Has anyone actually planned a car birth? - Page 2

[Bluegoat]

I'm not sure I would plan to give birth in the car, because you will then be subject to a lot of crap in the hospital.

I would, given your situation, be prepared in case of transport issues like a snowstorm.

If you get there and are comfortable in the van, I don't see a problem with labouring there for a while and going in at transition. But a hotel nearby would probably be more comfortable.

[jecombs]

I labored quite a bit in the car with my DD and IT SUCKED. We live 45 min from the hospital. I went in too early in labor (only 3cm) an decided to go home. Well, right as we left the hospital, active labor kicked-in (although I couldn't recognize it at the time, being a FTM). So I rode all the way home in the front seat, in a seatbelt, dealing with contractions, and not being able to move around. I got home, labored for about an hour, and started puking (which I believe was the start of transition). Then had to ride all the way back to the hospital in transition, with back-labor. I was laid-out on the back seat of our station wagon, no seatbelt, just trying to cope. I got to the hospital and was 8cm.

I like the hotel idea much better than laboring in the car, just from the stand-point of your comfort. 'Cause laboring in the car for 1 1/2 hours was awful for me. And who knows, if I had been able to move around more, maybe my DD would have gotten into the proper position for birth (OA) and made my labor easier and pushing time shorter (it was 3hrs).

[Liquesce]

Originally Posted by Astraia

I'm not sure how this is supposed to be helpful.

Being that I found myself in a similar situation and considered the same things the OP is considering (minus the bleeding disorder), I find this kind of offensive.

So you're saying we should - what, just choke it back? Go anyway despite the fear of hospitals? Get into counselling? What?

You may be as offended as you like, and I'm sorry for that, but yes, if one is so invested in avoiding a hospital birth that they are even willing to seriously consider the possibility of a plainly unsafe and brutally uncomfortable plan such as laboring and/or birthing in a moving vehicle, and in particular when one is thinking of doing so with foreknowledge of a potentially life-threatening postpartum condition, counseling would seem like an excellent option.

OP~ I'm sorry if you're offended as well, but I'm being sincere here. It is a plan so bad that it does cross over into the realm of unhealthy. That is not meant to be an insult; it is meant to be a bit of a wake-up call. You can phrase it in terms of being open-minded all you like ... it is entirely possible to keep the mind opened to possibilities that should not realistically ever be considered. And that other people may have considered it before does not make it any more reasonable.

[buckeye_bebe]

I disaster-bagged the car, just in case. I live a ways from even the closest community hospital, so I prepped the car for the worst in case we had to transfer or if my water broke/delivered in the car. I ended up taking an ambulance ride when I hit a complication. Honestly, the pain was pretty bad hitting any bump or rut in the road, just rocked the pain off the charts even when the pain was manageable. But back to your question, the seats were covered in thick plastic with fabric/blankets tucked over and secured. The rest of the disaster bag was cleanup gear, including disposal bags. Never had to use it. But I'd imagine that is what homebirths use as well, if they want to birth in the bed or over/on something absorbent.

Back when I was an EMT, "disaster-bag" meant prepare for the nastiest, which was a lot of underneath prep, like the body bag underneath the gurney cover, sheet, and blanket, plus ample disposal bags and rags. Makes cleanup a snap.

[Juniperberry]

If you didn't have any underlying health issues I'd say do it. But personally, if I had the bleeding disorder I'd want to birth at hospital.

What you could do though if it's possible is get a hotel room near the hospital and labor there and then hop over to the hospital for birth.

I very very nearly gave birth in the car with DS2 and our hospital was 10mins away. The midwife said that had I waited 10 more minutes I'd have had a homebirth... such a shame I didn't wait. But that's another story!

EDIT: Just wanted to add that i did labor in the car. I was in transition and it was the most excruciating experience. Every bump and turn the car made no matter how tiny was just awful. I felt like he was driving like a maniac and in truth he was going super super slowly because I was in so much pain.
Personally... I will do everything in the future to AVOID advanced labor or birth in the car!

[wrappedupmama]

My first was a hospital birth (I ignored my intuition to stay home and regret it) with very few interventions where I was only there an hour before the baby was born. I still found it traumatizing, and still do nearly 4 years later. My second was a UC with a hospital transfer postpartum for hemorrhaging (I somehow knew it had a high chance of happening). So in short, no I don't think you're crazy.

If it were me in this situation this is how I would feel about it. I'd say a near by hotel or motel would be ideal as far as comfort for you and warmth for the newborn. It allows you to go to the hospital whenever you want to or not at all. If there were a bleeding complication the ambulance would be there promptly to start an IV and rush you to the hospital. If they asked "I was at the hotel to labor because I live far away and didn't want to not make it to the hospital in time. Ironically, I just didn't realize how close to giving birth I was and the baby was out in 2 pushes." That would be the story I told. In my case I was at home so I said the midwife didn't make it in time. If the baby is healthy simply do not transfer with the baby. Say baby is staying with dad as it is obviously healthy. Dad and baby follow behind in the car. Baby stays in your room as a nursing baby guest and is NOT admitted to the hospital as a patient. So with no baby they usually don't put you into labor and delivery units. They put you in the pediatric unit usually. Without the L&D unit you don't have the minimum 24 hour stay, etc. silly policies. So you are way more in charge of your care. L&D units are usually the worst place in the hospital for treating you like you are clinically insane and not capable of making your own choices. Baby is there with you, but no one ever touches him. I simply said the baby's Dr. had asked to see him at 2 days old for his first visit. Which is true. I had worked that out ahead of time with the family doctor since I was planning a home birth. I didn't tell him it was a UC. No one called CPS, no one ever touched DS, and I was discharged from the hospital in about 18 hours from calling the ambulance, about 16 hours after waking up from the OR (D&C and tear repair). It is a nice compromise, with a hospital safety net right around the corner. They generally respond pretty fast to "I'm hemorrhaging" 911 calls!

[mlec]

Originally Posted by GoestoShow

Could you swing a hotel room near the hospital and labor there earlier in your labor if the weather is looking icky? So you head to the hospital in early labor, labor in the hotel, then go to the hospital when you're ready?

EWWWWwwwwwwwww! Hotel room?!

Part of the safety of the homebirth is that you are surrounded by your OWN germs which you and your baby are immune to. There is NO WAY I would labor or give birth in a hotel room. Even a nice hotel is so so germy.

FWIW, I would not consider a planned car birth with a bleeding disorder either. But I would be willing to drive to the hospital a bit of a distance if my labors were usually a decent length.

[GoestoShow]

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Edited by GoestoShow - 12/17/10 at 9:13am

[reducereuserecycle]

to me, that seems like a great alternative to a home UC....since you do have a van, it sounds like it could work.

maybe you should post this over in the UC forum

i assume you would park the van near the hospital for the birth, that would be a good idea, rather than birthing while you are riding around, as someone suggested...i don't think that is what you meant.

i would think a hotel is just as clean or cleaner than a hospital and if you check into the hotel early enough you or someone else who is with you can clean. and you don't get the option to tidy up around the hospital.

[onelilguysmommy]

Originally Posted by mlec

EWWWWwwwwwwwww! Hotel room?!

Part of the safety of the homebirth is that you are surrounded by your OWN germs which you and your baby are immune to. There is NO WAY I would labor or give birth in a hotel room. Even a nice hotel is so so germy.
.

What's a hospital filled with?

The labor that I had in the car with one kid SUCKED. I wouldn't purposefully do the riding around in labor thing. Inside the van birthin might be okay if you have room to move but riding? Ugh.

I hope you figure out which you want to do! Either way, I'd get some herbs for bleeding/hemorrhage and keep them with you.

[Mamatoto2]

Well, I likely would have given birth in the car if I hadn't been using every ounce of my will not to. I'll let you know some of what came up for us and you can think about what might be problematic for you (or not)....As I said, it wasn't my intention to birth in the car, rather I had planned a MW-assisted waterbirth in an alternative birthing center that was housed within a hospital about 35-40 min from our home. My labor was short and went from very mild "could this actually be labor?" cramps to loss of mucous plug/transition very suddenly.

We got into the car mere moments after it became quite clear that yes this WAS really labor, and in a big way. Unfortunately this was just about 6 am in the suburbs of Chicago and our hospital was just outside the city so we were in rush hour traffic most of the way and it took us about an hour to get to the hospital. This was very stressful both for myself and for my husband, which is really not a safe way to be operating a vehicle. We couldn't really work together or support one another because he was trying to get to the hospital safely (and quickly), and I was trying to assess the baby's progress and plan how I was going to deliver it by myself should I need to. I was doing periodic internal checks (I could feel the head) but it would maybe have been helpful if I (or someone) could have seen what was going on too.

I also had horrible back labor and I remember desperately wanting someone to massage/apply counter pressure to my lower back, but DH couldn't since he was driving. It was so awful to be in pain and not be able to move freely into positions that felt better (walk, stand, squat, all 4s, sit on birth ball, whatever) or have somebody to help me in whatever way I needed.

Lastly, I DO NOT have a bleeding disorder (I've been tested multiple times) however I hemorrhaged at the birth right after DD was delivered (and again 2 days later). I had 6 units of blood transfused over a period of 2 days and my level still dropped to a 4. Now, I can't say if I hadn't received interventions immediately that I would have died (maybe if I'd received medical attention an hour later the end result would have been the same, maybe it would not have. Don't know), but it's a distinct possibility. I will say that had I started to hemorrhage and it had been up to DH to notice this, respond, and get me the attention that I needed while also managing our newborn, the experience would have traumatized him to a point where I don't think he'd ever be willing to have children again. As it stood, our experience was traumatic enough that he still gets triggered driving down the stretch of road toward the hospital, talking/thinking about the birth, etc.

FWIW, I DID get to the hospital and was fully effaced, dilated to 10, and at +1 station. We begged the MW to try to fill the tub and DD was born into the water moments later (before the hemorrhage drama began). All in all, we had no reason to believe that my birth would have any complications but it did and I am very glad that we had medical professionals and necessary equipment available to respond to my needs so that I could get to enjoy being mama to my girl (and now girls).

With your known medical history, I'd be dubious about trying to birth outside of an "intervention-ready" environment. I don't discount your fear of hospitals-the extended time that we spent in the hospital after DD's birth was rather awful to be honest, but I think that for me at least, the key was having a family member/support person with me (and DD because she roomed in 24/7) at all times so that they could respond to our needs and advocate on our behalf as needed.

I wish you lots of luck!