Anyone labor in a hotel before hospital for VBAC?

[stelly]

My home is about 30 mins away from the hospital, 45 mins in traffic, so my midwife suggested that we get a hotel room when I'm in labor and stay there until I'm ready to push.

I'm interested in the logistics of using a hotel - do you tell the check in staff you're in labor, or do you hide in the car and let your partner check in?  Do you just call around places when labor starts and find a hotel with vacancies/good rates? Or did you reserve in advance and then change the reservation?  When did you transfer to the hospital?

Any stories/opinions are much appreciated.

[mauraa629]

I stayed in a hotel for a while during labor.  We lived about 50 minutes from the hospital, I had been having regular painful contractions for hours when we decided to go in, got to hospital, got checked and not much progress was made so midwife suggested we stay near by if that made us feel safer, I didn't want to get home and need to come back again right away or suddenly make lots of progress and have the baby in the car.  We didn't make any plans ahead of time for the hotel, just called a few in the area and went there from the hospital.  We didn't tell them I was in labor, my husband checked us in and we just went to the room, it was really nice, had a jacuzzi tub in the room where I spent most of my time.  We stayed there for many hours, I still was not  close to pushing when we got back to the hospital, but was much further along than I had been earlier, so we stayed.  Depending on how things go this time around we may do the same thing.

[pearl2]

Whatever you do, I absolutely would not go to the check in desk in labor. I guarantee you the hotel staff would freak out and call the ambulance. They probably wouldn't understand that you are there to labor! I'd let your support partner do the checking in. Now, you might have to walk through the lobby depending on the hotel layout, but you could do that without causing a scene. And hey, if you do, that's okay too! 

[A_Random_Phrase]

I would definitely let my partner do the checking in while I stayed in the car.

[jenniro]

I labored in a hotel room because I had to go 2 hours out of state to do a VBAC.  I had gone into labor on my due date with my daughter and I just knew I would not go early with my son.  So, we reserved a hotel room for two nights on my due date.  My water broke on the bed on my due date, a little embarassing.  We told the staff about the mess when we requested new bedding and that I would be walking the halls during early labor.  I was calm, so the staff was calm.  They just let me do my thing until I went to the hospital.

[stelly]

Thanks for the replies.

Jenniro, when did you leave the hotel for the hospital?

[cagnew]

I live an hour away from the hospital and our plan is to labor in a hotel if things work out. I am in no hurry to get to the hospital and be hooked up to monitors, and I don't want to be in full-blown crazy labor in the car either. Sooo... hopefully my labor will start and I will know when to make the call to go. 

[jenniro]

I went to the hospital when contractions were about a minute apart and lasting 45 sec or so.  I wasn't really timing them at the hotel, that is what they were when we got to the hospital.  I just started feeling really intense and felt it was time to go. 

Edited by jenniro - 1/7/11 at 8:19am

[littlethingstx]

Well, my situation is a little different, because I do not plan to go to the hospital unless it is necessary.  We were planning for a homebirth, but due to some risk factors I am not comfortable being at home.  We have decided to labor and birth in a hotel and my midwife surprised me by telling me that they do it all the time.  It is quite common, but I guess no one talks about it much.  Anyway, we are choosing between a few different hotels that are closest to the hospital.  I have made one trip to the hotels to check out the rooms and compare the three hotels.  I recommend doing this if you can ahead of time; otherwise, you are just going to have to take what you get.  Some of the things I have been looking at are:  the set-up and arrangement of the room; if there is room to set-up a birthing pool; whether the rooms have large bathtubs or a jacuzzi;  tile or carpeted floors (all seem to be carpet... bummer); what extras are in the room like microwave, fridge, sofa, suite style split room; the layout of the hotel, such as, alternative entrances, exits; timing the distant to the hospital in the event of a necessary transfer; cleanliness of the rooms and decor.  Surprisingly the most "elegant" of the three hotels we are looking at has the most dated decor, which is bothersome to me...  it is a minor detail, but why pay more for a room that makes you want to puke looking at it.  Also, when I was looking at the jacuzzi suite at one of the hotels I realized that even though it is awesome that I will not be able to drain and refill that jacuzzi like I would at the hotel next door that has a smaller whirlpool tub.  Some of those little details occur to you when you are there.  I am not sure the jacuzzi could be drain at all and I would not want to leave a nasty mess for the hotel staff to have to deal with. 

I will be making a trip there again in a few days to observe some details that I did not check... mainly the entrances/exits and hopefully get to actually view the rooms that have the whirlpool tub and decide if that will work without having to set up a birthing pool.  Our plan is to drive to the hotel once I am in labor and have my husband do the check-in thing.  After that he can come get me and hopefully we can enter through a side entrance and go to the room.  After I am in, then he can make the necessary trips to unload our "luggage".  Meanwhile, the midwife, etc. can meet us there.  I have nine weeks or so to figure it all out.  ;)

[c'est moi]

thanks for putting this question out there. i have the same due date as you with a 45-50 min drive to the hospital. if i go in, get checked, and am less than a 4, i see myself wanting to leave, but not drive all the way back home.