaped you are seconds away from the bells and whistles.
I'm pregnant with my third and been told I'm now high risk and can't book in to MLU, but I may campaign for it nearer the time. There is nothing in the plan to prevent another PPH that couldn't be done in MLU.

Thanks,

Yea im not under any illusion that being in a mlu means that i get any special treatment, wouldn't expect it for nhs.

The environment of a mlu does sounds so much nicer and i think it would make me feel more comfortable and less like im in there for an op or something (hospitals give me the heeby-jeebies) so it would be nice to be somewhere a little less intense i think

Xx

Your situation sounds ideal to me. I'd love to be in a MLU close to a normal ward. However, our MLU is a minimum 30 minute blue light transfer should I/baby need any intervention.

I think I'll probably still go for the MLU as it's much calmer, I'm more likely to have a water birth, better resourced with midwives (but no doctors available), and I'm less likely to have intervention.

But the thought of a long transfer if anything goes wrong is worrying.

I'm so hoping for mlu attached to hospital. Haven't toured yet but I think ill prefer the relaxed environment and higher opportunity for water birth

In this situation, you can start out at the MLU and very easily transfer to the CLU if you find you want an epidural or need interventions. Getting you to theatre, etc, is basically just as easy.

Going for the MLU keeps your options open. Even if on the day you think 'fuck it, I want every drug going', you can just call and say you'd rather come into labour ward.

On that basis, I'd go MLU every time if you are eligible.

I'm hopefully going to a hospital with the same set up as you. So will go for the MLU as it's in the hospital and doctors are on floor below. If u had further to travel I prob would go for hospital ward. This is my first though so don't know what to expect, highly nervous!

Aaliyah, i know exactly how u feel my first too, due in June lol xxx

I'm going to the midwife led centre. If it's not full when labour starts. It's very small, friendly and I hope a lot more peaceful. This is my 3rd baby and I'm hoping for a water birth.

If you can, go for mlu, it will be a nicer experience and you can be whizzed over to the consultant unit if need be.

I had my first on a doctor led unit asI thought I wanted an epidural. I had a very active birth (ball, kneeling etc) and didn't need an epidural. My second I had in the midwife led unit. Overall, for me, the midwife led unit was a better experience but both were fine and 2nd time round I knew what to expect so that made it easier, too. Plus, where I had my baby, you could move between the units if there was space, and actually many women who had long labours did move for the epidural. And of course if there was a medical reason!

I started off in the ML unit to be induced and was transferred to labour ward at midnight when I turned 42 weeks (you apparently turn into a high risk pumpkin at that point).

I really didn't notice a difference between the two units except the view. ML rooms had view over houses of parliament and labour ward over the London eye. :) (wards are in same hospital, same floor, but different sides)

I had access to birthing balls etc in the labour ward. No birthing pool, but I never intended on using one and I was "high risk" at that stage anyway. The bed converted into a chair/birthing stool like position so it wasn't all lying on your back in stirrups as I imagined.

I had a walking epidural (A-MA-ZING!) so I was able to move around the room and sit on a ball etc.

If I had stayed in the ML unit, I think I would have just restricted my choices unnecessarily. The only reason to stay in a ML unit, IMO, is:

• if you really want a water birth
• if the sight of medical equipment makes your feel uncomfortable.

There is always a lot of talk about 'medicalisation' of births and 'cascading effects of intervention' but actually, the sort of woman who usually finds herself on a traditional labour ward (wherever she has a choice, that is) is high risk and therefore much more likely to need medical intervention anyway. It's perfectly possible to have a medically unassisted birth on a labour ward if that's what you want, but not possible to have help on the ML led unit if that's what you need.

Our hospital has a new MLU next to the delivery suite. I've been assessed as low risk, so am giving it a go for a couple of reasons - there's a birthing pool available, I think midwives have the experience needed to help me deliver, and should a doctor or specialist be required, they're a two minute walk across the corridor and can get in swiftly if needed.