Best pool to hire/buy for a water birth?

[Annie75]

Not quite sure where to start. Any recommendations?

I had a la bassine one from madeinwater.co.uk. Excellent value for money and just a bit smaller than the birth pool in a box one which fitted our room better. I'm not a small thing, 5' 8" and 16 stone and I had plenty of room. Don't bother buying special groundsheet or thermometer though. I bought some plastic sheeting from B&Q, covered it in old cotton sheeting and put the pool on that. Also got a 99p thermometer from ebay and that did the job. Worth investing in a water pump though, to pump the water out at the end or you have a long wait!

Forgot to say, pumped up in 15 mins and you don't need a separate liner. If you're planning on using it before labour day (like I did last summer...bliss in the hot weather) just give it a spray with Dettol cleaner and wipe after use. We kept it half inflated in the nursery and then just brought it down when I needed it and pumped it up more. Hope this helps .
Really good experience - better than first time round in hospital!

Thanks for those two makes and tips. I'll look them up

Hi Annie, we got one from birthpool in a box. Fab with nice comfy padded floor. my friend found the one in hospital was too hard on her knees. Unfortunately didnt get to use it as the babster wasnt keen on making an appearance! Easy to empty by setting pump to deflate and connecting it to the end of the hose. (we did a trial run!)

I bought a birth pool in a box. I would recommend the liner as it makes clearing it out afterwards much easier. Not that this was my problem, I was tucked up in bed wth DD.

Get one of those electric air pumps to inflate it though.