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April 2012 Moms
"Far" from birthing hospital?
We found, I think, an apartment -- it's big, good price, right deposit (won't drain our savings), deleaded, etc. I'm excited!!
But it's in the North Shore. All my OBs are downtown, which is fine b/c I work here, but Jake is worried now about being so far from the hospital for when I give birth (40 min drive). I, and my doctors, are really hoping for a spontaneous (no inducing) vaginal birth. I told him we would just start driving in at the beginning of labor, instead of waiting for X minutes apart, or whatever the doctor said we should do. Also, the chances of me going into labor at work are pretty high, I think, considering how much time I spend here, haha. And really, if the babies cook well (or poorly 
), there's a good chance I won't go into labor spontaneously, anyway.
40 minutes is NOT unreasonably far from the hospital where you're giving birth, correct? And it's just his city mindset that everything should be w/in a 15min walk, haha? There is a hospital literally right across the street from the apartment for emergencies, so I'm not as concerned about that.
Aside: should I keep a hospital bag at work just in case?
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Re: "Far" from birthing hospital?
Ours is, best case, 40 minutes. Worst case 2+ hours.
40 minutes isn't bad at all. I'm hoping for a VBAC at a hospital 45-50 minutes away without traffic. That distance doesn't bother me at all because labor usually lasts much longer than that and in the case of an emergency, well there are other hospitals along the way.
If you are really worried about stuff you could keep a small bag with the essentials at work. You can always pick up travel-sized toiletries at Target to have on hand.
My hospital is about 30 minutes away...and the only way there is via a busy highway.
I figure that I'll probably go into labor in the middle of the night, so that 30 minutes can turn into 15-20 pretty easily.
I think 40 minutes is just fine.
If it's so much of an "emergency" that you don't have your bag with you, then the stuff in it, you probably won't need right away.
I didn't have my bag with me when I was admitted. There were only two things that I didn't have that I wished I would have for labor/delivery.
- A rubberband to hold my hair back (which is weird because I always have this)
- Sports bra
Yeah, that's the other thing, is he thinking I'll start having contractions and BAM 45 minutes later the babies are here?? Lol.
Really I think it's that he'll want me to be monitored as soon as possible b/c the docs have him freaked out about "what if" scenarios. I might call my doc to give him piece of mind, lol.
Excellent -- thank you!! There are rubberbands at work I can grab if need be, haha.
Definitely tell your OB how far your drive is.
Since my labor progressed quickly last time and I live pretty far, my doc said this time, they may end up admitting me more often after weekly checks for monitoring because there's a greater chance it'll progress super quickly this time.
My birth center is 20 minutes away in good traffic, but that could easily turn into an hour or more in high traffic. I don't think 40 minutes is unreasonable.
I like my own stuff, so I'd keep a small bag at work w/certain essentials.
Yay for finding a new place!!
We're about 30-40 minutes from the hospital as well and, like you, I'm closer when I'm at work. I have a lot of friends who were a similar distance (if not farther) from their birthing hospitals and nobody has had an issue, so I felt OK with the distance. Once I get closer to my due date, I'll probably keep a bag in my car just in case I end up driving to the hospital from work instead of home. If nothing else, it'll give me some peace of mind.
PS - Congrats on finding a new apartment!
I live about 35-40 minutes from our hospital, assuming good weather and traffic. There is a closer local hospital, but they no longer do routine labor/delivery, so I'd only go there in an extreme circumstance.
I work about 5 minutes from my OB and the hospital. I will probably keep a bag in the car when I get closer to the due date, but as PP said, in the worst case scenario there's probably nothing in the bag that you wouldn't be able to go without until DH or someone could bring your bag.
Marriage: 12.18.04
DD1: 5.19.10
DD2: 4.11.12
Thanks, guys! I actually take public transportation into work but in a couple of weeks I'll start stashing a bag in the car so when Jake meets me at the hospital, it's all set!
I'm going to bring up the move at my next high-risk OB appt on the 13th