birthing pool in first floor flat?

[babyphat]

Hope there's not already a thread i missed, sorry if there is.

I'm planning a homebirth and would like a pool, but I live in a first floor flat and not sure if the floor would support the weight. It's an old house (Victorian) but a new conversion, so I guess the floor and joists and stuff are probably old?

Has anyone else used a pool not on the ground floor?

I was going to get one of the inflatable ones.

A birthpool when full and including a pregnant woman is the same weight as about 12 people. Would you have a party in that room with 12 people and trust the floor to survive?

Yep, I thought so. It's recommended you get a structural engineer to look at your floor but no bugger bothers really!

thank you!

Would those 12 people be standing on each others shoulders in the same amount of space as the birthing pool?

Where I live is only 40 years old but yes I had a home water birth in a first floor flat.

When I shared my decision with my midwife she didn't ask me any questions about whether the floor would hold a pool etc. so I think generally there's no concern...

Do you think it seems unstable?

Yes I did, the floor survived . I remember worrying about the same thing briefly, and I read that you should put the pool close to a supporting wall rather than the middle of the room.