Birth pool at home before going to hospital

[Klm20]

Hi all

I'm thinking about hiring a birth pool to labour in at home before I go to the hospital. My last labour was 85 hours long with a 70 hour latent phase. The only thing that helped was being in the bath.

Has anyone ever used a birth pool at home before going to the hospital? Anything I should be aware of?

Thank you! Xx

I've got a pool for my planned homebirth. The only relevant thing I can think of is that you aren't supposed to get in until you are at least 4cm dilated and considered to be in active labour as full immersion in the pool (rather then partial immersion in a bath for example) can slow early labour down. For my home birth I'm not supposed to get in until the midwife gets there and I'm not to call them till I'm 3 in 10. Given that would be the stage you'd be going to hospital you might not get much use out of it?

When I had a homebirth the midwife didn't want me to get in the pool until she arrived.

Something to consider - could you put yourself down for a homebirth so that a midwife comes to you when you're in active labour and you could get in the pool. If things are going well that way you can stay at home and deliver there rather than having to get out and drag yourself to a hospital? Labour might well go quicker if you're relaxed at home too?

It's not a bad idea, as long as it doesn't slow down labour as others have suggested (it doesn't always btw). As a midwife I have supported one woman who ended up having to cancel her homebirth and birth in hospital instead, for various reasons. She had already hired a pool so she used it before she went in, and it worked well for her. She progressed really quickly once she arrived at the hospital in established labour.