As soon as we learned that the Duchess of Cambridge was knocked up with a third royal baby, several British gossips claimed that Kate was quite keen on doing a home birth with this one. While Kate gets sick as a dog in the first months of her pregnancies, she seems to do quite well in the last half of her pregnancies and have relatively easy, no-drama births. I said last year that I thought it was quite reasonable for her to wonder if she should do a home birth with this one. Well, as it turns out, nothing came from all that keenness. She’s got the same birthing plan as the first two deliveries.
The Duchess of Cambridge recently joked that her husband was “in denial” about the impending birth of their third child, but Kate has been busily planning for the imminent arrival. With just weeks to go until her April due date, Kate has decided that she will have her third baby at the Lindo Wing at St. Mary’s Paddington, where both Prince George and Princess Charlotte were born. There had been speculation that the duchess was considering a home birth, but royal sources say that she has opted for a hospital delivery and that a suite is all ready and sealed off ahead of the royal birth.
Kate has been busily clocking up engagements ahead of her maternity leave….Royal sources say the duchess will remain busy for the rest of March but plans to slow down her official duties next month. While the exact due date is not known, Kate is expected to give birth in late April with the Sun newspaper reporting that Kate and Prince William are working towards an April 23 date, which happens to be St. George’s Day. It is understood that Kate will be under the care of obstetrician Guy Thorpe-Beeston who helped her deliver Prince George and Princess Charlotte.
Says a source: “She has decided that she will be having the baby at the Lindo Wing. The room is all booked, the team are ready and everyone is just waiting for the baby to come. They have had two very positive experiences at the Lindo Wing so it’s the No. 1 choice. She knows the team and she feels like she’s in very safe hands.”
The couple have a team of doctors on call, now that the duchess is well into her third trimester of her pregnancy. According to Professor Tiong Ghee Teoh, a consultant obstetrician and gynecologist at St. Mary’s Hospital, Paddington, the duchess had a backup team of more than 20 doctors and nurses on call for her previous two births which included two obstetricians, three midwives, three anesthetists, four theatre staff, two special-care baby unit staff, four pediatricians, one laboratory technician to check blood samples, and four senior managers.
While her labor with George was a long one, Kate was in and out of hospital within a day when she had Charlotte and she is hoping for a similarly straightforward and swift birth this third time around. Sources say that the couple’s staff have been overseeing a redesign of the nursery at Kensington Palace to accommodate their third baby and that the couple do not know the sex of their third child. Given how high Kate is carrying, the smart money is on her having a girl.
That list of hospital staff at Kate’s beck and call is quite something, right? Granted, she’ll be giving birth to… what? The fifth in line to the throne. But it would drive me up the wall if I was surrounded by that many people during such an intimate, personal moment. As for the rest of it… I still suspect that Kate was thinking about a home birth but decided against it because it would have been a massive hassle for her personally to bring all of those people to Kensington Palace. You know what interests me the most though? Where she’ll go after she has the baby. After giving birth to Charlotte and George, she spent a lot of time at her parents’ house in Bucklebury. I wonder if she’ll decamp to Anmer Hall this time around.
Photos courtesy of Pacific Coast News.
I’ve had 4 and I was too chicken to have them anywhere but a hospital….just in case, so I get where she’s coming from
Same. For the last 2 I had a midwife and a doula-but still at the hospital. #2 had ingested meconium, no way I was taking a chance having my next kids anywhere but a hospital with a pediatric NICU.
I had a home birth with a baby that had ingested meconium and it was absolutely fine, the midwife does bring a load of medical equipment with her.
“On call” does not necessarily mean in the same room or even on the hospital grounds, just that the personnel were available to come in if called. The sheer number of staff though makes me a tad queasy. How many other mothers in the UK receive similar care?
This. With the cuts to the NHS (and lbr, people leaving NHS due to Brexit) the BRF is more of a burden for us everyday tax wise.
Yep. While A&E waiting times are hitting 5+ hours and people are literally dying in hallways…her highness has 20 staff on call, including consultants and ‘senior managers’. Frankly this is getting to be ridiculous. What makes her or her child’s life worthy of more care than the actual people who pay for the NHS? Ugh.
Bearcat to answer your questions – most mothers in the UK don’t even have one dedicated consultant unless something goes wrong – it’s mostly a midwife who oversees.
I think this is fan fiction. What could any person (even a royal) want with FOUR paediatricians? (Unless they mean they’ve checked the rota for the 2 weeks round her due date and there are four on shift around then.)
I had my baby at the Lindo and it is excellent. But I’d be amazed if she had 20 people in the room when she gave birth – even the large suites aren’t that big!
Probably just means she has 4 doctors that could possible deliver the baby depending on when the birth is. One doctor can’t be available 24/7. Also hospital’s have epidurals and that was high on my list of priorities for giving birth…
With the first two Kate had 2 or 3 midwives deliver the babies and 2 doctors oversaw the birth from behind a glass window. Don’t forget that when they left the hospital they had the assisting medical staff standing outside to send them off and both times they had a large group.
I gave birth at a large hospital in the US that has all the labor and delivery staff on shifts, rather than assigning you a specific doctor, nurse, midwife, etc. If you are in the hospital for 12 hours, it’s pretty good odds you will see people from 3 shifts (you arrive near the end of shift 1, are there for all of shift 2, leave shortly after shift 3 begins). Thinking back, I saw at least 3 different OBs, 2 different midwives, 4 different labor/delivery nurses, a lab tech to set up an IV site in case I wound up needing fluids, 2 different pediatricians, 2 postpartum care nurses, and 2 lactation consultants. It was just my husband, a nurse, a midwife and myself at the exact moment I gave birth, but there were soooo many people traipsing in and out during the time I was there. I had a fairly quick vaginal birth with no epidural or gas, etc, so didn’t see surgeons or anesthesiologists, but the hospital did have them available so I guess I had at least 2 more staff “on call” if I had needed them. So if you want to add up all the numbers, I had a “team” of at least 16 people to help me give birth. I’m sure there are 1-2 others I don’t remember and I’m also sure that if I had been there longer or had a more complicated birth I would have had a much larger “team”. So I could buy that Kate’s “team” is mostly people who would be there for any birth and that VF is just spinning it like they are all there as her special retainers. I’m sure they will have some extra staff on hand but to have that many extra would just be f*ing insane, especially for a healthy woman who seems to have a history of easy and low-drama births.
I don’t think “home birth” for the Royals means much. The Queen herself was technically “born at home” but was a c-section birth – they just brought the hospital there. All of her and Phillip’s children were “home” births as well. Kate would be surrounded by the best care possible no matter where she births, so it’s not really comparable to us “normies.”
I had my three in a free standing birth center, and if you’re keen on natural birth, I certainly suggest it – it gives the home experience while keeping medical care at the ready.
Lol at “how high she’s carrying it must be a girl”. Is the Daily Mail author gonna consult their great aunt for her prediction too?
I know, right?
Whatever makes her feel comfortable. I have three children. The first was in a hospital and the last two were home water births. I’m kind of keen on home water births, but every woman should choose what is going to make her feel the most comfortable.
By medical terms, Kate is a geriatric mother this time around so a home birth was likely never even an option. I read that Diana was also fine with a home birth but the Queen and Charles wanted her in the hospital where she had immediate access to the best technology. Diana was 16 years younger then kate when that happened and it turned out to be a good call as she had a difficult birth. As you get older pregnancy and birth gets more complicated and having previous easy pregnancies means absolutely nothing.
By medical terms, what is a geriatric mother’s age range exactly?
Anything over 35. I was 39 when I was pregnant with my one and only, and 40 when I delivered. My dr immediately sent me to high risk because of my age where all my paperwork said I was geriatric. LOL
It’s a outdated term that doctors don’t use anymore. Previously, a “geriatric” pregnancy was when the mother was over 35.Kate is 36.
30 years ago, I got pregnant at 28 (Jan) and delivered at 29 (sept) (my b’day is June). I was considered an ‘at rish’ pregnancy because of my age!!!! At 29 yo I was considered geriatric…30 years ago…… 🙂
They definitely still use the term. One of my girlfriends was assigned it just a couple of years ago.
Geriatric is no longer a term we assign to mothers and it hasn’t been used is ages; we use “mothers of advanced age” or “advanced maternal age”.
I’ve seen it used, but even then “Advanced Maternal Age” is just a more palatable name for the same thing.
Follow medical professionals on social media. Especially twitter, where they talk freely. You’ll find loads of things which shouldn’t be said or happening are STILL being said and happening.
I was 39 with my second and 41 with my third and both were home water births. No problems with the pregnancy and no problems with the birth. I think you need to look at the individual and their health and not just the chronological age.
I hope she has choices and gets to be as “normal” as she wants to be with this baby especially since I am guessing it will be her last child…
Two home births here. CNM attending. I was young, 24 and 26, had good prenatal care, and great out comes. I would choose a hospital if I were her age and had a history of smoking.
Meh, her choice. I’m sure the delivery will be well monitored no matter where she is.
She has the right to choose whatever dhe thinks it’s best. Maybe she felt confident in the minihospital that would have been set up at kensington palace, but now that the time has come, she feels different. Personally, I work in healthcare and I wouldn’t give birth at any place but a hospital with a paediatrics ICU. I have seen so many unnecessary and totally avoidable situations….
I doubt Kate wanted one anyways
I have always felt the home birth story was a tabloid fabrication that had no basis in reality.
I’m sure she’ll hang out at home rather than going to her parents afterwards. It’s one thing with your first baby-but once you have subsequent kids, it’s easier for them to be home in their own space.
I heard In The Netherlands, home births are encouraged, you’ve a mid-wife deliver your baby, unless you have problems, then you go to the hospital.
I saw a video online where she was visiting the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists in February where she walked passed by a bunch of medical field workers and she recognized the midwife who helped her with Charlotte. She gave that woman a hug and chatted with her. So i think she is more comfortable with giving birth in the hospital and i think it would be more safer too.
I remember people here were criticizing her that she was just trying to copy Queen Elizabeth with home birth when this story came out. And now that she is giving birth in the hospital, people are still criticizing her. Where is she supposed to give birth then? Girl can’t catch a break.
But, no one here is criticizing her though…?
I don’t understand why anyone would risk a home birth. What if something goes wrong? How would you live with yourself? I had a C and then my baby had to be rushed to the NICU for unforeseen complications (she couldn’t breathe properly). I wanted a doctor there (ended up with two due to the C) and as many drugs as were allowed by law!
I like a more natural soothing experience and to be left alone since I think it is over medicalized and not enough on the support and care, but that is my comfort level and belief. To each their own.
I found the jump from one to two natural but from two to three was much harder. Not the pregnancy but looking after them and the energy it required. Three different personalities and two nursing. After three it wasn’t as difficult. They started playing together and didn’t need only me to talk and play with during the day.
I think for Kate, this might be it for her. I don’t think William wants it.
If I had ever had children, I would have tried to go the a la natural route and most probably the breast crawl, AMAZING!!!!!!