Birthing stool? what do you think?

[Bibulus]

I fancy giving one of these a go. However the cheapest I can find in the UK is £175 for a 5 week hire

www.samanthajayne.co.uk/birthing-stool--backrest-5-week-hire-39-p.asp

for what is essentially a bit of plastic with a hole cut in it.

Also unsure if it will fit in the back of the car to take to the hospital.

Am wondering whether a nice long sit on the toilet would be a practical cut-price alternative

What do you reckon? has anyone else had a go with a birthing stool? Are they worth it?

Sit on the toilet facing the cistern with a pillow on the cistern to lean onto. Will be just the same and probably more comfy.

I delivered on a birthing stool and it was an absolute godsend as I have coccydygnia which meant I couldn't lay on my back at all during labour (much to the midwives displeasure).

If you just want a more upright position, I found sitting backwards astride a normal chair quite comfortable during the early stages (less glam than Christine Keeler though!) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christine_Keeler

It just arrived at the crucial point, so no idea where you could get your own, sorry

Would the hospital not have one you could use? I used one at my local hospital, which just has a fairly bog-standard delivery ward nothing special. Certainly be cheaper.

Not tried it but there was one in my birthing room at the hospital. Which leads me to say - have you asked if they've got one available on the unit you plan to give birth. Cannot believe it costs that much money!

By my reckoning it looked like a 60s low coffee table with a removable tin tray for cigarette butts (or maybe thats what it was!)
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I will ask if they have one but i bet they don't. It's a pretty minimalist set-up where I'm going. But am already bringing my birth ball and I don't want to burden poor DH with too much additional baggage

I used one for part of labour but gave up after a while. I think I was too short(?) to use it successfully (or that is what it felt like). My hospital based MLU had one.

I was offered one, but to be honest it looked so much like a toilet that it just encouraged me to push DD out in the position I was in.

A lot of hospitals don't have birthing stools as they are associated with perineal trauma - i.e. bad tears. The position you sit in puts a lot of pressure on the perineum and therefore it can tear much worse than it otherwise would.

They are good for good for encouraging the baby down and around the curve of the birth canal if descent is a bit slow, but I wouldn't waste my money on one. There are plenty of other positions which do the same job without risking the perineum.

So, would a squatting position for delivery carry the same risk of perineal trauma?

I want to find a better position for delivery than I managed last time - well, truth be told, I didn't manage to find a decent position last time and ended with em/cs. i tried a semi-squat at the time which the midwives said didn't seem to be as effective as flat on my back . actually it was all pretty bloody ineffective in the end

Not as much, and you have to be pretty good at squatting to stay in that position long enough to deliver... you have to be really strong!

I find water the best because it supports everything. Otherwise having the end of the bed upright and kneeling up to it. Just go with it and trust your instinct.

I wouldn't pay that kind of money for a birthing stool.

I would make do with the toilet and move into supported knealing position for the actual delivery.

Friend was in a MLU and delivered on the loo I think in the position recommended above (yes, baby down the pan the works ) as MW said it was like a birthing stool. She ended up with a really nasty 3rd degree tear which needed surgery (incl. a spinal) after she'd done all 56 hours of labour on gas and air alone.

The Dr who came to inspect the damage before sending her off to theatre was openly furious at the midwife for allowing it to happen. Friend has not had a great recovery from all this .

So OP - please do your research about birthing stools - I'm sure they have their place but as others have said above you don't want to risk perineal damage.

The midwife who delivered my baby refused to discuss birthing stools with the consultant as they are 'only good for blowing up your peritoneum'

She had been a midwife for 40 years so I reckon she knew her stuff

Wow. Enough horror stories there to put me right off the idea.

Sadly water won't be an option for me as I'll be VBACing and they want to do CFM etc etc

My aunt is a midwife and she gave birth hanging on to a rope suspended from her living room ceiling. Somehow that sounds great to me. Might see if there is anything in the hosp I can hang off!

If you sit on a bedpan then it will help your contractions and act like a birthing stool. With ds the hospital insisted on CFM and I found it helped to be in vertical position to get labour moving.

. your midwife auntie gave birth hanging off the ceiling with a rope ? Eh?

The lovely birthing suite I gave birth in had a sling rope thing suspended from the ceiling, and a huge pool, and lovely, low, soft couches, and bean bags and I bloody walked in and had Dd on the floor next to the loo :(

Such a waste

that is alike a birthing hammock thing, its a bit of material that hangs from the ceiling in a loop and you can lean on it and it will support all your body weights, they have at the portland actually! they are meant to be nice as you can stand but not have to support your body weight, they can raise or lower them to suit your height etc, they arent common in most hospitals tho!

if i were you op i would go for lots of kneeling and all fours maybe, i found that helped loads and all mine were delivered kneeling up actually :)

I've used a birthing stool twice (midwife-led unit) and it has been great for me. Both times my DH sat behind me and I could lean back on him for comfort and squeeze his hands/knees and dig my nails in for pain relief!!

I have had very minor tears both times but nothing bad.

My DH complained more abut his hurt hands than I did about having just pushed a baby out of my body.

First baby was delivered with me sitting on DH's lap, facing him with my bum hanging down between his legs. Sounds odd but was basically a supported squat (was in that position for a while). Minor tear but no stitches

Second baby was hands & knees, no tear.

RighteousDude oh dear!

RhinestoneCowgirl sounds different but lovely - wonder if mine could cope with my weight? worth a shot

Bibulus, I had a vbac and was able to use pool with CFM by using a wireless monitor. Check with the unit if they have one and if so call early in labour and remind them so it can be 'pencilled in' for you if poss. I also had pelvic instability and physio suggested delivering on knees or if that wasn't possible, lying on left side. When I was thinking about it in advance this seemed not very appealing as a pushing position, but I end up using it and it was v effective - I had 28 mins pushing. Would that be a suitable option for you? It allows coccyx to move still, as far as I know. Worth keeping in mind if you find you want/need to lie down at some stage.