Water Birth

[POOCHINA]

I am considering.. anyone?

me!! spent 90% of last labour in bath, so this time round (anyday now......) have a fabulous home birth planned with birthing pool. which i have tested out and just love....

at home? explain please
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yes sorry, have total pg brain (ie; jelly) yes at home.
we have bought a pool (from madeinwater.co.uk) and have tested it at home. (theres only 2 at my hospital so you cant be certain of getting one if you go there hoping for a water birth) wanted my last baby at home, and wanted a home birth so this is -so far!- working out pretty well.
I believe, if home births arent for you, you can buy/hire a pool and take it with you to alot of hospitals. I'm in southampton, and they are very vey pro home births, and pro water births too, i understand I'm lucky, and that some parts of the country are totally anti homebirths, and not keen on water births either........have you spoke to your midwife?

are home births usually covered by insurance? i have spoke to my MW and in the birthing suite, there is only 1 . So my chances arent great.

i would consider a homebirth, if it is affordable.

You are entitled to the birth that you would like and for your Health care providers to support your decision, PROVIDING your pregnancy has been "low risk" and without any contraindications...you'll also need to get to 37 weeks of pregnancy. However, back on planet "real world" it really does depend on your local authority and how they support home birth as dramaqueen says it really will depend on how supportive your midwifery team is - in our area (Swindon) we have one of the lowest homebirth rates in the country and trying to get the support of a midwife at home is a real battle. If you don't have access to a birth pool at your hospital and you decide to go ahead with hire then the good birth company - has a great cheap affordable option for around £70. Good luck !!

I had a lovely waterbirth in a midwife led unit, if I ever did it again I would go there - idea of homebirth appeals but as the unit is virtually across the road sorting out the pool would be more hassle.

Try it - you can always get out if it's not for you. I can't believe that just warm water can take away so much pain.

Do you like having a bath when feeling ill or miserable - if it makes you feel better then chances are it's for you.

I had a fabulous water birth with dd1. I was lucky that I got in the pool in the hospital as there was only one. I was able to cope with just this and gas and air as a result. If you search the archives there is some great info and links from Mears about waterbirths. Your midwife should be discussing your birthing options with you ie homebirth, waterbirth etc. Is this your first? There was a good history of waterbirths where I was which gave me the confidence to go for it.

I just adore being in water, and always have; it's very relaxing for me. A long hot soak in the bath is always what I choose to do if I'm feeling tired and achey. So a waterbirth was the logical choice for me. My second and third labours were both in the birthing pool, and both babies were both born into the water. It was a fantastic experience for me.

im like you roisin, relaxation = bath. love the water and loved the birth in water with ds3. there was only one pool at our hospital too but mw said it is hardly ever used, they just usually use the room for normal births because so many women go straight for the epidural. i was advised to say i wanted the pool when i rang up so they didnt put someone in the room who didnt want the water.

an important factor which i didnt know about til i got to the hospital is iron levels. if you are low you cant have a water birth because anaemia makes things more risky,so make sure you take your tablets! they actually tested me when i got to the hospital as the test before i had been so low i couldnt have done it, but luckily it came back ok.

was definately easiest birth of the 3. i had no other pain relief and i found the fact that you could move around more easily made me much happier (obviously space is limited but you feel less like an elephant). also, i hate when your waters have gone and every time you move you get wet legs - doesnt matter in the bath

I wouldn't let the fact that there is only 1 pool available put you off..At our hospital there is also only 1 pool available. At prebaby classes (sorry can't remember the name) we were shown the room and I so wanted to have a waterbirth. BUT I though " well if there is only 1 waterbirth room I have no chance" BUT my consultant told me to be positive as the majority of women actually decide not to have a waterbirth or aren't actually allowed one when push comes to shove (sorry!!!!! couldn't resist!!)
Well when I went into labour my dh made sure the mw was aware of what I wanted and we also made sure it was on my notes. The pool room was available and I did manage to have my water borth (or water labour as I call it as I only laboured in the pool...due to contractions subsiding I ended up giving birth out of the pool). I would 100% recommend one although I don't want to sell them to much as when we go for baby2 I want to make sure that they are not to popular so I miss out..!!! Ha ha..!

my husband is concerned that if we opt for a homebirth but then there are complications.. what do we do then? have an ambulance called? and take that chance?

Poochina, I'm a bit confused by your insurance comment. Are you not in the UK. In the UK it is a woman's legal right to have a homebirth if she wishes with an NHS midwife. If she wishes to hire a birth pool or an independant (private) midwife then she has to pay for that.

I had a home waterbirth with ds, it was fantastic!

If there are complications then there is usually plenty of time to transfer to the hospital. At a homebirth you get one to one midwifery care rather than a midwife who is flitting between several different labouring women. Becasue of this potential problems are picked up a lot earlier.

I work for a birth pool company and we are currently working on making water birth available for as many women as possible. Comments such as on here e.g. only one pool available are the sort of thing we are trying to make history - at the moment we are offering every maternity unit in the country a free inflatable pool and disposable liner so that they can see how easy it is to make pools more widely available.

If you want a home water birth why not ask your community midwife to see if her unit/team has ordered one of these (there are ads in all the midwifery journals at the moment) and if not give her a gentle nudge and offer to help her evaulate it?

SueW, that sounds amazing - I'll definitely be asking my midwife that very question. I want a waterbirth (had one last time and it was amazing) but also want a hospital birth - am worried about their one pool being in use.

Which company do you work for?

Hunker, I am working for Birth Pool in a Box and this will take you to the page about our new pool.

Even though I say it myself it's a fab pool. MInd you it should be since it was designed using feedback from women and midwives.

hi all!

I had a home waterbirth for my DD and it was the best experience of my life. Rented pools were out of my budget so my midwives recommended the pool from MadeinWater.co.uk . This pool was a great help during the contractions and the birth itself and if I remember well I paid £50 for the pool and had to spend another £30 for the bits and pieces but now they do provide a kit that goes with the pool. Well i can only recommend their pool, it's really worth the money and it looks lovely.
Wishing you a wonderful waterbirth

I'm planning a homebirth and want a water pool too (primip)... any other recommendations for hired pools? The idea of an inflatable one wobbling around when I am likely to be at my most frustrated and uncomfortable doesn't appeal!

Poochina, I wanted to make sure I had done some research before really 'pushing' (ha!) for a home water birth, so went to my local library. They had a few useful books on water birth, one even written by a midwife. The one I found most useful was The Water Birth Handbook by Janet Balaskas. She describes in good detail how labour is controlled by various hormones, how the sensations develop through labour and why being in water aids the physiological process. I am so glad I read it - I feel much better prepared for what to expect and better able to make decisions.

Jinglethells,
You won't wobble around with an inflatable - they become hard when inflated and filled, they really do. I was leaning forward onto the side for most of the time and it took my weight without a quiver.
The fact they are not rigid means that resting your head against the side is comfortable too.

I would have thought you'd need some sort of cushion for a rigid one. Maybe someone who has used a rigid one could comment?

Inflatables are far from wobbly. Plus they have nice thick, comfortable sides - ours is about 10inches - for partners to sit on (will take weight up to 15 stone). Very comfortable to lean on.

For hired pools people sometimes put a folded towel across the top or get a buoyancy aid (proper one, not water wings!)

I don't want to go on too much for fear of being accused of advertising but our pool also has an inflable floor which provides some padding. If you hire a pool you will put some sort of padding under the liners - sponge or a mat - particularly if you are on a hard floor or it will get uncomfortable.

to Jingle... if you want some advise on rented pool you should call Fiona from aquabirth.co.uk , she's a very nice woman and very helpful.

try this one instead: aquabirth.co.uk

Gisou - did you pool have a soft bottom or did you have to pad it out ( it does look pretty!!)

I read on a review a woman saying that the floor of la bassine was the best feature of the pool. It's fully inflatable and very comfortable, definetly no need to pad it.

gisou, I have that one ready and waiting!!!.....the floor is indeed v comfy (have had a test run)and its NOT wobbly in the slightest.