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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

Water birth

21 replies

Miniwilf · 15/07/2018 10:55

Where I live if you want a home water birth the pool is provided for you by the community midwife. I have had the pool at home for a couple of weeks now and am due today.

Yesterday I had a letter stating the water birth service was being suspended with immediate effect (following a conversation with the midwife there have been two adverse birth outcomes this week after water birth which they want to investigate). I only intend to labour in water (not actually give birth) so I can't see how this would be any different to just having a bath (which I'm still "allowed" to do). They haven't come to take the pool away from me or mentioned that they intend to.

My AIBU is more of a WIBU to just inflate the pool and get in it anyway when the time comes and do they actually have the right to stop me labouring in the pool?

Any advice gratefully received. Not looking for a debate on home/hospital birth just purely the rights of the labouring mother. Thank you

OP posts:

InNeedOfALieInNow · 15/07/2018 11:01

No idea but I’d just fill the pool and get in before your midwife comes!

However I’d be interested in the reason of the adverse outcomes - eg if it’s not frequent enough monitoring or something that can be addressed for your birth

CrackerCrisp · 15/07/2018 11:06

You can get in it but if they’ve suspended the service you won’t get a midwife. So what’s your plan?

At the hospital I work at the Home birth service is often suspended when the maternity side gets extremely busy.

Original poster

Miniwilf · 15/07/2018 11:08

All I have been told is that there were two episodes of babies born in water inhaling meconium so they want to investigate this despite the fact that they don't believe the water birth is the cause of this.

I completely understand why they would want to, and should, investigate this but water births have been conducted successfully here for many years by highly trained midwives. Evidence for labouring in water shows it to be very safe. There seem to be some minor concerns in the evidence regarding actually birthing in the water (e.g. baby taking a breath in too early and inhaling water and possibly therefore meconium) but as I intend to birth on 'dry land' I don't think this will be relevant for me.

OP posts:

AvoidingDM · 15/07/2018 11:10

I'd save yourself the hassle and just run a bath. Much easier to keep topping it up and keeping yourself comfortable than I imagine a blow up birth pool would be. Also easier to clean afterwards should anything happen.

Original poster

Miniwilf · 15/07/2018 11:10

Crackercrisp - they haven't suspended the home birth service and will still be sending midwive(s) out to me. This is purely a suspension of the water birth service (both in and out of hospital) pending an investigation

OP posts:

Original poster

Miniwilf · 15/07/2018 11:12

AvoidingDM - thank you I have definitely considered that. My reason for thinking the pool might be easier is that I can move about a lot easier as it will be deeper and wider. With the bath I'm really stuck with just lying on my back due to space. Will definitely be a back up option should it be the only way forward though

OP posts:

OwlinaTree · 15/07/2018 11:13

Well I'd be a bit wary if there's been adverse outcomes tbh.

AvoidingDM · 15/07/2018 11:13

I posted before your update.
I wonder if they have an issue with keeping the water temp exactly right.

If you start pushing it might not be easy to get you out or a pool but it's easy enough to let away bath water.

divadee · 15/07/2018 11:17

cracker your local service sounds appalling. It is the norm in a lot of areas for them always to send a midwife out if you are booked for a homebirth. When I went into labour the home birth team on call where all busy so they sent a midwife from the hospital.

All midwives would prefer to attend a home birth than leave a mother labouring at home. It is the woman's choice where she gives birth and a home birth is a right. Even if you have had advice against a home birth you can still give birth exactly where you want.

Original poster

Miniwilf · 15/07/2018 11:22

divadee would this extend to a right to use the pool against advice not to? To be clear, I have personally previously been approved for both home and water birth and luckily had a low risk pregnancy this far and this advice given is just a blanket withdrawal of water birth service until the investigation is complete and not based on my personal health or my baby's health in any way

OP posts:

bullyingadvice2017 · 15/07/2018 12:08

Get it blown up, I'd be in it once they arrive. I had one of mine in a pool at home and it was great. Good luck.

Poptart4 · 15/07/2018 12:50

Im surprised at how many responses you've had telling you to ignore medical advice. You have said your self you don't know the full circumstances surrounding the ban on water births in your area. How can you make an informed decision without knowing all the facts.

You say you only want to labour in the pool but from past experience labour can progress quickly and you may not have time or be able to get out before baby makes an appearance.

If god forbid something went wrong and the hospital didn't ban the water births, knowing there had been 2 other incidents, you would be outraged they put your child at risk and suing the NHS.

I think its really stupid to put your baby at any kind of unnecessary risk no matter how small. Water births may be nice but are far from necessary.

OwlinaTree · 15/07/2018 16:29

To be clear, I have personally previously been approved for both home and water birth and luckily had a low risk pregnancy this far

Well that's probably the case for the other home water births which didn't go according to plan. I'd be wanting a lot more information before I went ahead with this.

Original poster

Miniwilf · 15/07/2018 18:17

Owlinatree the adverse outcomes were actually at hospital not at home. But you're right I will be requesting more information, I just want to know what my rights are should I chose to labour in the pool against official advice bearing in mind there is strong published evidence to support the safety of this and it has many proven benefits

OP posts:

Saracen · 15/07/2018 19:36

They can't stop you from labouring and birthing in any way you want. Nor can the midwives refuse to come out to you.

If you've used the birthing pool against their policy, it might go against you if you were to have an adverse outcome and take legal action against them.

They could ask you to return the pool, as it is not your property. Perhaps it is worth looking for a hire pool just in case the NHS one is taken away from you? It can be hard to find a pool and get it delivered at short notice.

OwlinaTree · 15/07/2018 19:57

I should imagine your rights would be reduced significantly in the case of something going wrong. I agree with you that this would be very unlikely.

Please remember that the hospital don't want a negative outcome for you and your baby, not because they don't want to be sued.

BertieBotts · 15/07/2018 20:04

If you've already got it then how is it any different to you having ordered one yourself? Just sounds to me like they have suspended the practice of lending them out, they're not going to refuse to attend a woman in labour who has provided her own pool. Would they even be able to tell if it's yours or theirs except that you're on the list for having one of theirs?

I think I'd ask your midwife if it would still be ok to provide your own pool and if they say Yes, to ask if it would then be ok to use the pool provided since this is practically no different.

OutComeTheWolves · 15/07/2018 20:05

I remember a long time ago being shown around my my local maternity suite & the midwife discussing birthing pools. She said that if they advised you not to use the pool & you ignored them, they couldn't use force to get you out. However they would just drain the pool instead.

I'm not sure if they would do this in your own home however as it would ruin your carpet.

AvoidingDM · 15/07/2018 21:42

Op I wouldn't go against their advice and I'm surprised at how many are prepared to go against advice.
Birthpools need to be kept at 37deg or it risks the baby trying to breath too soon. I imagine that is much more difficult in a blow-up pool than it is in one which is plumbed in.

While you say you only want to labour in the pool. My first was a water birth. MW estimated he'd be born in 6-8 hours, allowing a cm per hour and time to push. He caught her by surprise arriving in less than 2 hours.
My second I laboured in a bath, 15mins after getting out I & MW realised baby was coming, she didn't have a chance to put gloves on before she caught baby.

A bath will be a much better option than putting a MW into a difficult position.

BertieBotts · 15/07/2018 22:30

I'm not actually saying go against advice, I'm just not sure that the advice is that the trust is no longer supporting the use of pools at all. I don't think it's very clear communication, though. That's why I think it would be best to actually speak to the midwife about the policy and what it really means (and sooner rather than later considering gestation :))

In most areas if you want a home waterbirth you have to provide the pool yourself. There are various services you can use to do this, whether it's hire or purchase of an inflatable model. To me a letter saying that a particular trust's "Home waterbirth service" is being suspended, when this trust operates a service where they will provide a pool, is likely to simply mean that they will no longer be providing pools, not that somebody who has a home birth planned cannot provide their own as is usual practice. (OP: If providing your own does seem like a good option to you, I would try contacting a local homebirth group as it's fairly likely that somebody there will have a contact who may know of somebody who has one for sale/rent they can get to you quickly. This is exactly how I sold mine on!)

I also think that if there was a particular danger (or suspicion of) related to the trust's pools they would have included a sentence in the letter saying something like "If you have already received a pool from us, please DO NOT use it as it may be unsafe pending investigation." and/or a statement about how and when they would be retrieving the pools already handed out. Nothing the OP has said has mentioned anything about temperature, so I'm not sure where this has come from apart from speculation by other posters.

When I had DS, someone had had an accident on a birthing ball and the hospital had decided to withdraw all birthing balls from their hospital rooms - when they came out to me at my home birth they did not demand that I put my own birthing ball away and I was encouraged to use it as normal. They just decided that they would not provide them, which is completely fair and sensible. I think someone had asked at the antenatal class whether they would be allowed to bring their own ball if they came into hospital, but I can't remember the answer - I'd already decided that if I transferred in I'd just leave mine at home.

However, what OP asked was not whether it would be sensible but what her rights are - and your rights are to birth however you want, even if for example you're risked out of a waterbirth or birth in a midwife led unit you still have the right to birth at home (and in water if you want to) and the NHS policy is that in that case even if you are going against medical advice it is still better to have somebody qualified attend the birth than not, so you will not be refused attendance or care for a home birth.

BertieBotts · 15/07/2018 22:37

Actually, I've just had a look at Birth Pool In A Box's website and seen that they no longer recommend passing on a used pool if it was one originally intended for personal use - so the home birth group idea might be a no go unless somebody has one they haven't used. I wasn't aware of this as it wasn't part of the guidance when I had DS.

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