HIGH BMI & WATER BIRTH

[Hoglife]

hi all!
i was wondering if anyone else had a high bmi and was still able to have a water birth. this pregnancy is unplanned, i would of absolutely lost the weight before a planned baby but these things happen. My bmi is 36, im 15stone and now eating a lot healthier. I have my first consultant appointment 19th October. Ive always wanted a water birth but im worried i wont be able to have one due me being big? has anyone else been overweight and had one? x

I would've thought as long as your pregnancy goes ok and labour is straightforward there wouldn't be any reason you can't have a water birth, however speak to the consultant to be sure.
Be sure to make your wishes clear

It's going to depend massively on your hospitals policy, some just won't risk it. Their concern will be if you were to lose consiousness they may struggle to get you out fast enough etc. So be prepared for that to be there stance. Water birth also depends on how many they have in the hospital and if they are already in use when you go into labour also so that can be another unexpected barrier.
If you like the idea of water I would consider staying at home in your own bath as long as possible as a middle ground. I wanted a water birth but actually found the second I was in labour the last thing I wanted to do was take my clothes off and get in the bath, it was very odd as I love them.
You could look into hiring a tens machine and bouncing on a birthing ball if you ware wanting an u medicated birth.
My biggest advice would be to have a knowledge of all pain relief available to you, be open to it all. Have preferences but not a in stone plan because quite frankly babies put a spanner in the works 🤣. I don't know if this is your first child so apologies if you know all of this, it's something I bitterly wish someone had told me before my first and tbh even with my second.
I hope you get the birth you want and best of luck x

You need to ask your midwife. My local hospital has a BMI of 40 as the cut off but I know that others are 35. Good luck.

I had one at home, rejecting the advice against it. I researched, it was the right decision for me. I wouldn’t have been allowed to use the hospital pool.

For my hospital it was an absolute weight rather than a bmi, and to do with how quickly you could get out of the pool.

My hospital told me I wasn't allowed to have one.