travel time to delivery place

goldy

let me preface my question by saying that i'm not pregnant but i'm curious...

for those who chose to birth at a hospital or birthing center, how far from your home (travel time) was the place where you delivered? what do you all feel is an acceptable travel time?

subbrock

the women's hospital is about 10-15 minutes from where we were living at the time. its pretty much in the center of town, so no matter where you live in the city you could get there in 20 minutes or less.
not sure if i think there is an "acceptable" time. i know in my birthing class the teacher addressed this for the people who live out in the county or more rural areas. she basically said, get to the hospital as soon as possible. the hospital is very accomodating to people who lived far out, so if you got there early, they wouldnt kick you out and tell you to come back.

webjockey

Riding in the car while being in labor sucks. I'd choose the shortest distance possible without compromising too much on care. It also depends on if you want to do most of your laboring in the hospital or at home.

The car ride from the house where I was laboring in to the house I gave birth in was a 10 minute drive. Every bump made me want to cuss.

goldy

webjockey wrote: »

The car ride from the house where I was laboring in to the house I gave birth in was a 10 minute drive. Every bump made me want to cuss.

you bring up a great point webbie..

i'm a planner so i've been thinking about this stuff (no we're not trying either )

but i don't want to deliver in the local hospital (part of the system i work for), and i don't think my insurance would cover a birthing place or homebirth (and i'm not sure i would want to do either).. i've found a hospital and an ob/gyn/midwife group that sounds great, their office philosophy is natural birthing, try to avoid episiotomies, allow the mother choices, etc.. and they do their deliveries in a hospital down the street from them that follows the same philosophies.. it would be out of my insurance network (though insurance would cover some of the costs), but it's somewhat far.. not real far but farther than the local hospital that i refuse to deliver in (unless emergency)..

so i'm just trying to see the average travel time most ladies here have/had..

cosmicfly

Mine was 45 minutes away. There's a closer hospital (20 minutes or less), but I didn't want to deliver there. The hospital I delivered Maya and Aidan at is very accomodating to the mother's choices about childbirth and the nurses are great advocates for mamas. They have birthing tubs in several of the rooms and both times I felt they really listened to me when I was in labor and respected what my body was telling me. This was very different than the experience I had with my first son's birth.

As for the ride- I don't think I posted this with my birth story, but I ended up driving myself to the hospital in the middle of the night this time around. SO was sick and I couldn't fathom having both of us throwing up all the way over there. I called him before I left to check, but there was no way I was going to pick him up the way he sounded. All of my friends have young kids, so none of them were an option, and really I knew I didn't have time to wait. I don't know, something about doing the actual driving and needing to focus on that took a lot of the discomfort out of the ride. The last 5 minutes were a killer, though, I didn't think I was going to make it.

So 45 minutes, while not ideal, was ok.

briccagrl

My drive will be about 45 minutes. Like Cosmic there is a hospital about 15-20 minutes closer but it really is not a great hospital. The longer ride has me a little worried but Im sure we'll be fine.

subbrock

webjockey wrote: »

Riding in the car while being in labor sucks. I'd choose the shortest distance possible without compromising too much on care. It also depends on if you want to do most of your laboring in the hospital or at home.

The car ride from the house where I was laboring in to the house I gave birth in was a 10 minute drive. Every bump made me want to cuss.

amen!

cympreni

Yelling distance. Seriously. I lived right next door to the hospital. And luckier still there was a series of offices connected where our ped is, so I could walk there as well. But it was a trade off. One of our apartment complex exits went into the path of the lifeline helicopter parking spot, and the hospital/ambulance radios would cut into the tv and phones. The radio thing was especially annoying, they had a tendency to bs a lot late in the evenings, usually when I really really wanted to watch something.

I used to ponder if there ever was an emergency should I bother calling 911 or just walk. Luckily I never got the chance to figure out which was faster.

webjockey

goldy wrote: »

webjockey wrote: »

The car ride from the house where I was laboring in to the house I gave birth in was a 10 minute drive. Every bump made me want to cuss.

you bring up a great point webbie..

i'm a planner so i've been thinking about this stuff (no we're not trying either )

but i don't want to deliver in the local hospital (part of the system i work for), and i don't think my insurance would cover a birthing place or homebirth (and i'm not sure i would want to do either).. i've found a hospital and an ob/gyn/midwife group that sounds great, their office philosophy is natural birthing, try to avoid episiotomies, allow the mother choices, etc.. and they do their deliveries in a hospital down the street from them that follows the same philosophies.. it would be out of my insurance network (though insurance would cover some of the costs), but it's somewhat far.. not real far but farther than the local hospital that i refuse to deliver in (unless emergency)..

so i'm just trying to see the average travel time most ladies here have/had..

If you itemize your taxes, you may be able to write midwife services off as medical expenses. I'm not sure about that 100% though.

RedCatWaves

Any amount of time spent in a car while in labor truly sucks. For safety though, I think a half hour of travel time is about the most I would be comfortable with. The less the better though. More time in the car increases the risk of 1) delivering in the car, or 2) having the stress of driving actually stop labor. Neither are good.

WileE-Dead

lol @ goldy
Everytime I see you in here I think yeahhhhh...
Ah, but then not really a reality :toothy7:

work it around curly ff...

:laughing7:

sarah42

About 20 minutes for my son. We lived in an apartment complex that had these 3 huge speed bumps at the entrance, and going over those in the car sucked. I'll be going to the same hospital for this baby, but we've moved house and are only 5 minutes away now, with no speed bumps.

Scuba Gal

I moved when I was 7mo pregnant with Maggie and it was just under an hour... not ideal but I well... when I was had this one I kept my doctors in the city because I had some complications and I felt more comfortable in their care- it became a bit taxing during doctors appts more than anything.. but I never really went into labor with either so I can't speak to that. Even with my second when my water broke I never had any contractions or anything so it was an easy drive..

I will say, unless you have family/friends to help- the hardest thing for us was the dog. I ended up in the hospital for 4 days with Maggie and my husband having to make the drive to take care of the dog because we had just moved and have no family near by- was a huge factor. So if you have any pets or other kids at home, the distance post-delivery might be a consideration.

marielle448

For both #1 and #2 the hospital was about 35 min away. Now we're doing a homebirth and no drive was the main attraction. Like webbie said it truly sucks to have to shift gears mentally like that. Although I do know several women who are either doing VBACs in a hospital or just want very low intervention so they will actually labor in the car at the hospital parking lot in order to enter L&D at just the right time without being hassled.

Goldy I seem to remember you're in FL and if so your insurance company pretty much has no choice but to cover a homebirth or birth center. It's some legislation I can't remember at the moment.

There's a freestanding birth center around here that's right next to a major teaching hospital and women will drive an hour plus to get there. It's very popular and even when you arrive early you'll know you won't be badgered by the midwives.

Brown_Eyed_Girl

My drive was about 25 minutes. I actually spent more than that in the car b/c we went to a show downtown while I was in early labor, then went home, then went back downtown to the hospital a couple hours later. Yeah, we're crazy!

The bumps were awful. Also, I could tell when we arrived at the hospital that my contractions slowed down some. While I was in triage, waiting on the nurse that seemed to take forever to check me in, I really focused on relaxing and on my contractions instead of whatever the nurse was doing. I totally tuned her out during contractions, and things seemed to pick up again after that. So how weel you can mentally shift gears is definitely something to consider.

FWIW, I asked while pg about traveling 3 hours away to see DH (didn't actually work out though) and the midwife said they have patients travel that far to deliver at that hospital, so she couldn't really tell me no. :shock:

iris427

I've been wondering about this too, because the birth center 2 hours from here looks so nice. And I know they have had women from St. Louis deliver there before. My Bradley instructor has had students deliver there as well. But 2 hours in a car in labor sounds like it could be really awful.

Simbathekat

cosmicfly wrote: »

As for the ride- I don't think I posted this with my birth story, but I ended up driving myself to the hospital in the middle of the night this time around. SO was sick and I couldn't fathom having both of us throwing up all the way over there. I called him before I left to check, but there was no way I was going to pick him up the way he sounded. All of my friends have young kids, so none of them were an option, and really I knew I didn't have time to wait. I don't know, something about doing the actual driving and needing to focus on that took a lot of the discomfort out of the ride. The last 5 minutes were a killer, though, I didn't think I was going to make it.

Wow! Driving myself to the hospital while in labor was something that's crossed my mind a few times just in case. I figured with all the breathing and doubling over, one would have to call a cab if no one was around to take her to the hospital.

Where I'm located now, the drive to the hospital is 15 minutes. Where I'm moving to, the time will be about 25 minutes. Both times are acceptable seeing how first time moms are usually in labor for several hours ...

Kaia

Goldy, by FL law, your insurance is required to cover a birth center if they cover hospital births. You may have to pay up front and get reimbursed later, but they should cover it. Just something to consider.

The hospital I went to was the farthest from me of the 3 major hospitals in town. It was about a 15 minute ride when we went in the middle of the night with no traffic. It was the most awful 15 minutes EVER, but I think it was worth having the better hospital.

cosmicfly

Simbathekat wrote: »

cosmicfly wrote: »

As for the ride- I don't think I posted this with my birth story, but I ended up driving myself to the hospital in the middle of the night this time around. SO was sick and I couldn't fathom having both of us throwing up all the way over there. I called him before I left to check, but there was no way I was going to pick him up the way he sounded. All of my friends have young kids, so none of them were an option, and really I knew I didn't have time to wait. I don't know, something about doing the actual driving and needing to focus on that took a lot of the discomfort out of the ride. The last 5 minutes were a killer, though, I didn't think I was going to make it.

Wow! Driving myself to the hospital while in labor was something that's crossed my mind a few times just in case. I figured with all the breathing and doubling over, one would have to call a cab if no one was around to take her to the hospital.

Where I'm located now, the drive to the hospital is 15 minutes. Where I'm moving to, the time will be about 25 minutes. Both times are acceptable seeing how first time moms are usually in labor for several hours ...

This was my third baby and I have a history of turbo births, so I was under instructions from the midwife not to worry about timing my contractions- just get over there before I was too uncomfortable, giving birth in the car, etc. The contractions got progressively more painful but they were manageable until about 5 minutes before I arrived. The walk into the hospital carrying my bag sucked, though, and when I made it up to the nurses station in the LDR area, I started to cry. The nurse brought me right to my room- no triage for me! But I held it together until then- I guess you do what you have to do.
Sorry for the slight derailment...

curly_keltie

subbrock wrote: »

webjockey wrote: »

Riding in the car while being in labor sucks. I'd choose the shortest distance possible without compromising too much on care. It also depends on if you want to do most of your laboring in the hospital or at home.

The car ride from the house where I was laboring in to the house I gave birth in was a 10 minute drive. Every bump made me want to cuss.

amen!

ITA - it seemed like that damned hospital got farther away when I was in labour with DS. As long as I wasn't having a contraction, I was fine - but if I was having one, I felt every bump in the road. I also had the pleasure of being driven to the hospital during rush hour.

Sigi

I live 10-15 minutes from my hospital depending on traffic. I've actually never gone into labor on my own, so getting there on time or with ease has never been a problem for me.

inheritedcurls

I'm suppose to have a planned c-section. We'll see if that happens this time.

We moved and now are probably about 25 minutes with no traffic and up to an hour drive with traffic. Should be interesting!!

Amneris

It was a 10-15 min drive, and that's the longest I personally could take because I waited until the last minute to go to the hospital and if I had another hospital birth, would do that again. Contractions in a car in very active labour SUCK!

Jenny C

I was lucky, the hospital is 3 minutes from my house.

When I was pg with Sophia, I had a scheduled c-section, and my MIL was coming down from PA to watch Lucy, but everyone was asking me what I was going to do if I went into labor before that. I didn't really have a plan, and I was seriouly considering just driving myself and leaving DH home with Lucy.

I figured if my contractions were 5 minutes apart, I could leave as soon as one finished and I'd be at the hospital, with the car parked and everything by the time the next one came.

In reality I probably would have just taken a cab if I had to, since driving while in labor is probably not the smartest thing to do.

goldy

Bailey422 wrote: »

Goldy, by FL law, your insurance is required to cover a birth center if they cover hospital births. You may have to pay up front and get reimbursed later, but they should cover it. Just something to consider.

maybe i'll look into it.. since our health insurance is actually a hospital insurance (established for their employees) i figure they want us to deliver in their hospital with their docs.. but i work for the company and i used to work the mother/baby units and i won't deliver there.. but it's probably worth a phone call to the insurance to ask about the home birth and birth center.. on another site i found the statute saying insurance has to cover it..

thanks..

the hospital and practice i was looking at is about 40 minutes from us..

geeky

With my first, the hospital was 40 minutes to an hour away, depending on traffic. It ended up being close to an hour because there was a major rainstorm. With Nadia, even though there is a hospital 5 minutes away, I chose one that was 30 minutes away. The ride was really tough both times (and a great argument for homebirth), but I would be willing to travel up to an hour for better birthing conditions.

realistic

jeez, mine was like 30+ minutes away. It was a rough ride while I was in labor.

medussa

goldy wrote: »

let me preface my question by saying that i'm not pregnant but i'm curious...

for those who chose to birth at a hospital or birthing center, how far from your home (travel time) was the place where you delivered? what do you all feel is an acceptable travel time?

Famous last words, my friend.

With my first, we were only 10 minutes away from the hospital. With my other two, we chose a midwifery group that was affiliated with a teaching hospital 40 minutes away. Both times, it took us under 40 minutes to get there.