Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Pregnancy

Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

Flip

Original poster

hospital birth & no car

23 replies

SalBySea · 13/11/2008 19:14

what do people do if they dont live near close friends or family and have no car to get to / from hospital?

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

EffiePerine · 13/11/2008 19:15

taxi - we did with DS, planning to do same with this one. How far away are you?

Get some numbers of local friendly firms in advance

goingfor3 · 13/11/2008 19:18

Taxi, I did this with DD1 and 2.

AccidentalMum · 13/11/2008 19:21

Have a homebirth.

hewlettsdaughter · 13/11/2008 19:21

I ended up having mine at home! My first wasn't planned that way - we had phone numbers of friends willing to take us to hospital lined up.

ThePregnantHedgeWitch · 13/11/2008 19:28

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

EffiePerine · 13/11/2008 19:31

you can also check with your mw - policy here is NO ambulance unless you're bleeding or can see the baby's head.

superjump · 13/11/2008 19:43

Taxi, the guys that took me while I was in labour were lovely. Don't forget you still need your own car seat to put in taxi or friends car to get the baby home - maybe you can borrow?

Original poster

SalBySea · 13/11/2008 21:10

home birth is my first choice, but I'm being flexible and also looking at a MW led unit which is about 10/15 mins away

We've lived in the area for a while, but not long enough to build up a lot of really close friends. Our 3 closest friends in the area (who we woulda had on standby) have all recently moved away unfortunately. We have lots of other friends down here, but most of them are quite new friends and they are not close enough to ask IMO

DH doesnt have a licence - he's working on it, but there's a good chance that he wont have it by April and I aint driving!

will any car seat fit in a taxi? all the firms around here are very big and impersonal. No small family run firms that we can get to know.

OP posts:

notimetoshop · 13/11/2008 21:24

Taxi again. It depends how many hospitals are nearby but I was told that regardless of which one you are booked into, if you ring an ambulance they will take you to their 'home' hospital. We moved four weeks before DD was born and like you I'm the driver. I asked the midwives for recommendations. They said 'don't you get any of those little cards through the door'? In the end we just chose one from yellow pages.
Car seat: those little ones you get which slot on and off prams fit. Borrow one if needs be.

kayzisexpecting · 13/11/2008 21:28

You need to check Taxi firms. The ones round here won't take you if you are in labour. Also same ambulance policy as Effie, no ambulance unless you are bleeding or you are within 20 minutes of giving birth.

superjump · 14/11/2008 13:38

I think most baby car seats with a big carry handle are designed to be lugged about & strapped into any car via the seat belt

CookieMonster2 · 14/11/2008 13:48

The advice we were given is to use a taxi, but don't tell them you are in labour when you ring up. Once they are actually at your house they won't leave you there.

We were told an ambulance can be used as an absolute last resort, but don't dial 999. If you ring the delivery suite and ask for an ambulance it will cost the department less than if you ring 999. If you ring 999 for an ambulance the maternity (?) dept will be charged for it and it will be more than if you ring them directly to ask for it. Sounds mad I know but its what we were told.

superdenki · 14/11/2008 13:48

we got a taxi with #1 and expect to do the same with this one, parking is atrocious at our local hospital and we only live 2 miles away so theres no danger of it being born on the back seat. what kind of taxi firm would refuse to take a woman to hospital? that's weird!

CaptainKarvol · 14/11/2008 13:52

We have the advice printed in our handheld notes - phone the labour ward and ask them for an ambulance. It can take up to an hour to arrive- will be a normal emergency ambulance, but not acting as if you were an emergency, iykwim.

Egg · 14/11/2008 13:57

I got a taxi when in labour with DTs. The first was born less than 2 hours after taxi dropped me off. I did tell the taxi driver I was in labour, but didn't tell him quite how imminent it was. He wanted me to name the boy twin after him but he was called Kevin.

I got a taxi as DH was 1.5hrs away at work and we had only been in area 6 months and didn't know anyone well enough to presume they would be on hand to drive me. I managed to get DS1 to nursery that morning before I called the taxi thank god!

I had however planned to call for an ambulance if I was worried they were really imminent as first labour with DS1 was quite quick.

MsG · 14/11/2008 14:37

Someone told me taxis won't take babies - is this rubbish, then? I do hope so as we don't have a car.

EffiePerine · 14/11/2008 14:39

If you're taking a baby in a taxi you'll need a car seat, but then you'd prob need to get one anyway for other journeys. DH went and bought a cheapo one while I was in the hospital with DS so we could get home.

januarysnowdrop · 14/11/2008 15:01

Absolute rubbish - taxis are usually fine about taking labouring women & babies. You don't actually legally need a child seat to go home with your baby in a taxi, but you really should get one - quite apart from anything else, the midwives might not let you go home without one! And yes, the ordinary sort of car seat with a carry handle that you strap into the car (not the isofix sort) should fit any taxi. Allegedly some taxi firms exist where you can request a car seat, but I've never tried doing this myself....

ilovemydogandPresidentObama · 14/11/2008 15:08

I thought it was only Hackney's that were exempt from car seat legislation, and not mini cabs?

Egg · 14/11/2008 15:20

We took a minicab to Heathrow when DS1 was 8 months old and held him on our laps (god knows why we were so silly but thankfully it turned out ok). I think it is any licenced cab/taxi does not have to have a carseat.

MsG · 14/11/2008 15:24

Oh, that's good news. I don't know where I heard that from!! Yes I will get a car seat, though a bit bamboozled by the choice and cost of them.

ShowOfHands · 14/11/2008 15:27

Does dh drive (even though he doesn't have a licence)? I mean, is he competent enough to drive a labouring woman? If he's insured as a learner and you meet the requirements for supervising him, could he do it?

My friend was teaching her dp to drive and he was competent, capable and relaxed, just hadn't got round to taking his test. He drove her while she was in labour as she was in the car to supervise.

Only prob was she gave birth at 2am and kicked him out. He had to sleep in the car as he couldn't drive home.

TinkerBellesMum · 14/11/2008 15:48

All taxi's are exempt from the child car seat laws, they're trying to change it but it will be very difficult and could put some drivers out of work (they'd have to have one of every type of seat in their car or refuse to carry someone without one).

I know a hospital that won't let you home without a car seat. I was talking to someone who argued with them "But I live round the corner and will be walking it with a pushchair!"

Taxi is the first port of call, if you're further on, bleeding, premature then call an ambulance. If you have the time, call delivery and request one, if you're bleeding or baby is coming call 999. The difference in the cost will be because you are taking an ambulance away from another emergency rather than them fitting you in to their schedule. Fine if you are an emergency not so much if you aren't.

I've never heard of ambulances having to take you to a certain hospital. I was asked where I was booked in, they called the hospital who wanted to know if I was booked in with them and my number. We were closer to another maternity department but we went where I was booked in - cue problems with Mum getting to the other hospital first and getting on every ambulance in case it was me!

Flip