Decisions, decision - Midwife only care?

[Supersoapie]

Hi all, I know there have already been some posts about Birthing Centre v Hospital but they are pretty old so I hope you don't mind me repeating?!

My midwives always ask me where I want to give birth and I've been fobbing them off so far but I actually need to make a decision soon! Basically, my options are my local birthing centre which is entirely midwife run or the nearest hospital. I love the idea of the birthing centre as it's so lovely there with all private rooms and lovely calming atmosphere however, there are absolutely no doctors there so if there are any complications, I'd have to wait for an ambulance and then go the 25/30 minute drive to the nearest hospital!

Has anyone made a similar decision or is going to? I'm so stuck and have talked to the midwives lots about it and they say that the more relaxed mum is, the more relaxed baby tends to be and labour can be easier whereas my hospital option is rather grim and very, very hectic. The midwives say that they keep a very close eye on you at the BC and would order a transfer very quickly and hopefully before the baby got into any distress. The BC is really close to home (about 10 mins) away and has lots of parking (the Hospital parking is a nightmare!) and there are even beds for new Dad's to stay overnight with Mum and baby if overnight stay is needed but am I being selfish for choosing the nicer option for myself?! xx

 

[wifeywifey]

I had to make the same decision it was exactly the same and I chose the birth centre. With my first he was back to back his heart rate started dropping the midwives were so in control. They sounded the alarm had an ambulance waiting for me all the resuscitation machines at hand etc. It sounds scary but they had control my boy was born with help by the midwives perfectly healthy we didnt need the ambulance. The midwives are trained to spot an emergency and avoid it or prepare for it. If you want the birth centre do it. It was an awesome experience and I had my second there too. The risks are obviously low or they wouldn't offer it. You are not being selfish x

 

[Supersoapie]

Thanks so much wifeywifey! I keep telling OH that there wouldn't be such places at Birthing Centres if they weren't safe but he keeps worrying. My thoughts were that at the BC, you get a senior midwife with you pretty much from start to finish and they're so on the ball whereas, you get left on your own for periods at the Hospital as it's so busy so that at least keeps mum and baby a bit safer. I really do think the BC is the place for me, I get quite stressed so I do think that the privacy and one on one care will relax me.

Thanks again, you've really set my mind at ease xx

 

[wifeywifey]

The idea of being on wards and moved about etc and husbands can't stay with you sounds awful. I had my room start to finish and oh stayed the whole time. The midwives stayed with me the whole time. They even had the pool filling when I was on my way but he came so fast I didn't get to use it. There was meconium in the waters but apparently it wasn't a danger and they didn't need to transfer me then either. Only downside could be you can't have an epidural but I didn't want one anyway

 

[wifeywifey]

As you can tell im very pro birth centre lol

 

[Becky1]

I was offered the choice as I was low risk but went for hospital - best choice I ever made as lo heart rate dropped and within 10mins he was out via c section. The thought of what would have happened if I was in a birthing centre doesn't bare thinking about. x

 

[Fospetil]

I am in the same predicament at the minute. I think I will opt for BC if I can for your reasons. Also my OH doesn't drive and if he was to leave the nearest maternity hospital and had to come back in the middle of the night it could take him about 45 minutes due to having to get taxi's etc. He could miss the birth and I would never forgive myself and he would be devastated. I was reading this the other night when reading about birth plans on the NHS website. This helped ease my mind a little:

https://www.npeu.ox.ac.uk/birthplace/results

Also, hypnobirthing helps. It helps with the understanding that we have not always had all the different interventions that were used and babies were born perfectly healthily with mothers using their own intuition. I agree, I don't think that there would be birthing centres if there was so much of a risk.

After all this, I bet I end up in hospital on my back lol xxx

 

[fao]

Women were giving birth in maternity homes or in their own homes as a matter of routine until really recently, say the last 40 years after which birth has become more medicalised. Medical intervention is almost always not needed, yet given in a relative high proportion of births anyway.
The adrenaline you produce in a high pressure environment stalls labour and then you end up with intervention to progress it, which is why birthing units are now so popular again.

It is your decision, but if I had the choice it would be a birthing unit. Trained and experienced midwives are amazing and will always take action if risks arise in labour. They are not as quick to jump in with intervention as doctors though, so you stand a better chance of having a relaxed and easy birth on the unit. You have to trust the midwives!

Don't forget that we are mammals just like any other, and could give birth in a cave on our own with no pain relief and have healthy babies!! Not suggesting this BTW, lol!

 

[Becky1]

And that is why years ago there was a higher rate of both babies and mothers dying during or after childbirth!!

 

[SuffolkMum]

And that is why years ago there was a higher rate of both babies and mothers dying during or after childbirth!!

Mothers and babies still die in hospitals or suffer serious complications, there is no sure fire way to guarantee safety wherever you birth. I'm glad you had a positive hospital experience as many do, but it doesn't necessarily mean that a well managed birth outside of hospital has to be high risk. For some people, a heavily medicalised environment can actually make labour very stressful and lead to otherwise unnecessary intervention.

I'm having a home birth and have encountered nothing but encouragement from every midwife I've spoken to. I have educated myself on the pros/cons and what will happen if anything goes wrong and I will have prepared everything necessary to take into hospital just in case. The level of care given during home births is extremely high with two very experienced midwives in attendance and an ambulance on standby. If there is need for it, I will transfer to hospital on their recommendation immediately.

I'm not against birthing in hospital at all, but would feel more comfortable at home and having had a fairly easy first baby, am considered a good candidate for doing so.

 

[Kester]

Hi there, if the birth centre feels like the right place for you to be, do that! it is no way selfish! a relaxed labour under midwifery care is more likely to result in a happy, healthy mum and baby with minimum interventions than a hospital birth for most ladies, unless there is some serious medical issue that is known about before hand. its natural for OH's to worry but really, he doesnt need to, you will get excellent care at the birthing unit, and if problems do arise, they will transfer you, the vast majority of emergency situations that actually require immediate hospital treatment can be managed by midwives until you get to a hospital, and there are obsetricians that have admitted a lot of the (relatively few) negative outcomes that occur would have happened wherever the birth took place!

If they are offering you the birth centre, they must be confident that there are very low levels of risk for you, as they seem to haul folk into the hospital for all sorts of reasons these days! goodluck hun

 

[fao]

And that is why years ago there was a higher rate of both babies and mothers dying during or after childbirth!!

Yeah, maybe in victorian times in the workhouse!

Unnecessary intervention and over medicalisation carries it own risks, as Suffolk says. If you balance risks and intervene only when necessary then medical help has its place, and I am grateful it is there. In a healthy pregnancy, it should be treated as a safety net, not the main method of managing childbirth. Jmho.

 

[cornishfairy]

I'm contemplating this too. My BC and hospital are both 20 mins from home but in totally opposite directions so 40 mins in ambulance if I needed to be transferred. Hubby is terrified by the idea but I know I'd feel better in a more relaxed environment as hospitals make me very anxious at the best of times and I really want to be able to use the pool for pain relief (no pool at hosp, just a bed and a shared loo). Like you I am slightly concerned about the transfer time but as others have said if it was that risky surely they wouldn't exist. I like the idea of constant midwife care and monitoring, whereas the thought of being left in a room for ages in the hosp does freak me out a bit. I think I'm going to say I want the bc and then see how I feel when labour starts as i can always still choose the hospital at that stage if I feel like I'm not going to be able to cope on just gas and air.
Obviously there's always the chance I might need an induction or the birth centre may already have someone in it (only one person at a time at ours, it's closed unless someone needs it then the mw's open it up for you).
Friends of mine who had hospital births last year (not local to me though I must point out) all had horrendous experiences which makes me more nervous and they've all said given the choice again they'd go to a birth centre. X

 

[SuffolkMum]

I suddenly remembered something important my midwife told me way back at my booking appt. I'll ask her about it again when I see her on Friday, but it's equally useful for those going to a birthing centre or homebirthing.

I told her my biggest fear was needing an emergency c-section and that being half an hour away from hospital could put my baby at risk. She told me it takes approx 45mins to prep theatre for a section, so even if you are already in hospital you will not be operated on any faster than if you were around 30 minutes away. Bear in mind that an ambulance will get you there faster and the midwives are experienced enough to call for one BEFORE things get critical. This really put my mind at ease.

 

[Fospetil]

Suffolk mum - Thanks for that, this is exactly what i thought. I know that an "emergency" operation doesn't happen as things like OBEM make out so I knew that there would still be some waiting and prep to do. These are my thoughts, while they are scrubbing up I would be in an ambulance, just as safe! Think that's cemented it for me if I'm honest! xx

 

[Supersoapie]

It's cemented it for me too!! Thanks everyone xx

 

[Becky1]

They really do happen like obem! I felt like I was in an episode. If you feel like a bc is the right choice then that's great and I'm sure things will be fine I just know that in my case it wouldn't have been and I'll never regret my decision. What I'd quite like with the next baby is to go to the bc after the birth for a few days as the care sounds great. x

 

[hellogoodbye]

I'm lucky, the birth centre is nextdoor to the hospital so it's a no-brainer for me!

 

[AmeliaM27]

I opted for a homebirth for my first baby so that I was guaranteed to have 2 senior midwives with me throughout my entire labour and birthing experience. They were absolutely incredible, constantly monitoring both baby and me to ensure all was ok and afterwards when my placenta was retained they got an ambulance to me in what felt like seconds and I was in hospital very quickly. When I arrived I heard that earlier that day the ward had been closed as they were too under staffed so if I had wanted a hospital birth I would have ended up having to go to a different hospital further away.

I'd definitely opt for either another homebirth or a birthing centre next time

 

[oceanborn82]

With my first I was in a hospital (no birthing centre around here anyway). In the end I'm glad I was in a hospital because things started going wrong and I had a doctor in my room in seconds. If I didn't have access to the medical teams so fast I don't know what would of happened. I'm pro birth centres but usually if they are attached to the hospital.
Also C sections can happen as quick as in OBEM. I had my forms signed and was about to be wheeled down after about 3 minutes then LO#s heart rate recovered and we managed without the section. But the fact was if baby's heart rate didn't improve I needed a section within a few minutes the dr said, I didn't have time to ask questions I needed form signed and gone.

(tbh the hospital I go to it has it's own maternity wing sectioned off from hospital and it's run by the MW's so it's very much like a birthing centre tbh).