rotunda/holles st

hi girls, i know there have been other posts about this but here goes another! I have to know which hospital we are going to use for my doctors visit on Monday. Ive heard nightmare stories about both and was veering towards holles st until i heard about the 'active management labour' policies and breaking waters as early as 1cm... so my question is; which hospital, if any, support natural childbirth more? i plan to labour at home for as long as possible, as ive read that there are less interventions the longer you wait until going to hospital. i'd like to not have my waters broken until 8cm or more...unless there is a valid medical reason to beforehand. i dont want an epidural and id rather tear than be cut. oboviously im not going to have a hissy fit if things dont go to plan...but these are my preferences. does anyone think one hosptial over the other would be more open to this? thanks!

Hey aperature, where do you live? could you consider midwife led care? Check community midwives in Holles St [url:3vcj0c0u]http://www.nmh.ie/iopen24/defaultarticle.php?cArticlePath=2_7_61[/url:3vcj0c0u] Ph: (01) 6373 100 or (01) 6373 177) or domino/midwives clinic in Rotunda Ph: (01) 8176 849 or (01) 8176 850 give them a ring and leave a message saying how long you are pg and that you would like more info on the services. I got call back that evening and midwife was so patient with me. I am completely pro normal natural childbirth with as little intervention as possible. (i considered home birth but DH was too nervous about it). I'm going with midwives clinic in Rotunda as I live outside the catchment area for Domino (where midwives come to visit you - Cabra area I think). I have apts in Blanchardstown health centre and only have to go to Rotunda for anomaly scan (which midwife booked for me) and antenatal classes (optional). I'm delighted with service and was even more thrilled when I discovered that I can avail of early transfer home too (all going well) and midwife will come visit me in my home for first few days. It's the best solution for me. I would think that going with the midwives will allow this plan to proceed rather than consultant led care. I have similar ideas but will be open minded to just in case!! I really am against the active mangement of the NMH so that's why I went with Rotunda, plus I know midwives there so feel more confident about it. hth and congrats edited for spelling

thanks so much for that! I live in Clontarf..would love to do a midwife led scheme. at the moment i'm doing the combined care with my doctore...will this make any difference ? Also , im going public aswell so don't know what that means , if anything, to what i choose. going to go and check out that link now, thanks.

Hi Aperature I also live in Clontarf. Unfortunatley you will not be eligible for Domino - I have checked this out. The Rotunda only offer the service in D1 and 7 and HS only the sough side. You can opt for the midwife led team and attend the midwifes clinic in either coolock or ballymun. You can also get the ETH if everything goes to plan but if you live on the north side you can only avial of that from the Rotunda - hope that helps

I think you might have a hard time finding someone with experience of both hospitals but here's my experience of Holles St for what it's worth. I started having pre labour pains at around 8pm but nothing too strong by 10pm they were coming every 10 min and lasting at least a min. I went to bed and tried to sleep but couldn't by 3/4pm I got up to go to the bathroom and I started spotting which got a lot heavier so I rang the hospital just to be on safe side. They told me to come in and after checking everything out said baby and I were fine and to go as I wasn't in established labour yet. We went home again and it was another 24 hours of prelabour contractions before we went back to HS. I couldn't believe i was only 1cm I was in so much pain I thought I couldn’t cope with the pain without pain relief. Before this i was sure I didn't want anything but G&A. I would have taken anything they gave me at that point but the midwife suggested I try a shower first. She also asked if she could break my waters to speed things up and when I asked why would I not want them broken she said it was up to me but first labours could go on for a long time but this would speed it up. After nearly 32 hours in pain and without sleep I wanted anything that would speed things up. I spent an hour and half in the shower and had mobile a G&A tank in with me. It helped a lot not really with the pain but it took my mind off it and made me relax more than I would have without it. A half hour later and I was at 10 cm and ready to push. I would have taken more pain relief if I could have but it was too late. In the end DS was born in less than 4 hours from when my waters were broke. I think I would have given into drugs a lot quicker if it wasn’t for the midwife. I had a 2nd degree tear but at that stage I didn’t notice and I’m so glad I didn’t have any other pain relief other than G&A. I think next time I won’t have my waters broke as this really made things more intense and once you put it in your birth plan you should be fine. They can’t break them without your permission no matter what their policy. Good luck

if everything goes smoothly, would holles st allow me to go home that same day?

I believe that you would only be able to go home same day (early transfer) if you live on southside for Holles St. I think they wouldn't release you that early from their care without support - with early transfer a midwife comes to visit you for a few days and check everything is ok. My friend who is a nurse practically ran out of Holles St after 2 nigths and even then they weren't happy with her leaving early - she is outside Dublin so wasn't eligible for early transfer. Maybe give them both a ring and see which you prefer.

Even if you are able to avail of the early transfer they need to be sure the baby is eating, peeing and pooing correctly So they won't release you until the baby has at least one bowl movement. It also depends on how you and the baby got on during the birth. I only stayed in two nights but DS was born just after noon so they were happy with him.