Birthpool v inflatable pool

[minicorrect]

I am hoping for a homebirth in water and have been looking at birthing pools. But am slightly at the prices. Is there any reason why I couldn't just use a much cheaper inflatable paddling pool type thing instead. Looking into it, the Intex baby aquarium paddling pool or Intex 8' X 30" Easy set pool both seem adequate. And then we have the bonus of being able to let DD2 use it the rest of the summer (once we've cleaned it out of course!!). Or have I got baby brain and am missing something crucial!!!

Haha! Mine is absolutely going to be used in the garden afterwards!

I reckon all that matters is that you can easily lean on the sides in a kneel/squat without it sagging or failing to support you properly. So if your paddling pool is deep and sturdy enough to accommodate you, then I say- go for it!

I just have a birth pool in a box myself. All it offers that all the paddling pools that I found didn't, is the fat inflatable cushioned base (good for knees but am guessing shoving carpet offcuts under would probably achieve desired effect), an inflatable step, and the depth to be in most labour/birth positions.

All the best!

i think part of the issue is keeping it sterile.

You could probably use a paddling pool for 1 birth, but not again.

Also the walls of a birthing pool are very very strong and will take the weight of you / DH / Midwife sitting / leaning on the side, and will NOT collapse..... very important as you dont want a tidal wave of water wooshing out inside. The handles are ergonomically placed and there are several of them so you can hold on comfortably in almost all imaginable comfortable positions that you might want to try during labour and birth, and i think for birthing water needs to be at least 80cm deep.

As for cost i got a birth pool in a box (including waterproof mat, all the pumps / tap adapters / hoses etc etc (the whole kit!) including a brand new sterile sealed waterproof liner, (which is £25 alone), for £32 on ebay .... and i'll sell it on again afterwards too, so not actually that expensive.

It also depends if you are bothered about how sterile the thing is - birthing pools are provided sterile, a paddling pool won't be. Ask your midwife what type of pool they usually see. I don't know if a normal paddling pool would be strong enough to lean against. I actually didn't do that, nor did I use the inflatable seat inside the pool in a box I hired, but you don't really know in advance whether you will want to lean against the side or not, or the exact positions you will adopt!

The depth and size are something you want to watch out for. Also birthpools have handles and inflatable bases (a godsend for your knees). The sides are a lot, lot thicker and mine certainly had more compartments.

I hired a Laz-Y-Spa (inflatable, heated) which was fantastic and bought an Aquaborn which was ok as a birthpool but did not survive long as a paddling pool with 3 kids throwing themselves around in it

My wife gave birth in a pool last week and I will tell you something for nothing, this is one thing to not skimp on. She said the pain relief was amazing. The problem was, I thought, the same thing, it's just a pool right? Wrong, my wife was leaning HARD on the sides and it got a puncture. While she carried on in the bedroom I had to empty the water out of it, deflate it and fix the puncture with the only thing to hand which was a cut up piece of a giant galaxy bar wrapper and some Araldite glue. Then I had to blow it up again and refill the water. Amazingly, it held until literally 10 minutes after DD was born where it started to slowly deflate. Also, you have to use a lining which sounds pointles but it's actually very useful if you do need to do an emergency repair and also when it comes to cleaning up. Would a more expensive pool have been better? I don't know but I wish I'd got one anyway.

Thanks for all the responses! At least I feel I understand it a bit more now! Will have to keep my eyes peeled for an ebay bargain I guess as a compromise!