We hope your pregnancy and birth is healthy and positive. If you have an emergency, call 999. The ambulance service is here to help.
This information explains:
- how to prepare for a home birth
- what the ambulance service does
- what to expect if you need emergency help
Please speak to your midwife about your plans at your appointments.
Calling an ambulance to a birth
The ambulance service is for emergencies. It is not to be used instead of routine maternity care. Please contact your GP, local maternity unit or self-refer online to maternity care as soon as you know you are pregnant. An ambulance cannot be booked in advance. Ambulance staff cannot wait outside a home just in case you need them. Ambulance staff are trained to help in emergencies. They work with midwives to give emergency care and take you to hospital. We are here for everyone. Do not be worried about calling an ambulance if you are a migrant, refugee or asylum seeker. You can expect respect and dignity from all ambulance staff regardless of your race, background, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, disability, job, income, living situation, family, status, spoken language, age, gender or marital status.
Response times
A response time is the time taken for the ambulance service to get to you after you call 999.
Here are the national target response times.
Category of call National Target Response Time:
- Category 1 incidents (immediately life-threatening emergency) Target response time 7 minutes - NWAS
- Category 2 incidents (other life-threatening emergencies) Target response time 18 minutes - NWAS
Response times vary based on:
- How busy the NHS is at the time of taking your call
- Major incidents taking place at the time
- Your location
An ambulance responder may arrive in a car first to assist you before more help arrives.
Transfer times
A transfer time is the time taken from when the ambulance arrives to the time you get to hospital.
Transfer times vary based on:
- Any treatment you need before leaving where you are
- How easy it is to get into the ambulance
- Distance to the hospital
- Traffic on the roads at the time
Getting ready for a homebirth
We recommend that you do the following to get ready for your homebirth:
- If you have a smartphone, download the What3Words app. Note the three words that are
- for your address.
- Make sure you, your birthing partner(s) and midwives know your postcode.
- If phone signal is poor, use Wi-Fi calling or plan another way to contact 999.
- If you have hearing difficulties, ask your midwife to help you register via Emergency SMS service so that you can call 999 via text.
- Make sure the way out of your home is clear.
- Make sure your property number or name is easy to see.
- If you have other children, make a plan for who will care for them if an emergency happens.
- If you have particular cultural or religious needs, please write a list for the ambulance
- service.
- If you have a disability, learning difficulty, mental health concern or feel unsure about calling 999, please speak to your midwife in advance so we can help you. If you need to call 999 before the midwife arrives If you need an ambulance before midwives arrive, call 999. Do not call 111. Put your phone on loud speaker. The questions you are asked will not delay help being sent.
The person that answers the 999 call is a 'call handler' they will ask:
1. Is the patient breathing?
2. Is the patient awake?
3. Tell me exactly what is happening.
4. What is the address of the emergency?
Clearly tell them the reason you have called 999. Clearly tell them if:
- You have medical problems
- You've had problems in pregnancy or past births
- You're between 20 and 37 weeks pregnant
When asked, tell them about your address:
- Any gate codes
- The words from your What3Words
- Any special information, for example, we live above the Tesco Express . The call handler
- will give you advice. This may include turning lights on and unlocking your door. If the call cuts off or things change, call 999 again anytime. When the ambulance arrives Ambulance staff may arrive in more than one vehicle to make sure both you and your baby get what you need.
You can expect kind and safe care, but not all birth goals can be followed in an emergency.
Please tell the ambulance staff if you have any cultural or religious needs. For example, certain religious clothing. Unfortunately, we cannot make sure that only female ambulance staff see you. Please have your maternity notes and any medicines ready for the ambulance staff. Ambulance staff have different skills to midwives, for example, they can't check your baby's heartbeat or do internal checks.
Ambulance staff are not trained in water births, so if your midwife isn't there, for your safety, you'll be asked to leave the pool or bath. If midwives call an ambulance to attend your birth the ambulance team and midwives will work together to care for you. When the ambulance staff arrive, if they are no longer needed, they will leave but can come back.
If midwives are not available If you are in labour and no midwife can attend your home birth, the ambulance service will recommend we take you to hospital. This is because the ambulance staff can't do the full checks on you and your baby. If the baby is born and a midwife cannot come, the ambulance staff will recommend we take you to hospital to check on you and your baby.
The ambulance service will discuss all decisions about transfer to hospital. We will discuss your medical needs and your wishes. We will explain the risks and benefits of different options.
Going to hospital by ambulance
Ambulance crews will try to keep you comfortable. If it's an emergency, they will use blue lights and sirens. Everyone in the ambulance must wear a seatbelt. If a midwife is with you, they'll come in the ambulance too. By law, the driver is responsible for everyone's safety. Please follow their instructions to keep you safe.
Travelling With Your Baby
Your baby needs to be secured in the ambulance. The ambulance staff will advise you on the safest way to do this. Mostly babies travel in a harness provided by the ambulance service. Your baby cannot be skin-to-skin when travelling in the ambulance because it is not safe. Your baby will need to have the cord clamped and cut before travelling. Some babies can be put in car seats if you have one. If the ambulance staff advise a car seat can be used, you will need to be responsible for securing it in the ambulance. You and your baby may need to travel in separate ambulances. Staff will make sure you are back together as soon as possible. A partner, family member or support person can usually travel with you or the baby. Sometimes your partner, family member and support people may need to make their own way to the hospital.
Which Hospital Will I Go To?
You'll be taken to the closest hospital with maternity services, even if it's not the one you're booked with. If you need to go somewhere else, that will be sorted after the first hospital sees you.
Thank you for reading this information, we hope you have a healthy and positive birth.
The information above has been taken from the following national leaflet with local timescales added:
Planning a birth at home or in a midwifery led birth centre - MAMA Academy