deciding between birth center and homebirth

[MomSmoo]

anyone want to provide insight on how to decide?  Birth Center is about an hour away (which terrifies me -- car + labor = sucksville), but both the birth center and the homebirth midwife transfer to the same hospital.  Home birth midwife will come to my house for each appt, which is nice, vs. me driving to the birth center (although I could use a local OB until 20w or so).

I want to say that I will make the decision based on who I am most comfortable with, but something in the back of my mind keeps saying "remember how you WANTED to go to the hosptial when you were in labor with the boys?"  There is no unmedicated birth friendly hospitals where we live now, so hospital is out, but for an emergency/transfer.

Oh -- and I should note, there is a hospital about 5 minutes from our house that I could transfer to in a true emergency... just not the hospital the homebirth midwife transfers too.

My present GYN recommended the birth center although she said she may come an just watch as a friend if I do the home birth (she is not an OB right now as she has her own young kids and doesn't want to be oncall)

[Marissamom]

for me, the birth center option is run by the same midwives that are attending my homebirth. things I considered:

I don't want to be in the car during labor (Only a 15-20 minute drive to the birth center, but not fun)

I can transfer to any of three hospitals, and the only closest to the birth center is the one I wouldn't transfer to (bad experience there with DD), my house is closer to both the hospitals I would transfer to.

I don't want to be in the car a couple hours post-partum. it was hard enough getting in the car to go home 2 days post-partum with DD, I would only be able to stay at the birth center 2-3 hours.

being home means I'll feel more in control, and feel like I can do what I want for the most part. I'm better at standing up for myself on my own turf. 

I birth relatively quickly, so if I'm not going anywhere, there's no risk of baby being born in the car.

I'm just more comfortable being in my own home, especially because the midwives bring along all the emergency equipment they have available at their birth center. 

the factors for you might be somewhat different, especially because of different care providers.