Home birth in a rented house

[stottiecake]

I am really hoping to have a home birth - ds2 due mid July. We are renting and was just wondering how to protect the house as much as possible. Would we need to ask/ tell the landlord (we are renting privately)

TIA

You really don't make that much mess!! I used an old duvet to give birth on, it was rolled up when we had finished and put out for the dustmen!!! it was all tidied up within half hour.

off to bed but will check in tomorrow evening

I don't know about telling the landlord but I bought a load of Tesco basic shower curtains and dark towels and made a 'pathway' from the living room to the kitchen with them. I had a water birth and the hired pool was in the kitchen so most of the mess was contained in the pool. I then used the 'pathway' to get to the (well covered) sofa where I had my stitches. We have a cream carpet and light coloured sofa - not one spot of blood got on anything.

Good luck!

I had a homebirth with DS3 - the MWs set everything up up with plastic sheets and old towels on the floors and cleared up everything as well. We'd just had a new carpret put down too so were a bit anxious about mess...
Nothing - not a spot.....

wouldn't bother to tell landlord TBH

I gave birth in a rented cottage. I never even thought to mention it to the landlord! Mind you, it wasn't my first home birth so I knew that, contrary to many people's expectations, it really doesn't leave any mess. The midwives bring loads of those 'bed wetting' type absorbant disposable mats with them and are very good at cleaning up after themselves.

yep, just use a decorators plastic sheet if you want to walk over a carpetted bit, and ffor your bedding ...

the midwives were very good at keping it tidy so no mess left at all!

I rent, and I'm having a homebirth.
Why on earth would you tell your landlord?! Is there something I've not thought of? I pay them enough money every month, they can keep out of the rest of my business!
This is my first pg, so I don't know how messy it's going to be, but even I can't see it being like Alien

I decided at the last minute to stay in the (newly cream-carpeted) sitting room, having already set up shower curtains etc. in another room. Then I haemorrhaged quite spectacularly afterwards (unconscious, blue-light transfer, all fine in the end, nothing that would have been any different in hospital and I'd have another home birth if I ever had another baby). When I got home the first thing I did was to check the carpet, and it was spotless. I still sometimes wonder where it all went...

I'm a landlord, and I'd hate to think of a pregnant renter feeling like she had to ask my permission! Just be reasonably careful - I'm sure it will be fine.

Now if the renter was going to throw a huge party for 200 friends in there, I'd mind...

I too had a home birth on cream carpets with no stains whatsoever. Gave birth on mattress with waterproof sheet, had put towels etc down but really no need.

Managed to knock a full bottle of red wine over onto it a few weeks later though... And no lovely midwives to tidy up after me by then!

God no, you shouldn't have to tell your landlord! All four of mine were HBs, 2 of which in rented: one on a narrowboat and one in a house. No mess: MWs usually bring enough pads for the inevitable leakages, in my neck of the woods..

FWIW, my waters broke over a sofa in my last DCs birth: it scrubbed up a treat and he was born on it shortly afterwards.

Have a few towels about the place and a good lamp for post birth examination. Don't forget choc bics and tea/coffee for the MWs! Happy Home Birthing!

Another homebirth on rented cream carpets. I had shower curtains taped to the floor with bin bags over that and sheets over those. Nothing was going to get through that lot. Not a single stain or mark.

We had really uptight landlords (no candles in the house including birthday cake candles, no biological washing powder in the washing machine, place pristine for inspections etc in the contract we signed) and we didnt tell them. There was nothing in the contract about birth although there was for every other possible eventuality!

Good luck, I had a wonderful homebirth, would do it again tomorrow!

Hi I had a homebirth, my waters broke in the birth pool and I gave birth in there, got out to deliver placenta which took ages but only resulted in one spot of blood on the carpet, which came out with vanish stain remover. Of course the midwives and my friend brought all my white towels down from the bathroom, rather than black and purple ones I'd got specially, so these were covered in blood, but that's a different matter. I nearly pee'd on the floor when trying to push out the placenta but the midwife caught my pee in a bowl.

Thanks so much for responses! That's fab then - I won't worry about that anymore!
Lovely to read all these happy homebirth experiences and how fab the midwives have been.