silly questions about water births

[SaucyMoo]

For my first baby i wanted a water birth but everything happened so fast that there was no time for anything! Second time round im considering it again. Ive got 2 questions..

All the pictures ive seen of waterbirths seem to be where the woman is naked. i dont wanna be naked so whats the best thing to wear?

Secondly the whole poo thing scares me as im 39 weeks now and have been having diarrhea for the last week-not sure why so i really dont wanna do that in the water-ughh sorry to be graphic! ok that wasnt really a question but a concern!

I went to a waterbirth evening at the local hospital and they said if you did want to wear something then the best thing would be a vest top with thin straps.

I wore a sports bra both times, but you could wear a big baggy tshirt.

Midwife oviously has to have nether region access though!

Regarding the poo thing you won't even notice!

I was sure for 6 months I DIDN'T poo in the pool until during a disussion one day DH told me I did.. I rang my mum and she confirmed it!

It was swept out so fast I never even knew!

You will be too busy to notice!

One of the reasons that you might see people naked in birthing pools is that clothes can make you cold when they are wet.

As to the poo... well mws are very good with sieves!

I wore a bikini top that I could still wedge my boobs in. As for pooing, I was convinced I would be surrounded by floaters but didn't do a rabbit dropping - not bad considering I pushed for 4 hours!

i wore the top half of a maternity bikini thing - the thought of a soggy cold t-shirt was bleeeeeeurg! obv you have nothing on down below but that part is under water, and the lights will prob be dimmed so you don't feel too naked!

floaters... well as others have said, the mws are v good with a sieve!

i was worried about that too- in the event i just stripped off all my clothes and jumped right in, i was in so much pain! (all happened v quickly though- i was in the pool for maybe 45 minutes altogether)_

lol i noticed the poo when i had a normal delivery, but cant see the seive working when i got a dodgy stomach! I guess i will have to see...a vest sounds good...another question how do they keep the water warm?

Some birthing pools have heaters, others you just have to replace buckets of cooler water with warm water, a job for DP I think! They yend to keep there heat for quite a while though. Non billowiing tops are the best to wear. Do you think you dodgy tummy might be early labour signs?

i keep hoping its a sign but its been a few days now...i had contractions sat night for about an hour then they stopped-or what i thought were contractions-was like period pain every 3 mins. And nothing since then except brackston hicks....i need to pack something to wear in the birth pool now as previously my sister (a doctor and mother of 2) put me off the idea of a water birth saying the nhs pools are filthy and your poo floats around in the same water the baby is born!!

i wouldnt be too concerned about what your sis said about them, i'm sure they are kept scrupiously clean! I'm having a water birth at home with my 1st, if all goes to plan so good luck to you, lets hope it is the start of something!

I was naked but couldn't care less but a strappy vest top would be a good coverall.

I poo-ed in the pool but the MW scooped it out before I had time to register.

It will all be fine

saucymoo my first water birth was in an NHS pool (2nd was an inflatable pool at home) and it was very clean ... I wouln't worry about that.

Besides you will see it before you get in, if you feel its not up to scratch you dont have to get in

MOO - me too! I spent 5 hours in the birthing pool with DD - didn't feel cold, wore nothing - didn't care. Wasn't to be.

Have bought an inflatable pool to take to hospital this time in case the 1 pool isn't available. I didn't poo with DD (had puked everything up by then probably) but also get a runny tum in later stages of pregnancy - so you will probably be fine. Even if you aren't they see a lot worse! Good luck!

If this dodgy tummy goes on, you might not have anything left in there to come out!

An NHS pool will be clean, don't worry. I think the hard sided ones use disposable liners anyway and your own inflatable one wouldn't have more than dust in it.

I was so desperate to get into the pool that I just stripped off my pyjamas once the midwife had checked me and jumped crawled in. My SIL had a tankini top on and I have to say, her water birth pics were a little less graphic than mine! She could actually show some of hers.

I wore one of those tight sports tops, the ones that keep you warm in winter and cool in summer. I can't think of the technical name for them, but surfers wear them under wetsuits, and footballers wear them too. It had long sleeves so I didn't get cold, but the fabric didn't get all cold and heavy like a t-shirt would have. I also wore bikini bottoms for the labour (just whip them off for exams and the actual birth!!!).
If you have long hair, tie it beck or it will annoy you!
Also, NHS pillows are waterproof, so you can put one on the side of the bath to rest your head.
A word of warning, if you're having entonox in the pool you may get quite drowsy, so make sure you always have someone with you to hoist you up if you start to fall asleep!!

thanks for all the advice everyone, ill go with the vest i think as i dont have one of those sporty things. Im not sure ill have a chance to access cleanliness, as last time i got to the hospital i was 8cm dilated and falling over. My sister is very cynical so will not tell her of my plans til after the babys born!
Tummy seems better ok today even though i wnet out for a huge indian last night lol, couldnt resist, stupid i know but dunno when ill get the chance to go out for dinner again!
Ellideb you're brave going for a home water birth for your first child-good luck to you too!

We planned a waterbirth, didn't happen sadly.
The MW said it was a good idea for the birth partner to wear something really cool (like swimming shorts), because it can get really hot in the room. Good luck

Good point HazeyJane. DH nearly passed out once the baby was "out" last time, because the room was so hot and steamy. He couldn't find the keys to the window locks and didn't want to leave me, so just kept going. Once DD2 was born he couldn't get out of the room fast enough to get some air and had to clamber over me whilst I was trying to push out the placenta beside the pool.

Ellideb - I had a home waterbirth for my first too, definitely the way to go.

Saucy Moo - I didn't care what I wore by then (nothing I think) and the floaters were just a cause of amusement and swiftly removed by a sieve wielding dh.

hey everyone, i had a baby girl on wednesday night! Tuesday night i threw up 5 times at night and had chronic diarreoh (cant spell it!). When i got up wed morning i felt cramping and thought not today please!

Anyway I did get in the pool when i was 6cms for about 2 hours but my contractions didnt get any closer together so i had to come out to be examined. Nothing had progressed so the midwife advised me not to get back in there. Funny thing is i gave birth on the bed and i didnt poo in the end..probably cos i had nothing inside me lol.
For the record the pool was really clean and was like this huge hot tub, i think i was a bit too comfortable in it which is maybe why things didnt progress as quickly as we were expecting it too with a second baby

CONGRATULATIONS!!!
so all that diarrhea was an early sign! fabulous & pleased for you that you didn't turn the water brown..

anyway, well done and enjoy the babymoon! (and beyond) yay for you xx

ahhh congratulations saucymoo that's fantastic news! I'm really pleased for you! (and that your bowels behaved themselves!)

blot4 could you tell me a bit about how it went for you? I'd be interested to know?