Can I choose which hospital to give birth?

Queen_P_2

Did any of you guys have your partner's stay?

Its a major requirement for us and so im looking for places that allow this.

Crispy_Ambulance

I am not sure if you mean stay for the birth or stay afterwards? There is no reason why your partner should not be able to support you during the birth but I doubt if many hospitals would be happy for him/her to stay overnight in the hospital with you. Most postnatal wards just don't have the facilities for partners to stay unless you or your baby are ill.

If you want to know about a particular hospital's policies, just give them a ring and ask.

across

i would recommend home birth to anyone (if everythign is straightforward of course) i had first in hospital and second at home(not through choice but by accident in bedroom!) and it was great the nicest thing ever so it would be fantastic if you had all the correct equipment at hand and were prepared for it beforehand, i recommend a bath and lots of walking up and down (if possible of course) as this is how i had both of mine first nearly born in hospital bath without any gas and air or anything and second at home without any painrelief,good luck just try to relax and grit your teeth it is well worth it!!

conradmum

I don't know of any run of the mill hospital where the partner can stay after the birth. It's because you'll be on a ward with other women - doesn't do much for their privacy having strange men hanging around (not saying your oh is strange but you get my meaning!)
If it's really important to you, consider a home birth or some kind of half way house. Generally, though, hot water is really good pain relief whether it be a bath, shower, hot flannels or a proper birthing pool (as I had - fantastic!).

olgadapolga

Hey, congratulations on your pregnancy.

The National Services Framework for Children, Young People and Maternity Services (2004) state that "Every woman is able to choose the most appropriate place and professional to attend her during childbirth based on her wishes . . . .".

So, you have the right to choose where you give birth. If you want to give birth in your garden, you can.

Have you contacted the Head of Midwifery at the hospital you'd prefer to have your baby to seek their opinion? I live inbetween several large maternity hospitals and always had the choice, you just have your antenatal and postnatal care with your local team of midwives and go to the hospital for the actual birth.

Although I can thoroughly recommend homebirth, with a pool, I've had two babies at home and wouldn't EVER consider going into hopsital - you also get continuity of carer at home to a certain extent which has been shown to improve outcomes.

The following website provides leaflets (which they will email to you) which might be helpful

http://www.infochoice.org/ic/ic.nsf/TheLeaflets?openform

jellyhead

here the delivery bit and the ward are separate, so if you are actually in labour during the night your birth partners are there with you, but once you're moved onto the ward they're sent home at the end of visiting hours. i was a bit upset when i had roo that he was born at the end of visiting, so within minutes i was on the ward alone, lights out etc. and i'd only just given birth. i'd have liked my husband there to help me get into the bathroom, help clean up all the blood everywhere, or just hold the baby while i did it. that's the way it is though, my sister had a baby yesterday in the morning, so by the time her bloke was kicked out she'd already had around 12 hours of recovery and was fine about it. a girl i was in hospital with cried all night because her husband was sent home at 9pm, this wasn't the day she'd given birth, it was the following day, she just didn't want him to leave her at all, if you're like that then a home birth might be good.

rev229

your antenatal care will be carried out by the community midwife for your area you do not have to see your gp at all if you don't want too. The community midwife who sees you at the surgery will be based a the hospital within your catchment area. You can choose to have your baby at any hospital you want. Most maternity units have times when parents can visit to look around the hospital and ask questions. Just ring the hospital in question and ask to be put through to maternity reception they can arrange for you to visit with your partner. Then go back to your gp and tell him you are going to ......... can he do a referral letter to the obsetrician. If this does'nt work speak to your midwife some midwifes do their own referrals and if she can't she will tell the gp to do it. If you have already booked at the local hospital you can still rebook elsewhere. hope this helps

jtdw

If you don't want a homebirth (check out https://www.homebirth.org.uk first) which is IMHO the best choice if you don't want to jump onto the hospital 'conveyor belt', you're not too far from the Edgware Birth Centre which is an NHS freestanding birth centre that you can self-refer to. http://www.barnetpct.nhs.uk/sites_services/edgware/birth_centre.shtm

If you do choose to go to hospital you don't have to stay overnight, you can leave as soon after as you feel able to, even if they tell you you 'have' to stay for 6 hours or more. Of course if you choose a hospital birth you're more likely to end up with intervention that would mean you'd need to stay longer, but even if it's against medical advice, it's always your choice when to leave, they can't keep you prisoner!

bumpybecky

Congratulations

I'd not worry too much about what your GP says, wait until you speak to your community midwife and ask her what's what. IME GPs have funny ideas sometimes!

If you want to ensure your partner can stay with you after the birth I'd recommend you seriously consider a homebirth with a pool :)

I had dd1 in hospital (had to transfer in from planned home water birth). We left approx 4 hours after she was delivered (only stayed that long as dh was alseep!). With dd2&3 we had home water births

crutches

if you want your dh to stay in a room with you after the birth to help you and care for you you'll have to move to australia.My friend just spent 3 days in the room with his wife and their second child.