Choose a birthing centre 30/40 mins away?

[Adele12345]

I am 5 weeks pregnant with my first and need to arrange a midwife/gp appointment. I really want a water birth and we have a birthing centres 10 mins drive from home, but there’s only 1 pool, so you’re not guaranteed it’s use.

There is a birthing centre 30/40 mins drive, with pools in all of the rooms. Do you think that’s too far to drive? As it’s my first I have no clue!

Should say, I do appreciate that when the time comes I may not even be eligible to use the pool…or the centre with pools in every room could be full. It’s just the birthing centre 30/40 mins away have recommended that if I plan on giving birth there that I should also plan on going for my scans/tests there too, and to book in with one of their midwives. Thanks!

How close are you to the nearest consultant led unit?

I ask because the only way you are guaranteed a pool is to hire one and have a homebirth. And you may find that your home is closer to a consultant led unit than the birth centre is (in case you needed a transfer).

Is it a stand-alone centre OP? If it is, I wouldn’t risk it - imagine driving that far only to (potentially) face a transfer to hospital later on in labour.

If it’s attached to a hospital, I would probably go for it to get the pool - that way one you’re there you’re there, and you can be transferred to CDU if needed within a few minutes

I chose to travel 25 mins to our birthing centre, but that's because it's attached to a hospital. So in the event that it became necessary to move to delivery suite (or theatre) it wouldn't take longer than a lift ride up a few floors.

And that was based on me having a "textbook pregnancy" (according to my midwives) and zero issues. Luckily for me, when I arrived at the birthing centre and my bp was taken, it was sky high and I was sent straight upstairs.
If I had gone to the nearest stand alone centre, it would've been an approx 30 mins drive to the hospital.

Have you considered a home birth OP? You could hire a pool and know that if all is well you will definitely get to use it.

I had a Homebirth with my first baby earlier this year and it was lovely

Our nearest hospital is that far. At 6am DH did it in quite a bit less for fear of delivering on the side of the road.

Thank you for all of the comments. It seems like it’s doable…but not pleasant! Which I can cope with.

Both are very close to theatres and wards. The closest one is directly connected to a small hospital. The further away one is a maternity hospital- has theatre, ward, NICU together. It’s also right next to a major hospital. They also both have similar reviews when I look on the nhs site.

I wouldn’t want a home birth, it’s important to me to be close to a hospital in case of an emergency. I couldn’t relax at home worrying what if.

Proximity to urgent medical services is the top of the list…given both the birthing suites have that are close to a theatres it just comes down to distance really for me. Totally rules out a home birth though.

It sounds like the closest one isn’t connected to a maternity hospital?

Also the comment about booking into a hotel would be a good idea. There are plenty of travel inn type places should we arrive and need to leave.

I think you’re very sensible OP. Homebirth carries nearly double the risk of very bad outcomes for babies. It’s more for the mother really, but is much safer for 2nd+ time mums. Make sure you do a dry run to the hospital one day so you know the route, which entrance to go in etc!

It’s irrelevant being close to a hospital unless the hospital has a labour ward/central delivery suite on it!

The closest one isn’t connected to a maternity hospital. But it is connected to a hospital, that has a maternity ward. According to the website it says they do higher risk births there and theatre.

The further away one is part of a maternity hospital (quite a large one)

Is the one closest to you a midwife led birth centre or a hospital? I would suggest going to a hospital with doctors and theatres on site over a totally midwife led unit. The last thing you want is stress and an ambulance trip if you need assistance at your birth. Im having my second baby in a couple of months and will be going to my main hospital (40min car trip) rather than the local midwife led unit. Good luck with your pregnancy 👍🏻

The closest one is a midwife led birthing centre, connected to a hospital via a corridor. It is a relatively small hospital.

The further away one is part of a maternity hospital. It’s the regional centre of excellence for maternity. The maternity hospital is located next to the city’s largest hospital.

I’d go for the furthest one away in that case. The chances are you will have plenty of time to get there with a first time labour.