Can I choose which hospital to give birth?

jellyhead

my hospital have private rooms somewhere that can be booked, around £300 a night and you'd have to block book for a baby, they can turn up any time lol! don't know if you get a midwife checking on you though, or just a nurse, it wouldn't be on the maternity ward.

Queen_P_2

You guys have been fantastic, the info has really helped.

Unfortunately I think I may be considered a medium to high risk patient as I have some issues that may affect my pregnancy as I go on.

I dont know how to get past this now as I am the type not to be able to stay the night without my hubby (i sound sad now but i dont care) and I may not be able to qualify for a home birth.

Paying for a room was a thought we had but even then according to Dr Foster's website they still dont allow partners to stay, dont know how accurate this information is.

I think Queen Charlotte's and Chelsea Birth Centre sounds good in terms of my research but they say the patient must be healthy, Although I dont have anything requiring any special medication, however it depends on what they mean healthy.

Also St Mary's Hospital in Praed Street which is 7 Miles away from me allows partners to stay. Maybe I will have to consider going out further to meet my requiremements.

Anyone been to any of these mentioned?

jellyhead

no idea if partners can stay in private rooms, might be worth calling the hospital. if like my sister you deliver early morning you might not mind your partner going home at the end of visiting hours (9pm here) because you'll have seen a lot of him lol!

i won't be nosey and ask your health issues, but some women find they're healthier during pregnancy, others feel worse. i know some people who have real problems with things like asthma, IBS, joint pain etc. while pregnant but mine all goes away. yours might be one of those glowing pregnancies where you feel better than ever :-)

Queen_P_2

I have asthma and loose joints, the asthma isnt such a worry as if it doesnt get better, it isnt that bad anyway... but the loose joints getting looser are a worry as it also means that my waters could break earlier than normal.

As far as getting sick of my hubby, well we have both been unemployed unfortunately since oct last year so have spent 24 hours a day together, only being apart 2 hours at most.... Before we were both unemployed we worked in the same office. So saw eachother all day and travelled in to work and back home together too. So it works for us and we wouldnt want it any other way.

Jay-Jay_4

You'll be fine after your xray, don't worry about it. Millions of women have xrays, parachute out of planes, smoke, drink, trampoline and take drugs before they find out that they're pregnant and in the vast, vast, vast majority of cases they and their babies are absolutely fine.

You can choose where you will have your baby, you can turn up at any hospital in labour and have your baby there but don't discount the idea of staying at home to have your baby. I know it sounds like a scary, dangerous thing that only hippy women with immense pain thresholds do but it's really not. There's no difference to having your baby in hospital really but at home it's more relaxed, usually quicker, less painful, better midwifery care and you and hubby get to stay together. You can still have pain relief, drugs and you can go to the hospital at any point if you feel you want to.

Don't dismiss it as pie in the sky, its' really not as scary as it sounds and a planned homebirth is actually statistically safer than going to hospital.

Good luck with whatever route you choose

Crispy_Ambulance

Queen_P wrote:

I have asthma and loose joints, the asthma isnt such a worry as if it doesnt get better, it isnt that bad anyway... but the loose joints getting looser are a worry as it also means that my waters could break earlier than normal.

As far as getting sick of my hubby, well we have both been unemployed unfortunately since oct last year so have spent 24 hours a day together, only being apart 2 hours at most.... Before we were both unemployed we worked in the same office. So saw eachother all day and travelled in to work and back home together too. So it works for us and we wouldnt want it any other way.

I am not sure why loose joints would mean your waters would break earlier - is this something your midwife has said?

I know we are not giving medical advice so please talk to your midwife.

BTW - no-one can say you are not allowed a homebirth. If you want to give birth at home a midwife is obliged to attend you. No-one has the right to make choices about your pregnancy or your birth except you. That means doctors can give you advice but you don't have to take it. For more info on homebirth try https://www.homebirth.org

loobs40

When my GP (female) came to check over my newborn after I had her at home, told me not to tell my friends abut homebirth in case they all wanted to do it :rolleyes:

jellyhead

must admit my hospital seems so understaffed i don't know where they'd find midwives for homebirths! i bet the midwives like doing them though.

i don't know anything about loose joints, but to give birth the bones in your pelvis need to shift, all kinds of things have to happen. how early are we talking about waters breaking? wouldn't they stay intact until at least the final month where hormonal things and other changes start happening? (very scientific i am lol!).

my sister has joint problems, she also has scoliosis (? - it's a curved spine thing) and she always said she'd have problems having children and she worried a lot beforehand but she never did have a problem. she had her third baby this week and during this pregnancy she had SPD (a joint problem) and was walking on crutches or not at all for the final months, mostly in a wheelchair but it all turned out fine in the end. she was under a consultant and she went into hospital a week or 2 early to give birth, they used the gel and everything happened normally after that. no serious problems, she was in a lot of pain during the pregnancy and she used heavy duty painkillers but there was no danger to her life or baby.

the main problem with asthma is probably that they stop you using some drugs. some doctors say absolutely no antihistamines, others say some are okay but not others. they're also quite hesitant about giving antibiotics, even penicillin which is safe. inhalers are okay though and i think nebulisers, steroids, etc. can be used. my asthma just goes away when i get pregnant but i know it's not the case for everyone.

Jay-Jay_4

jellyhead wrote:

must admit my hospital seems so understaffed i don't know where they'd find midwives for homebirths!

They HAVE to provide a midwife. They cannot refuse of the grounds of understaffing or even suggest that a midwife may not be available. They HAVE to find one from somewhere.

jellyhead

is it the hospital midwives who'd do it, or a community one? maybe the same one you get the antenatals with? i watched desperate midwives when i was pregnant least year and the home births looked really lovely, the midwives enjoyed them too.