Stupid question: in a home birth, where do you actually give birth?

[Anglepoise]

Currently PG with DC1 and considering a home birth. I want to get a pool-in-a-box and spend at least part of my labour in there but not sure that I'll give birth in there. I'm assuming we'll need to be downstairs because of the weight of the water. Once you're out (or if you don't have a pool), where do you actually give birth - on the floor, on a sofa, where? I just can't really visualise it!

[Anglepoise]

Doh! Ignore me ... I've just found a thread asking exactly the same question in this very page - sorry sorry

[scorpio1]

i gave birth leaning over the sofa, kneeling up on a quilt on the floor.

you can do it wherever you want, really.

[Anglepoise]

Thanks, just been reading replies on a different thread - hadn't occurred to me that you could put soft stuff on the floor but that sounds quite appealing. For some reason I thought the floor would be too hard and bump the baby's head on the way out or something!

[bythepowerofgreyskull]

I gave birth in a pool in the sittingroom. I wanted the pool upstairs but DH was worried about it being too heavy when full... he imagined us falling through the ceiling as the baby was coming out.

[Flamesparrow]

I was on hands and knees on the lounge floor.

[pedilia]

I had my DD4 2 weeks ago on the front room floor, I was on all fours leaning on the sofa, she came quicker than expected and DH had to deliver her

[merryberry]

in a pool in dining room bit of kitchen. it's a laugh telling people standing on the spot that's where it happened. watching them not leap away...

[Anglepoise]

Thank you - for some reason I had the idea that I had to be somewhere soft!

merryberry

[harman]

Message withdrawn

[Debris]

I spent quite a while in the bath, then into the bedroom on the birthball during contractions, had to keep popping to the loo to do little wee's, but gave birth in the bedroom knealing over a beanbag that had a quilt on top.You sort of just find whats right for you at the time.

[thisisyesterday]

I laboured in water and then got out and gave birth kneeling over the sofa. Had a little beanbag on the sofa too so it was all just the right height and it was great to squeeze during contractions

[PeachyBAHons]

on the rug in the living room, covered the rug in those p[ampers bed protector things, worked a treat

[geekgirl]

I gave birth squatting on the bathroom floor (dd2 - unintentionally unassisted and thus somewhat panicky homebirth) and on the bed (ds) - again in some kind of squat propped up by dh and midwife.

[geekgirl]

(had a shower curtain on the bed btw. worked a treat! )

[pickie]

I had both DC in our bath (upstairs bathroom)

[Joggeroo]

Out by the wellies in the utility ...though that hadn't been the plan!I was trying to escape the attention of DS2 at the time. I retired to an old PVC table cloth covered in sleeping bags and duvet until the ambulance arrived.
but think that's the beauty of having a baby at home, you can go with what you feel like. Was supposed to have him in hospital as I had done with the other 3DC but was glad he came by mistake at home, was much nicer to be able to go with what my body was doing not worry about where I could be according to hospital policy and midwife preference.

[mrsmalumbas]

In the pool, which was in our (big) bedroom.

But if I had a homebirth in the house we now live in I think it would have to be in the bedroom, just due to lack of space ..or maybe the living room, if at night (not in the day because it's not private enough)

Actually the weight thing is a bit misleading, although a pool full of water is heavy, it's the weight per square foot you need to worry about and most houses have joists that are strong enough - unless you live in a particularly old house or whatever.

You don't need to get out of the tub for the birth, necessarily, although I had a friend who really wanted a waterbirth but ended up getting out of the tub just as the baby was crowning - she managed to make it to the bed but only just! Just said she needed to feel grounded. With me, I was so comfy there was no way I was getting out. You just don't know how you'll feel on the day.

[Anglepoise]

Ooh lots of replies - thanks

mrsmalumbas I thought you had to get out unless your midwife was specifically trained in water births, but perhaps I'm wrong.

[babalon]

Where ever you want or find yourself. Had both DS's in the lounge lying on the floor. Both early morning deliveries so din't want to wake to neighbours! LOL

[blot4]

If you want to deliver in the pool, there is no reason why you shouldn't. Some MWs may try to discourage you because they are not used to it and feel they have less control (they can't see what's going on) but you have the right to choose. You should go with whatever feels right for you.

[twelveyeargap]

Inflatable pools, even when filled with water, are quite "light" in terms of the strength of your house. A "La Bassine" pool weighs about the same as 8 adults when filled, a Birth Pool in a Box small size is about the same, the larger size about the weight of 10 people. Most houses and flats can cope with that! However, the kind of hard-sided pools you can hire are a lot heavier and recommended for downstairs, I believe.

I gave birth at home, in our spare room, in the La Bassine pool I bought. The midwives were happy with this, especially since I'd bought a plastic-edged mirror to put in the bottom of the pool so that they and DH could see what was going on more easily. To be honest, I don't think they could have got me out if they tried! The midwife did ask near the end if I was happy in the water though. As said already, some people prefer "dry land" for the actual birth. Even having done it before, there's no way to tell how I'll feel this time round.

If you do have a spare room, it can be really nice to do the birth there, (in the pool or on the floor or wherever), because it leaves your bedroom pristine for you to climb into bed afterwards and your partner can close the door on the wet towels and so on until he's had a sleep too and can face tidying up.

[merryberry]

i had my rigid sided pool from 'born in water' in the dining room because i hired it for pre-labour (had it for 4 weeks in total i think). used it so much pre-labour, as well as labour and birth. utter bliss. had pump and heater, only needed changing once a week, always hot and available. chose dining room as on ground floor and decent ventilation for the humidity of having it around for so long

[Anglepoise]

Thanks - guess I will just see how I feel then! Hopefully we will have a spare room by then, though we currently don't even have a house!