Homebirth and mess

[Reallytired]

If you have a home birth is it true that an NHS midwife will not help you to clear up the mess afterwards?

I had my first ante natal appointment today and I was told that if I had a homebirth that I would be responsible for clearing up all the mess.

Its enough to make me look for an independent midwife.

Not true in my area NHS midwives will clear up the mess...sounds like they are trying to put you off.

My midwives cleared everything away. I've never heard of any midwife expecting an immediate post-partum woman to clear! I'd challenge it if I were you.

rubbish. they won't tidy up your house but they will clear up all the labour related stuff and should (i was told) leave you relaxed and happy!

They do clear up, and take the mess with them. (although if you requested your placenta to plant under an oak tree or something, I suppose they'd let you keep it)

I gave birth on a king size duvet on the floor, which was in a mess. The midwife asked me what I wanted her to do with it. (I said DH would take it tthe tip later; he didn't but that's another story.

Around here they offer to run you a bath, adn will help you upstair.

I have heard of midwives sticking towells or whatever in the washing machine for you, but I dont' think you should expect that.

Depends what you mean by mess! Birth related stuff yes, such as inco. pads etc. Although there shouldnt actually be that much mess! Any other mess that you have made would be your responsilbilty. I am a midwife and at work the other day a woman threw a dirty sanitary towel on the floor and asked me to move it! i was

Which mumsnetter was it, with a couple of bathooms, who into the one she'd given birth in the week before to find a mess filled bath?

I think that throwing a dirty sanitary towel on the floor is disgusting. I would not do that. It is really taking the piss and showing a lack of respect.

But you think they would take way the placenta and help clear up blood if I bleed. Do they put down pads to help contain the mess.

I am thinking of having a water birth and I imagine that would be totally our responsiblity to clean it up and but it away. How easy is it clean and put a way a pool?

I am planing to give birth in our large kitchen. It has a tiled floor and if I needed to be taken somewhere by ambulance I would not have to naviage stairs.

I think that throwing a dirty sanitary towel on the floor is disgusting. I would not do that. It is really taking the piss and showing a lack of respect.

But you think they would take way the placenta and help clear up blood if I bleed. Do they put down pads to help contain the mess.

I am thinking of having a water birth and I imagine that would be totally our responsiblity to clean it up and but it away. How easy is it clean and put a way a pool?

I am planing to give birth in our large kitchen. It has a tiled floor and if I needed to be taken somewhere by ambulance I would not have to naviage stairs.

I was told last time that they clean up all the birth related stuff, inco pads etc but won't pump out birthing pools etc. They may give you tips on getting stains out of the carpet but won't scrub the carpet for you.

Depending on the MW, they may run you a bath and make you a cuppa before they leave.. of course a box of chocs for the MWs might help.

Do yourself a favour and get some large non-slip sheets to cover the floor so that it is easy for your partner to clean up while you relax, feed and cuddle baby.

Slightly off topic, but I had an unplanned home-birth with DS. Consequently had no plastic sheeting or old duvet's down, but made a right mess of some lovely White Co towels and the upstairs carpet looked like someone had gone mad with an axe. Home insurance paid up for replacements and cleaning without batting an eyelid.

I think your DH is supposed to make the midwives a cup of tea - and give them some buiscuts. They could probably do with a cuppa while they write up their notes.

My friend had an unplanned home birth. No problems with insurance company, but her DH was in a bit of a panic trying to find a new matress they could have the same day!

As for cleaning out the pool, you can get pumps from whereever you bought or hired the pool so that you can attach a hose and pump the water straight down the drain. You might need to provide a sieve and bucket for your partner to remove any bits that might be too much for the pump (I won't go into details - use your imagination). Depending on the pool, it will either come with a disposable or reuseable liner or be an oversized paddling pool. The reusable liner or paddling pool will need washing out and cleaning with milton. All done..

I was furious about the sanitary towel. I mean would you do that in you own home/ she chucked it under a chair. She was sitting in bed and threw it out!

THe midwife will definitely put down lots of pads and take away the placenta! No midwife should leave that behind unless you wanted to keep it!
I wouldnt scrub the carpet for someone! Im not a cleaner! There should be enough pads down to avoid that and if the carpet did get dirty then i would say that is just a chance you would have to be prepared to take.

We've got waterproof mattress covers on the mattress and base of the bed just in case. Also, an old duvet and a pile of old pillows that are due to go to the tip anyway, just in case. I've also got a couple of packs of pampers changing mats. Not as absorbant as inco pads but better than nothing.

I agree that no-one should expect the MWs to pick up used sanitary towels, scrub carpets or tidy up non-birth related stuff.

How rude of that woman! Maybe she would do things like that at home. I did visit a house once to find out about guitar lessons where there was one crawling baby and two soiled dispoable nappies on the floor... no excuse!

wish I'd thought of the insurance, could have had a new carpet. ds2 is 2.7y now - think it is too late to claim?
[btw I don't think he birth itself is particularly messy, the bloodstain in my carpet is where I sat waiting for someone to turn up after the birth, thinking I was on a pampers change mat - I wasn't).
Congratulations btw!

Admittedly it's a few years ago but the midwife bathed me, stripped & remade the bed and made a bowl of soup before she left. i put an old groundsheet on the bed and an old sheet. The midwife supplied inco sheets for the bed and my sheet was almost unmarked, certainly didn't need to throw it away as planned. I told the midwives to help themselves in the kitchen, and they did, they made themselves sandwiches and drinks...it was a long labour.

Really tired, i had a home waterbirth in the kitchen at home. the midwife (and her team!) were fab. ds was born in the water then placenta deilvered onto disposable pads on the floor. very little mess at all. but they did clean up what there was. then made tea and toast, helped me upstairs etc etc. dp pumped out the pool (had a disposable liner) and packed it up to be sent back (we hired one).

i really couldn't recommend the whole experience highly enough, you get great service with a homebirth, you get a midwife throughout (instead of one just popping in every 1/2 hour to see how your getting on) in fact i have a vague recollection (gas and air) of there being 2 midwives there, and a student!

ds was born at 9 in the morning, the midwife was back in the evening to see how we were getting on, then the following morning, in fact i think she came twice a day for 3 days or so, whilst we established feeding etc.

I did a season as a chalet girl and had to pick up a used sanitary towel from the floor, but at least someone didn't actually throw it there in front of me and tell me to get it! I also learned quite how bad most adults are at using a loo brush.

Chocolates for the MWs are a very good idea and I'm now slightly that I hadn't thought of it before - assuming I don't go into labour tonight should I be getting two boxes or one for them to share?

I had an unplanned homebirth and the paramedics wiped clean the lino in the bathroom, i didnt really think it was odd until this thread

they brought plastic sheets and the midwife took this and anything really dirty to be incinerated (placenta included) i remember the had disposable clamps and scissors for the cord for example whereas a midwife has equipment that is sterilised

it wasnt that messy anything dirty was chucked in binliner then washed that day

What kinda mess you planning on making?

V little to clear up for mine, but yes they did it (apart from the stain which DH attacked for the next week or so - remember, put down the shower curtains or whatever you buy!!)

oh, and they give you tons of supplies, those inco sheets make great adult nappies immediately post birth, disposable change mats for baby and weve just used the last of ours as bed mats for ds.

I just remember how much mess there was when they broke my waters (in hospital, thankfully). Soaked the inco pad and bed.. was told it was ok to stand with a pad in place.. too soon, soaked the floor too... yuk..

That's why I have waterproof mattress covers, sheets for the floor and pampers changing mats on hand. We have carpet everywhere except the bathrooms, kitchen and nursery. A cat would have trouble finding room to give birth in any of those rooms.