Homebirth - hire a pool or not ?.....the midwife says 'not'

[4blue1pink]

Having a homebirth which feels a bit brave and thought i would hire a pool....

Moved house two weeks ago and really like big old bath so wondered if a pool such a good idea after all.

Midwife came out and gave pool the thumbs down, tricky to fill (slow) pain to keep warm, pain to empty, need strong floors ( house is old i am sure they are fine) etc etc

Now wondering whether she has put me off....is bath ok or do you need more room to manouevre etc....I just dont know.

Baby due in four weeks so should decide soon!

Thanks

The main difference between Gentleworks and Birthworks seems to be that with Gentleworks you have to empty the pool after seven days and refill it again. whereas with Birthworks you don't, it can remain filled and filtered and heated for the duration of your hire.
I think the cost is about the same, i would have to pay full delivery costs cos i live in London.

How did those of you who bought the inflatable one, keep it hot, did you have to keep removing some of the water and pouring kettles in?

Charlie x

4blue1pink -where do you live? Maybe you could find someone nearby who has used an inflatable and still has it (altho the new BPIAB is only just starting to ship so you're not likely to come across one yet).

Or join the homebirth mailing list at yahoogroups where I think waterbirth is a regular topic of conversation including the pros and cons of various pools. There might also be a waterbirth group but you'd find out details from the homebirth lot.

I love the BPIAB (biased I know!) and would thoroughly recommend it!

Meant to say may also find an agent/supplier who can demo a hire pool.

I used an inflatable Splashdown one (currently offered at a discount), partly because we had a v small front room, and though deep, it could fit in. It was strong enough to bear my whole weight leaning forward on the rim while I was in it, and I can't see how it would have burst, it was made of thick re-inforced stuff - it's inflatable lifeboat material, nothing like a paddling pool! About £150, I think. Also it fit in our small car to collect and return, which was another money-saving aspect.

Hi - I'm expecting my first at the end of Feb, so I can't offer advice from experience although I am in a similar position to you Blue/Pink in trying to decide what to do about birth pools!

I must say how sad that your MW was so discouraging! The first time I mentioned it tentatively to one of mine, she said, 'Sure, I've got a leaflet here somewhere for a company that hires them,...' What really convinced me that it was a good idea was The WaterBirth Book by Janet Balaskas. She describes in good detail how your hormones work during labour, why water helps and the best ways to use water to optimise that help. After reading that, no-one will ever be able to convince me that it's a bad or silly thing to do.

If it's any help, I've googled for birth pools and have come up with this list of websites. It might help you to compare them directly.

madeinwater
Waterbirth International
Gentle Water
Good Birth Company
Birthworks
Active Birth Centre
Babymoon
Splashdown
Birth Pool in a Box

Incidentally, Sue thanks for making that aside about cats... somehow I'd forgotten to think about that!

SUEW, your company "pool in box" used to sell "children paddling pool" as birthing pool. I guess that is why some midwives are still unsure about inflatable pool. I know because when I was looking for my birthing pool few months ago I was to see that you were selling for £50 the same pool that was available at toys shop for half your price. It was certainly not an inflatable designed for waterbirth.

It is nice to hear that now your company has moved on and is now offering designed birthing pool. Many thanks for your numerous links, however I think lately you have been highly marketing your own pool and own company offering "biased advice".

Just to remember you that this forum is for mums to share their own experience not for promoting company.

I am sure there is a lot of us that would love to hear about your own birthing experiences rather than the product you sell.

Pink/blue and enid: waterbirths are wonderful experience and as you can see from this thread you are spoiled with many choices regarding birthing pool. It is always good to talk with midwifes (not just one ), and to know your budget. From there you can have a good look at all website mentioned by Thell.

My inflatable pool was considerably deeper than the BPIAB one - 23 ins deep doesn't seem very deep. They do look good - but you would definitely need the proper pump to drain it, IMO. Can't see any birth partner who has done a proper job relishing emptying 140 bucketfuls of water, and it's not a good moment for them to put their back out!

Sue has been very upfront about the fact that she is an agent, has linked to the company only once (the other link was to a specialist homebirth email group which I too would highly recommend) and there has been a discussion about the various pros and cons of the different types of pool.

I personally decided against this type of pool as it did not fulfill my criteria but it is a budget option that could enable many women who otherwise may not be able to afford it the chance to have a home waterbirth

Thanks Julie.

Gisou I am sorry if you feel that I have over-advertised. I have mentioned the pools only twice in the past couple of weeks on threads that you and I have both been posting on and perhaps once or twice before in the past. I've worked for the companies concerned for 18 months so I don't think that's a bad track record and have previously posted links to many other birth pool companies in the 5.5 years I've been posting on mumsnet.

Nevertheless, I apologise to any other mumsnet members and to Carrie, Justine, Rachel et al who may feel that I've been taking the mick recently.

For anyone who's interested, there is a Waterbirth UK mainling list here . I don't know who runs it but it looks a bit on the quiet side. I think prob most discussion takes place on the homebirth list.

Personally, I don't htink you've ever posted more information unless a poster has asked for it.

Have only ever given birth in water - twice so far and cant imagine doing it any other way. as other posters have mentioned, the bouyancy and freedom of movement between and during contractions was fantastic, soothing, allowed me to focus entirely on what was happening and not on needing to shift my hefty weight one way or the other.
used TENS at forst during first labour, but no time in the second and no other pain relief in either. feel very very lucky to have had the smooth and supported birth experiences i have and am looking forward very much to my first home water birth (hired one from gentle water as the cost wasnt too much of a consideration for me. i know; lucky lucky) sometime in next two weeks or so (am 38 wks)
Definately hire, or buy, one is my tuppenceworth, SUCH a good idea. type depends on budget obv, but it looks like the inflatable ones are pretty easy to use too...
good luck, i hope you have a great birth.

oh yeah, and no tearing too. always a plus in my book!
and that was with very rapid labours too.

Hi everyone, just to say be sure to check with your midwife and show her the type of pool you choose.....i got the bpiab one, the big one, and my midwife said she wouldn't deliver in it when it came to my homebirth. She said it was too wide to get good access, not deep enough and that I'd been conned as it was a paddling pool. she said other people had had problems with the same pool because of these reasons so I couldn't use it. As it happened I ended up having a c section anyway, but it would have been really dissappointing giving birth at home and not being able to use the pool that I had spent nearly one hundred quid on!!!!!!! Couldn't get a refund either as we'd got the pool out of the box now its in the shed as a very expensive paddling pool waiting for ds to get bigger!

I had one like BossyKate, expensive to hire but I'm really glad I did - get to use it before, has a tie on cover to keep toddlers out, its always warm and you can just change the water every week (usual hire period is 4 weeks). It is a pain to clean and refill, and if you lose a lot of blood (as i did) then dh/dp's have to be manful about clearing it out. But the delivery was fab, i was euphoric and the water really helped me. I felt like I'd regret it if I didn't assert what i really wanted for the birth (my second). Hope it goes well for you.

Hello

I bought the delux kit from the NCT - an inflatable pool. It was much cheaper than hiring and worked fine. My bottom did slip just after the birth but I was grabbed quickly by dh and midwife! So beware of slipping anyone who takes that route.

I have had both babies at home and was very happy with the experience. My mum and my sister also had home births so I was probably more confident in the idea due to their positive experiences.

Haven't read all this thread yet but hope this is relevant!

Hello again - I realise this is old by now, but just wanted you guys to know I had a chat with my midwife this afternoon, who said she loves the Birth Pool in a Box inflatable pool, and recommends it. It's big, sturdy and has bevelled bits in the bottom that you can push on with your feet.

Have you made a decision, 4B1P?

Get a pool - not as much of a pain as you think and I wouldn't have been without mine when I had dd2 at home last year. Getting in was absolute bliss.

Oops - didn't realise thread was old - probably a bit late to make a decision now!

Don't worry BonyM - 4B1P is due at the beginning of Feb and we haven't heard any news yet!
I'm definitely getting one, especially now we know that beanie is the right way round

Thanks girls and now at 38+ have still NOT decided.
When I went ot my midwife last week and discussed it a little more che called another midwife in who had recently been on a course and they tried to put me off inflatables........They then dropped a load of studies in on Saturday morning at 9.30am!!!!
They stress that they will do as I wish but are concerned about the sides of the pool withstanding weight of midwife/dh supporting me.....I am not HUGE ...5 foot 7 and 12 stone at nearly term .......Any final advice on this SIDES issue .????? I would go for a rigid pool but it is a lot and if i did not get in etc I would feel guilty so am mainly looking at BPIAB and Made in Water,,,,,,,,,Midwives seem to love Splashdown by the way!

Which one have you plumped for Thell?

I'm going for the BPIAB one (once I've checked it will fit into one of the rather bijou rooms of our new house,...)
My midwife said that that was the one she would recommend.
I can't find it right now, but I'm sure I've seen a photo on their website of a man (partner) sitting on the side of the pool with his legs inside. The pool remains rigid (if properly inflate, I should add!). They say it will support the weight of a 15 stone person sitting on the side!
There are also handles on the outside, so that you can lean on the side and have something to grip on to.
I think you should go for it - for what it's worth! Your midwives might be pleasantly surprised by the experience!

What did their studies say about it? Anything I should know about?!
Did you show them any of your literature? BPIAB make a big deal out of the fact they've consulted midwives in improving their design, which might win them over. ?

Blimey! As if we didn't have enough to worry about!!

PS If you're worried about the cost - Flamesparrow bought a Made in Water pool from a mumsnetter. If you didn't use it you could always sell it on here to one of the Due March or April women!

4blue - is this your 1st baby?
If not then definitely NO NEED for a heater you will not be in there long enough!
I was in mine for 8 hours with 1st babe and only at the end did we have to top it up with hot water and I had no heater.
Hospital pools have no heaters... really no need to spend more money on heater.