Hi Fionas,

I too live a long way from a maternity hospital (about an hour) and discussed this with my midwives for both of my births, one which ended up in a transfer to hospital. It is important that both you and your midwife are comfortable with how long it might take to get you from your home to hospital in case of transfer, but you should also find out more about why you might be transferred.

Many people believe that complications will arise suddenly, and therefore the longer it takes to get to hospital the worse the risk to you or your baby's life. But your midwife has the tools needed to keep both you and your baby well while an ambulance might be called, and almost all transfers happen without an emergency. Midwives attending homebirths are very vigilant about monitoring the situation for possible problems, and will suggest transfer at the earliest possible sign of trouble.

I hope that helps a little. It helped me to talk different scenarios through with my midwife so that I was sure why and how and transfer might happen.

Good Luck!