How far away...

[AFWife]

How far away is too far for a midwife?

I found one that's offering a really great price and seems really nice (from her website anyway) and comes recommended...but she's an hour away. Is that too far? I was only in labor a total of 7 hours with DS (that's with the hour of pushing...and an epidural...so this one will probably be much faster)

[callieollie]

That's probably not too far. I had a similar situation. My first birth was 28 hours of back labor. We switched birth centers for my second and they were an hour and 15 minutes away. Everyone was worried we wouldn't make it in time but I kept telling everyone that even if we cut my first labor in half, that still gives us 14 hours! Well, my second came in 3 1/2 hours! We got there at 6 cm and 30 minutes later she was born. The worst part was driving an hour while in active labor but if it had been a homebirth, it wouldn't have been a big deal. We also did Hypnobabies for our second baby so I did not sound like I was in active labor but since I was an hour away and I woke up with contractions 2 minutes apart, they told us to come right in. Had they just based it on how I sounded, we might not have made it so its probably good to know how you tend to labor. For me, I didn't know because I did bradley with my first and he was posterior and it was excruciating and I sounded like I was dying at 3 cm! Doing Hypnobabies, I never felt pain and was calm and relaxed the whole time so it was hard for others (and myself!) to know it was the real thing!

[aromamama]

my last mw was 2 1/2 hours away. I have super fast labors (a couple under an hour) and she did make it in time...

[AFWife]

I guess you could say it took an hour for my labor "really" start...my water broke to begin labor and it took an hour to get contractions going.

[DoulaVallere]

My mw is just over 2 hours away from us. My first labor was 36 hours of back labor from horrible positioning. My second was 5 hours start to finish (they were both at a FSBC which was 1.5 hours from our house...so with my second we got there and had the baby 2 hours later).

So if this labor is any shorter than my last one, there is a VERY good chance the mw won't make it, but I'm acutally secretly hoping that is what happens.

I think an hour away is VERY reasonable...in my state you'd be LUCKY to live that close to a hb mw anyway.

[aloneinid]

I have two midwives that are both at least an hour away. My first birth was 4 1/2 hours from first contraction to delivery. The midwife attended me for the last hour and a half, which was perfect. I prepared for a shorter second labor and the midwife not making it, but it ended up being 18 hours long. The midwife arrived an hour before the baby, again perfect timing for me.

An hour away is totally reasonable.

[*MamaJen*]

I think the only thing that would suck would be doing all that driving to get to prenatals, especially in the last month when you're going every week. I don't think it's too far for the birth, though.

[amandabarugh]

My second birth was a natural hospital birth and just under 3 hours from the start of active labor to delivery. My midwife is an hour and a half away. She's the closest one to me, but her missing the birth was a risk I was willing to take. JMO.

[AFWife]

Originally Posted by amandabarugh

My second birth was a natural hospital birth and just under 3 hours from the start of active labor to delivery. My midwife is an hour and a half away. She's the closest one to me, but her missing the birth was a risk I was willing to take. JMO.

Yeah, I think I'm willing to take the chance as well. I told DH, "If we decide to do this we both need to research how to UC just in case." He agreed and is still on board.

[rad]

I think that would be ok. Most of the midwives around here are an hour or over away. My first (and longest) labor was 4 hours and the midwife made it in time for me to start pushing since they had no idea I was going that fast. My shortest labor was 1.5 hours and since they knew my history they arrived with some time to spare. Most of the midwives that were over an hour wouldn't take me on just because they didn't want to not make it. But so far the 1 hour away has been fine and just made it. Both Dh and I still prepare to do it by ourselves just in case though.

[camprunner]

The closest midwives to me are an hour and 15 minutes away (not pregnant yet, but already researching). I had my last one at home and the midwife said it only took her 35 minutes to get to my house. However, she was about 2 1/2 hours away at another birth when I called in labor so it didn't really do me a lot of good for her to be so close.

[HeatherB]

We're lucky where we are to have MWs within much shorter distance, but if she was a MW I clicked with and I wanted her at my birth, I wouldn't worry about the hour drive. FWIW, my back-up MW is about that far from me, and regularly comes to births out here. Now, she (the back-up) did miss my last birth by about 2 minutes, but it was an unpredictable birth and she was already on my side of town when she got the call to come over.

[PatioGardener]

here in ontario you need 2 for a home birth and both of mine were an hour away. i was fully dialated when the first arrived, but spent a long time pushing (my first child) so the 2nd had ages to arrive.