I've been considering homebirth as a back up plan due to potential weather conditions and distance (over an hour in good weather/no traffic) to my preferred hospital. I keep coming back to the feeling that it's silly to do all of that prep (and payment!) "just in case", instead of going ahead and making it the REAL plan.
On top of that, my midwives are encouraging their patients to plan homebirths during flu season. I'm due at the end of December. They can't come here (state lines and general distance), and there's just one hb mw in my area. I plan on meeting with her at some point, and I'm just crossing my fingers that I like her!
I do have serious reservations though. If I were to need to transfer, my hospital choices are limited, and they're 35-45 minutes away if we drive. Ambulance service is volunteer, so extra time for people to get to the station, then to here. Additional time if there's snow/ice... which we get a lot of here, on top of a mountain.
I don't have any reason to anticipate transferring by choice. I do wonder about transferring for medical reasons. So I'm wondering which medical conditions are actually dependent on transfer time. In other words, if something goes hideously wrong, how much worse would my (and my baby's) chances be compared to someone who could get to a hospital in 15-20 minutes?
My brain is telling me there isn't much of a difference, statistically. My nerves keep getting in the way of that logic.
Thoughts?
On top of that, my midwives are encouraging their patients to plan homebirths during flu season. I'm due at the end of December. They can't come here (state lines and general distance), and there's just one hb mw in my area. I plan on meeting with her at some point, and I'm just crossing my fingers that I like her!
I do have serious reservations though. If I were to need to transfer, my hospital choices are limited, and they're 35-45 minutes away if we drive. Ambulance service is volunteer, so extra time for people to get to the station, then to here. Additional time if there's snow/ice... which we get a lot of here, on top of a mountain.
I don't have any reason to anticipate transferring by choice. I do wonder about transferring for medical reasons. So I'm wondering which medical conditions are actually dependent on transfer time. In other words, if something goes hideously wrong, how much worse would my (and my baby's) chances be compared to someone who could get to a hospital in 15-20 minutes?
My brain is telling me there isn't much of a difference, statistically. My nerves keep getting in the way of that logic.
Thoughts?
