Midwife Led Unit or Hospital?

Angel3130 · Feb 12, 2012 10:04AM

I really cant decide where to have my baby and everyone else's advice would be appreciated!

Both the stand alone MLU and the hospital are around the same distance away from us. I went to see the MLU last night and it looked lovely, really peaceful and relaxing and noone was in so very quiet! The hospital doesnt do tours but the thing I'm worried about is not being able to have an epidural! The hospital is also 10 miles away if any problems did arise but they do have basic oxygen equipment if the baby needs a bit of help breathing when she is born.

I keep changing my mind about where to go! :?

Ruth77 · Jan 31, 2012 6:16AM

Gosh, such a hard decision. I really don't know. I'm very risk-averse so would probably end up at the hospital, but I'm sure the birth unit is lots nicer and you'd be absolutely fine there. I can't understand why the hospital don't give tours. Do you know anything about it? Like where I live some of the hospitals have birthing pools etc?

Sorry, I'm not help at all!!

Angel3130 · Jan 31, 2012 6:27AM

Hi Ruth

All I know is what Ive read on the net and they do have birthing pools which Im hoping to use as well as en suite rooms which the MLU had but it just felt so cosy at the MLU!

I think I probably will end up at the hospital because I'm such a wimp when it comes to pain and the thought of not being able to have an epidural if needed is scaring me!

M2be · Jan 31, 2012 7:40AM

hahaha - I think are we all from DIM!!!

I have to agree with Ruth - I would be completely panicked about not having the right facilities if something went wrong. Is this your first? I was only thinking that if your first whent smoothly then the likelyhood of your second being the same is high - you've proved that you can get a baby through your hips if that makes sense.

If its your first i would say go with hospital - you don't even know if you'll be able to push it out, or how your body will react to labour so i would definitely be more cauticous.

With my 1st i ended up in theatre with ventouse but they thought it was going to be a ECS so pleased i was in the right place is a understatement!!

Plus I had a private room at our local hospital - with ensuite which i found enormously helpful!!!

M2be · Jan 31, 2012 7:41AM

Gosh just read my message back and I sound like a right scare monger!!!! Sorry - just wanted to let you know what it was like for me!!

Ruth77 · Jan 31, 2012 8:22AM

Haha, look at us DIM girls.....I am so impatient waiting for baby I am forever on the internet at the moment!!! Totally agree with M2be, I would go for the hospital. I would second time round despite having a very straight forward first birthing pool birth with just G&A. My son had the cord wrapped around his neck when he came out. They sorted it really quickly and he didn't even need a bit of oxygen (which they could do at the MLU anyway), but I just think it shows that even with a straight forward birth you never know what is going to happen...

Sorry, like M2be said, I don't mean to scare monger - MLU's away from hospitals like yours exist for a reason - the NHS or whoever have clearly deemed them as safe as a hospital for low-risk births.

xx

KimmyS84 · Jan 31, 2012 9:02AM

I'm going for the stand alone birth centre this time, and I would have done last time (for my first baby) had it been up and running then

There is proof that your are less likely to have complications at a birth centre, and they would be keeping a close eye on you and be ready to transfer you should the need arise

If you do feel the need for an epidural, remember that even if you are in the hospital there is no guarantee you would be able to get one straight away. It all depends on the anaesthetist and what they are doing at the time, so you may have to wait regardless of being in the labour ward rather than the birth centre

Good luck! x

Eyper · Jan 31, 2012 9:24AM

Its a really tricky decision to make. I've got no choice and have to go to hospital as I'm high risk, so that's fine. But we have an MLU closer to home and friends who've given birth there have said it is a wonderful experience. The hospital is only a short ambulance ride away if there's any problems and that is one of the things I would be looking at if I were considering it.

We also have at the hospital a sort of "best of both worlds" option - they have the standard consultant led unit downstairs (with no luxuries or pools or anything) and a MLU upstairs which has pools and is more relaxed. And that's an even better option than the stand alone MLU because if anything goes wrong you've only got to go down in the lift so there is no real transfer time. It might be worth asking what facilities the hospital has for low risk births eg pools etc.

FAYE1983 · Jan 31, 2012 9:24AM

I was thinking the same the other day and as much as i am going for as natural birth as possible i am also not silly enough to think i might need more than a MLU can offer as this is my first so don't really know what to expect. So i think im going to have baby at hospital and hopefully a birthing pool is free and take some relaxing music, and do all i can to make it more relaxing for me. Also do hypnobirthing which should help. I would just like to know that if i needed an emergancy c section i wouldn't have to be whizzed from MLU to the hospital, least if im at the hospital already i don't have to worry about it.

I think i might have considered a MLU a bit more if i was on my second or third etc pregnancy and knew what to expect. But this time its defo hospital for me.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Peony1980 · Jan 31, 2012 11:34AM

I was lucky enough to have my 1st in a MLU at the hospital and I don't think I would have been brave enough to go to a stand alone MLU. As it was I got to experience both MLU and hospital as I had a retained placenta and had to be transferred (only downstairs!) for theatre after the birth. I then spent the night on the normal hospital ward.

I have to say that my experience of the MLU was fantastic and I had a brilliant birth and the experience I had afterwards on the hospital ward was dreadful. The attitude of the midwives couldn't have been more different and the atmosphere.

I would love to be able to have this baby in the same MLU but we are moving soon and will probably be too far away. I'm hoping there is something similar close to where we will be living as I really dont want a normal hospital birth but still am not brave enough to go for stand alone.

Sorry, that probably doesn't help much!

birthhypnosis · Feb 12, 2012 10:04AM

Angel it is a VERY hard decision right now - but you know what? On the day itself, you will know what's right for you.

I don't know how it works your way, but in my area, if you book a home birth then decide that you want to go to hospital you can't opt for the midwife led unit - but if you really want an epidural then that's not what you want anyway.

Now here's a radical suggestion for you: Say you book a home birth; if you need to go into hospital for medical reasons. you will be transferred quite early as the midwife will not want to take risks. Same as if you are at the MLU.

AND if you WANT to go into hospital for an epidural (all other forms of pain relief are available at home birth AND MLU) then you CAN, no questions asked.

But if you DON'T want to move, and don't need to for medical reasons, you stay put in your own bedroom and have your baby with TENS, birth pool (er - not at the same time), gas and air and good old fashioned breathing.

Just as you would in the MLU but with the added bonus of your own fridge being at hand.

Think about it!

Midwife Led Unit or Hospital?

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