Homebirth 'mess' ??

[pbo]

I'm hoping to have a homebirth, 1st baby and from what I've heard it gets very messy (cue stories of blood spattered on walls, permanent fluid trickles etc). Is there anything you can do? Another question - I'm due on Friday, sometimes I can't tell if I'm having another BH or whether it's the baby squirming...am I just completely inept??

Had 2 home births. First one but of blood but was caught on old towels I had layed down and carpet protected by plastic sheets used for decorating from B&Q.

2nd birth - was a pool birth. No blood at all. Bit on my legs after I had delivered placenta and that was it.

Good luck

had 2 hb's both in pools cream carpets no mess.

but even if we had been out of the pool I can't see that there would have been much mess the water was clear (almost) when I got out.

Am now smiling at the memory of me being on the verge of pushing, on all fours on sofa and midwives asking DH for old towels (I was meant to be in the pool by this point but it wasn't warm or full enough yet (those will cylinder water heaters beware )...and DH saying to them "don't worry, the sofa covers are all washable" - to which I, despite chewing said sofa in pain and thinking myself incapable of speech right then, screaming "no they're not!! Towels in airing cupboard!"

Seriously though, the towels did make it onto the sofa, I did (just) make it into the pool and the only stains that remain are on my mattress protector from bleeding in bed afterwards - the midwives put pads down but they don't help so much when you have to move from bed to bathroom. Don't let it put you off

onepieceoflollipop I phoned and they told me to take two paracetamol and have a bath, Had two contractions in the bath and got out as excrutiating. Then no time to get to kitchen let alone hospital!

chocbiscuits Hope all went well.

If you have another baby in the future why not carry some plastic sheeting round with you from 36 weeks...just in case.

I had DD at home on my sofa 6 weeks ago tomorrow. We had a plastic sheet on the living room floor covered with a quilt but I ended up on the sofa.

The midwives put pads underneath me and managed to position them perfectly. Even though I bled almost from the minute they arrived and they broke my waters while I was on the sofa, the only mess left was a bowl with some blood in which they asked DP to flush and 2 tiny spots of blood on the leather sofa. Everything else they took away or put in the washing machine for us so DP only had to turn it on.

It really wasn't messy at all and it was a fantastic experience, good luck

Oh...

yes.

Well, we laid out the old shower curtains and thick flannel duvet cover (red, just for good measure!) on the living room floor. However I tried to have a bath half way through and when I got out I was in transition, so could barely make it to the bedroom let alone down the stairs.

We sort of dragged an old plastic sheet under me, but most of the mess (waters breaking, PPH) went on the carpet as they couldn't get me 'up' enough to put it underneath!!

So. It took a bit of scrubbing to get the blood off the carpet but otherwise was Ok.