midwifery led care & epidurals???

[Heres Hoping]

Hi ladies

Im getting totally ahead of myself but have been thinking about what sort of birth id like. Watched a youtube vid about my hospital & there appears to be a midwifery led unit & consultant care unit. On the vid they mentioned that epidurals arent given in the midwifery unit but it was brushed over & not explained well. It will be weeks before i get a chance to ask a mw but im curious to know, what would happen if u were in the mw led unit & decided u needed epidural, would they transfer u to get one or would u have to do wivout? Has anyone any experiences of this? First time mum so hav no clue, would like waterbirth but want the reasurance of epidural back up incase i cant cope (never experienced labour before, dont know what threshold is). Worst thing i could possibly imagine is being denied pain relief when needed most!

Tnx in advance x

 

[Constantstar]

At my birthing centre I wasnt allowed anything other than pethidine and gas and air. Also epi has to be done by an annesatist so im thinking u prob gotta be on labour ward? I was only allowed in birthing centre for 24 hours myself then they moved me to labour ward and had epi there. X

pregnant with baby no 2
sent from my Samsung Galaxy S3 excuse my terrible spelling

 

[babymother]

You of course have the choice to have an epidural at any time, but if you are on the midwife led unit, they will move you to the consultant led unit. But the midwives on the MLU, will always encourage you and help you get back on track.
But it is your choice

 

[Heres Hoping]

Thanks ladies. I love idea of water birth & hope to remain as active as poss during labour etc but just terrified id be denied an epidural when i need it most. u hear horror stories of people not getting them if staff not available etc. Just scaring myself now lol x

 

[Gemsy]

I have a similar thing with my choice of place to give birth, it is a midwife led centre in a hospital, with consultant led labour ward next door. They say that if you need an epidural, you will just be transferred. I'm the same as you - I really want to go for an active labour and water birth, but I just want that back up in case I can't cope.

 

[Heres Hoping]

I have a similar thing with my choice of place to give birth, it is a midwife led centre in a hospital, with consultant led labour ward next door. They say that if you need an epidural, you will just be transferred. I'm the same as you - I really want to go for an active labour and water birth, but I just want that back up in case I can't cope.

I know gemsy, id imagine alot of woman feel like that. im full of great ideas of how id like to have an active labour but when the pain hits i may change my mind as quick. id just b scared to be told i couldnt be transferred or they hadnt the room. it appears to be on two seperate floors so not sure how smooth transfer will be. i see im abit ahead of u so i can be the experiment & tell u how i got on with this plan lol xx

 

[redbear]

I gave birth in a consultant unit because im high care but the midwifes where wonderful, i got to bounce on a birthing ball in a big nice room with midwife checking me every 5 minutes and lots of tea and toast. Its not all bad if you go for consultant care. i didnt need more than gas and air but if i did i wouldnt have had to move. It was so tranquil and relaxed it really doesnt matter where you are as long as your happy with it xx

 

[wifeywifey]

My hospital has a midwife led unit if I wanted an epi I would have had to be transferred by ambulance, I did it because I really wanted a natural experience and so glad I did it.

 

[Heres Hoping]

That sounds perfect redbear, similar to what id like. Congrats on recent birth of ur girl!

i just want the best of both worlds, all the birthing ball, pool stuff with lovely strong painkillers on standby just incase. lol Im amazed at anyone who just needs gas&air, hope im that good x

 

[redbear]

There was a birthing pool but it was out of order when i asked lol, in the end i didnt want to get in anyway because im very high on gas and air and thought the water may freak me out (im very high on it dont need anything more -- i updated facebook with dribble during labour lol) im just saying that if its going to make you comfortable to have the back up of more pain relif then you can get a good experience in hospital setting, its not all bad. If you need more its there if not you just keep on with the gas and air. x

 

[Gemsy]

I have a similar thing with my choice of place to give birth, it is a midwife led centre in a hospital, with consultant led labour ward next door. They say that if you need an epidural, you will just be transferred. I'm the same as you - I really want to go for an active labour and water birth, but I just want that back up in case I can't cope.

I know gemsy, id imagine alot of woman feel like that. im full of great ideas of how id like to have an active labour but when the pain hits i may change my mind as quick. id just b scared to be told i couldnt be transferred or they hadnt the room. it appears to be on two seperate floors so not sure how smooth transfer will be. i see im abit ahead of u so i can be the experiment & tell u how i got on with this plan lol xx

I like the sound of this! I will be watching out for your birth story!