Anne Rogers wrote:
maybe some of you who've planned or considered homebirths in the USA can
give me a perspective on this, I've been reading through the
documentation from the midwives on informed consent, one of the things
is transfer to hospital and that in an emergency it would be 911 to the
ER. This worries me, the local hospital is quite big, maternity and the
ER are quite a way apart, the ER is on the ground floor quite away from
the main hospital tower, where maternity is on the top floor. I guess
it's a 10 minute push on a trolley!

I don't live in a large metropolitan area, so things aren't the same,
but I have had an emergency transfer. In my case, about an hour after
the birth, during which my midwife had tried to deal with my bleeding
which was getting worse, she said something like "you're bleeding too
much, I think we have to call 911 for an ambulance to get you to the
hospital."

I assessed how I felt and said "I can walk out to the car now." They
quickly yanked on a nightgown, the the weird ob underwear&pad, and my
snow boots (which immediately filled with blood) and we went. As soon
as we were driving, with me reclined and my feet up on the dash, my
midwife called the hospital by cell phone, telling them the situation
and that we were about 2 1/2 minutes out and that she would be bringing
my to the hospital entrance right by the birth center.

By the time we arrived, they had two people with a wheelchair who ran
out to the car, wheeled me in at a run, and deposited me in a room of
nurses, nursing students, and their teacher, a former British midwife.
They immediately took things in hand.

I feel that I was well taken care of in the hospital. The on call OB
was very nice. I couldn't have my own backup doctor because she
practices at a hospital ten miles away and there clearly wasn't time to
drive there.

What actually happened and what was written in the contract were a
bit different, though we followed the plan in going to the close
hospital for an emergency transfer.

--Betsy