Give birth in a hotel instead of hospital?

[Heavenly]

Well I had an emergency c-section with my son (now almost 3). I had a failed homebirth VBAC with my daughter (almost 1). I was in labour for 25 hours and all of a sudden her heartrate dropped to 70s. She was born by emerg c-section, blue (but thankfully recovered). I am not pregnant now but plan to be in a year or two. I am fighting with myself on where I'll give birth. At home is not an option for me anymore because I live 45 minutes from the hospital. Last time I was willing to risk it because I thought nothing could go wrong but now I know better. So I need to be closer to a hospital. But the idea of being in a hospital really freaks me out. I do not like any of the hospital practices. Plus I really want a water birth and our hospitals don't do that. Oh and there aren't any birthing centers around here. My midwives told me last time that I had the option of giving birth in a hotel. Rent a hotel room near the hospital (with a whirlpool tub of course!) and give birth there. Do you think that is totally crazy or would you do it?

[Greaseball]

If that's what I had to do to avoid a c/s I would do it! Her are some suggestions: Stay at a really nice place, as nice as you can afford, and book the room for a few days so you can labor as long as you want and not worry about having to rush right home. Also, more expensive places are likely to have soundproofing, so you can scream all you want and not have someone call the police! I would not give the hotel employees any idea about what is going on there or they may do all they can to ruin it.

Also, spread Chux pads over every surface so you won't be stuck with a huge cleaning bill. Try to hide the baby when you leave, I really think it could get bad if the hotel people thought they were being turned into a maternity ward. I have heard of landlords putting into the rental agreements, "No intentional births are to take place within the unit." Of course, you could always say it was an accident, but then you'd have to explain the midwife...I guess you could just claim she was a "friend"...

I hope it goes well! You can always visit the room on special occasions too! Any idea what caused the fetal distress last time?

[Willow Tree]

I think it might be a good Idea to not let the hotel know beforhand about using it to have a homebirth, definitley check on sound proofing! but i wouldnt worry about hiding the baby what are they going to do about it after you have had the baby?
I also live very far from town but chose to birth my baby way out in the mountains anyway.. however if I was in your situatuion i would look into the option my midwife gave me which is either subletting a small place for a month or renting temporarily a place! If you think about what a couple days at a nice hotel would cost, your probably in the same ball park and this way you can make the space your own for a short while! Rent a birth tub which is a lot nicer then a hotel whirlpool tub! Let me tell ya!!!
good luck!!

[its_our_family]

I'm not sure a hotel would appreciate it....not sure how they would stop it...the idea is a little scarry as to what they might do.... (like not ever let you get a hotel room there again )

Do you have a friend closer to the hospital than you are? To me that would be a better option.....

[georgia]

I'm sure this is a silly idea, but here goes...what about those corporate apts or extended stay places? THey have full kitchens, etc. When we stayed in one for my brother's wedding, it was really very cozy and quite inexpensive compared to a regular hotel. It might be more homey and convenient compared to a Days Inn! Maybe it we had an odd stay, but we never saw or heard any of the neighbors....and we were in the heart of a big city. IMO, it would be much more preferable to a hospital! I also wouldn't care one bit if anyone saw me leave with my newborn. Pay cash and go

[Jane]

It somewhat seems like the worst of two worlds. You have "germs" from lots of people, but no antiseptic cleaning going on, especially the tub. It's not the familiar germs of home but not the cleanliness of the hospital.
You are not in the hospital, but you're not in a familiar environment either.

The only advantage I see is that you have your choice of attendants. If that's the important thing, I suppose it would be worth it.

[Heavenly]

Well they said I can labour at home as long as we want so basically I think what we'll do is stay home until we feel a need to go. If things are going great and i'm progressing well then I'll just tell them no way I'm not leaving! They can't MAKE me go to the hospital and I know they wouldn't leave me at home alone. There were a lot of factors involved in my daughters fetal distress and I don't feel it will happen again (neither do they). So in a couple of years maybe I will finally get my homebirth (or at least a vaginal one!)