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Expectant and Postpartum Moms
Going to the hospital for delivery by taxi?
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Anonymous
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OP here. No, I was not planning to hire a doula. Never really heard of free or affordable doulas, except those at John Hopkins University (and they are in Baltimore area) and those at DCBC (but they are only there and I think only for those who cannot afford to pay).
I wonder if I could hire a doula to just come to my house, check my dilation and drive me to the hospital when the time comes 
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Anonymous
I had 1st degree tears with both my babies. I've read the tear rates at 60% & 80%, not sure if either are accurate. They were the most painful days 3-5 after birth. Have some good pain meds handy and don't go overboard on walking, even if you feel ok in the first 2-3 days. |
Anonymous
thanks...anything that could also be applied locally and relieve the pain? |
Anonymous
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OP -- I am the one who had the suggestion about a doula If at any point you do want to look into low cost or free doulas, I'd be happy to post your info on the local doula listservs, so that doulas willing to work for free or cheap would contact you. A lot of times, a doula who is in training or recently certified will work for free or cheap, and most of those doulas are on the listservs looking for births to attend. I've done this for other moms on here. Who knows, maybe there is someone who would be happy to come hang out with you at your house during early labor and drive you to the hospital? Good luck!
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Anonymous
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At this point I've taken countless cab rides with car seats in tow. I've yet to encounter a cabbie who's so much as blinked when they see me with a car seat. None have ever started the meter until we're all fully in the car and ready to go - they don't make me pay extra while I'm fumbling to get the car seat in properly. (To my credit, I've improved over the years.)
All this to say, don't worry if you have to take a cab home from the hospital. You'll be fine. Give the cabbie a nice tip. |
Anonymous
They give you Dermablast, a spray that is supposed to help. I didn't find it as helpful as just using the squirt bottle with warm water and the ice pack pads they give you. Ask for extra ice pack pads before you leave. I have not been able to find them anywhere else. |
Anonymous
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Hi OP. We are also a car-free couple, living in Chinatown DC and delivering at GW. We'll be taking a cab to the hospital. During the day it's very easy to flag one around here, and we have simply called them for ER runs at night in the past without problem.
I know at GW they will not let you leave in any car without a carseat. We will either cab home or have a friend drive us home in a zipcar. We've noticed while at GW for classes and such that there are usually cabs parked out front. Eventually the baby will be a big metro user, but I don't think I want that much germ exposure on the first day out of the hospital. Either way, I really think it should all work out fine, surely women in major cities all over the world do this all the time. I agree with the tip of not telling the cab you are in labor, good idea, no one wants amniotic fluid on their seats. We may leave the car seat at home at first and send someone to bring it to us before we leave just to simplify the initial trip. Best wishes! |
Anonymous
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OP here. Thanks again everyone! Lots of useful tips. We will be taking the car seat with us - anyway it is just the hospital bag and then the seat.
To the PP who suggested about doulas - thanks, I discussed with DH and this sounds like a great option! How can I contact you and provide details? However I should warn you that the doula may not be able to attend the actual birth since I think the hospital only allows one support person. |
Anonymous
| Hi, for the poster in Chinatown--am also car-free and am wondering how to manage the car seat in cab thing--is there a particular kind of seat that you would recommend? how do you install the seat quickly enough in a cab? any suggestions would be great! |
Anonymous
| OP here. On installing the car seat in the taxi - I was secretly hoping for the cabbie help..any suggestions on how I can hint at nice tips if he does help? |
Anonymous
I highly doubt it. WAY too much liability for them and they aren't trained to install carseats so I wouldn't want to rely on someone else who doesn't know what they're doing. Maybe you can practice in someone else's car beforehand just to get a feel for it? |
Anonymous
| fyi - if you have (or can borrow) a graco snap-in infant seat, you can use it without the base for short trips. You just secure it to the backseat with the seatbelt. Not recommended for long or frequent trips, but would work for a cab ride home from the hospital. |
Anonymous
| OP here. I was planning to use Graco Snugride -understand it can be used w/out the base. We will study the manual and hopefully will be able to install it one way or the other (with or without base). Thanks for the useful tip! |
Anonymous
That's what I have too. To echo PP - definitely do NOT count on the cabbie to know how to install a carseat. You'll get better in time, but that first day, coming home from the hospital? Don't let the cabbie rush you. It'll take longer than you'd prefer and the cabbie can wait. As PPs have said, you can strap it in without the base. Or, since you can plan in this instance, it's not so bad to have the base with you, and you can choose to use it or not. It snaps right into these little metal brackets in the seat (the LATCH system). Some cabs have shitty seat belts; older cars may not have LATCH. |
Anonymous
that's what I thought too! I will make my husband responsible for figuring all this out, haha. As for cars with LATCH, I always see cabs around the hospital (just as one of PPs noted) - aren't they sort of equipped for car seats? Definitely need a cabbie friend
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