Options when you live in the middle of nowhere...

brandyxo

Let me first say that I'm kinda putting the cart ahead of the horse here (or however that goes). I'm not even pregnant yet (just started trying).

But anyway. I'm very uncomfortable with the idea of a doctor/traditional hospital birth. I'd really, really like to avoid that. However, I also happen to live in a pretty rural area with.....not much of anything around. I've done a few preliminary web searches and also tried using the locator on midwife.org. Looks like the closest midwives/birth centers/etc. are at least an hour and a half away. Now I don't really know....but to me, that seems like a bit far to travel when in labor?

 What other ways might I go about searching to see if there are indeed any midwives in my area? Or what other options might I have if there aren't?

soontobemamabair

You can have a home birth and the MW could come to you! My neice was born at home. My sister-in-law had a waterbirth at home. My neice was 9lbs. No complications, nice smooth birth. Everyone is different, but thats another option for you. I thought it was a great process! GL

DaisyJanie

I'm early in my first pregnancy, so don't count on me as an expert, but the midwife at our birth center tour last night said that they have had clients come from up to 2-3 hours away, and it's never been a problem. Obviously, you would leave the house earlier in the labor process than someone else might, but it could be doable. I'd say it's worth checking the birth center out, asking what they think, etc. They also might know of a midwife closer to you who might do a homebirth.

iris427

Are you open to a home birth?  You might have more luck finding a midwife that will do a HB in your area.  Midwife.org is just for CNMs I think so there might be some non-nurse midwives in your area.  I'm not sure what the legal status of midwives are where you live, but if you live in a state where direct entry midwives are not legal, you may still be able to find an underground midwife.  You can often find them by contacting a local midwife advocacy group.  I'm Googling Ohio Midwives and a bunch of links are coming up.

Personally I don't think an hour and half is too far to travel, especially for a first labor, if it's the only way you can access low-interventive care.  When I was pregnant with my daughter, I considered using a birth center that was 2 hours away, and decided not to--and now I really regret it, because I ended up with the classical hospital cascade of interventions culminating in a cesarean.  If you leave in early labor you will probably get there in plenty of time.  

GL, I hope you can find something that works for you! 

Kristinmo

I would look into the midwives are are farther away.  I know people have made a trip like that before.  Just keep in mind you will be incredibly uncomfortable during the trip when you are in labor and I would also look into hospitals closer to you in case your labor progresses too quickly to make it there.

I would also ask the MW what she thinks.  Is it too far?  Are there OB's she works with that could do your prenatal care so you aren't making that trip for each prenatal appointment?

Good luck with whatever you decide!

brandyxo

Thank you all for the input

I'm not too keen on the idea of homebirth but I'm definitely not ruling it out entirely at this point. Maybe the travel wouldn't be too much... I'll have to research some more and see.  The one thing I'm afraid of is traffic....ha. Traffic doesn't even exist where I live and most of the options are larger [unfamiliar] urban areas. I don't need to have a baby in the car! Haha

Alirebco

You might want to check out the Finding Your Tribe forum on MDC (mothering.com). 

~adamwife~

I live in rural Ohio and the closest birth center is almost 2 hours away.  The closest CNM that delivers in a hospital is 45 minutes away.  The closes HBMWs are 1.5 hours away.

I chose to have a HB and have been driving 1.5 hours once a month for my prenatals.  I will call my MWs as soon as I am in labor and they will start their drive to me right away.  I would look into a HB if I were you.

iris427

brandyxo:

Thank you all for the input

I'm not too keen on the idea of homebirth but I'm definitely not ruling it out entirely at this point. Maybe the travel wouldn't be too much... I'll have to research some more and see.  The one thing I'm afraid of is traffic....ha. Traffic doesn't even exist where I live and most of the options are larger [unfamiliar] urban areas. I don't need to have a baby in the car! Haha

I just wanted to put it out there that a freestanding birth center is not very different from a home birth.  Everything that they have at a birth center, you can have at a home birth, and complications and emergencies are handled the same way.  There are a lot of people who think that birth centers are safer because it's somewhere you have to go, but home birth with a qualified midwife is just as safe.

Obviously if you are not comfortable with home birth, then you probably shouldn't have one.  It's a personal choice that only you can make.  GL! 

diamondcks

We drove about 1.5 hours to have DS at the nearest birthcenter.  The driving got to be a bit much at the end of pregnancy when we were going every week, but we tried to make appointments late in the afternoon so we could go to dinner afterward.  We left our house earlier than we would have if we had lived closer, when contractions were about 7min, but it worked out well, and we will probably do it again.

brandyxo

~adamwife~:

I live in rural Ohio and the closest birth center is almost 2 hours away.  The closest CNM that delivers in a hospital is 45 minutes away.  The closes HBMWs are 1.5 hours away.

I chose to have a HB and have been driving 1.5 hours once a month for my prenatals.  I will call my MWs as soon as I am in labor and they will start their drive to me right away.  I would look into a HB if I were you.

What part of Ohio are you in?

(And, if it happens to be the eastern half, where are the CNMs/HBMWs/birth centers you refer to?)

Blackvelvet

I wouldn't choose to drive more then 30-45 min while in labor but I also had a very fast labor.  My family had a history of fast labor so my husband was ready to load me in the car as ANY sign of labor.  As it was we only got to the hospital with 3 hours to spare and it was a 30 min drive that was horrible uncomfortable.  We have moved and now we are even more in the middle of nowhere have no idea what we will do when we get pregnat again.

brandyxo

I seriously just thought of this -- perhaps because it feels more "local" -- but the hospital I would be using, if I did go that route, is at least 30-45 minutes away itself. Yikes!

 Welp, I hope to not be living in this house by that time anyway so I guess I'll just bank on that, haha.

biblionerd

I just answered the "hospital vs home" post and all of that would pretty much apply to you too if you want to read it. I personally live about 45 minutes from the closest hospital and do not feel comfortable with a home birth. A birthing center is not an option for us because insurance doesn't cover anything, etc. etc. I have an extremely natural-friendly OB though that I described in the other post. A hospital doesn't mean you cannot have a med-free birth.

~adamwife~

brandyxo:

~adamwife~:

I live in rural Ohio and the closest birth center is almost 2 hours away.  The closest CNM that delivers in a hospital is 45 minutes away.  The closes HBMWs are 1.5 hours away.

I chose to have a HB and have been driving 1.5 hours once a month for my prenatals.  I will call my MWs as soon as I am in labor and they will start their drive to me right away.  I would look into a HB if I were you.

What part of Ohio are you in?

(And, if it happens to be the eastern half, where are the CNMs/HBMWs/birth centers you refer to?)

I'm in NW Ohio.