Heated birthing pool

[Mustang27]

Can I still hire these? Just another hurdle my oh has thrown at me for the reason not to home birth . He doesn’t think our boiler could possibly hack filling the pool. Then he read the legionnaires disease thing which I countered with Mrsa, I know.

I’m pretty much convinced I’m going to uninvite him to the birth and just have Doula instead as I can’t deal with the negativity.

I don't know about this, but two friends, who had home births, have spent a lot of their labours in the bath. One of them gave birth in the bath! I don't know if there's a legionnaires risk to that though? They never mentioned it. The one who gave birth in the bath is a gp, so I'd assume she would know, but maybe not.

The heated pools that are unsafe are the ones with filters that filter the water through to heat it. I'm not even sure these exist in the UK (I'm assuming you're in the UK?), but used to be much more common in the U.S. You can/could get heating mats for underneath the pool back when I had my first (this was 5 years ago). I don't know if they still make these, but it's something to look into. These don't have any risk of legionnaires. Legionnaires is a bacteria that grows in damp piping/ventilation systems, so it's not the warm water that poses a risk, but the unsterile tubing used in the ones that heat with a filtration system. So the under pool ones should be safe. I have no idea if they still sell them though.

That said, there is absolutely no reason not to birth at home regardless of whether you have a heater or a pool. I had my first at home (planning 2nd home birth at the moment) and we had a pool and a very old boiler. We never did get the pool filled and to the right temperature, but never mind, I had a dry land birth and it was wonderful. I don't even plan to get a pool next time around because I'd rather be up and moving around. But there's no harm having one. If you have a long labour, you'll likely have time to fill it. If you don't, that's fine. You'll still be more relaxed and likely more comfortable at home even without a pool.

How much could your boiler pump out? You can get compact pools too, not just huge ones. Also can get pool covers to retain the heat so you can have it filled ages before getting in.

Last point: you're giving birth, you can decide where. It isn't any less safe than a midwife led unit, and think of the reduced risk of picking up hospital bugs!

I had a home birth for my first and am planning another for my second. Dh required convincing that it was a good idea but after seeing all the stats was fully on board, which was good as I was doing it anyway.

I've had two home water births and didn't need a heater either time, DH just topped up with hot water. It did take a while to fill - probably 3 tanks worth of hot water? Bloody brilliant for pain relief though, it's actually amazing how much it helps.