Has anyone had a water birth/labour and wished they hadn't?

[morningpaper]

With my dd, I got to the labour ward, saw the pool was going to take at least an hour to fill up, and demanded an epidural.

Because the epidural didn't work, I'm thinking about pethidine this time (for my first course anyway), and as I'll hopefully be a bit more mobile I was thinking about asking for the pool again.

One major problem I have with it though is that last time I shat for England - was that a problem for anyone?! I suppose in reality I'd probably be out of the pool for that bit, but still...

Actually my question was meant to be: Has anyone used a pool and wished they hadn't bothered? I hear a lot of REALLY POSITIVE stuff but I was wondering whether EVERYONE feels positively about the experience?

morningpaper, i am hoping to use the pool for pain relief as i dont like the idea of an epidural , so i will be keeping an eye on this thread to see what response you get! I am expecting my 2nd LO in 8 days so hopefully you'll get some feedback from people before i go into labour so i can be nosy and have a read of the stuff myself.

Good luck with your pregnancy and hope you get the feedback your after!

push

morningpaper - must be some size of pool to take one hour to fill

Ours takes about 20 minutes. If it is free when a woman comes in I tend to start running it before I do an examination i.e. check temp, blood pressure, puilse, feel bump, listen to baby, internal. By the time that is all done the pool is pretty much ready. If not, women find sitting on birthing ball helps plus gas and air if things are really crucial.
If the pool is going to help women feel relief pretty much when they get in. Some women know as soon as they are in they they do not like it. Try and give it at least half an hour to see though, because sometimes it is that women enter when they are advanced in labour where nothing much helps!

As for poos, not a problem. They are expertly removed by midwife without a bit of concern. HTH.

Thanks Mears that's really helpful! xx

Ahem, I pooed in the water. Not much, but I distinctly remember pooing.

The relief of the water honestly made it worth it.

Even though it was a home birth adn dp had to clear up

I am not sure about the pain relieving benefits of a pool. Although having said that I laboured and delivered in the pool without any other pain relief so who knows. I got in at around 8cm dilated so was well into established labour so I cannot say if it made what was very painful any better BUT it had other benefits that would make me want to do it again such as supporting my body and allowing me to move about so easily. Also it was a little private space and I felt safe and enclosed. The poo factor bothers everyone I think, and I think that the water makes it less noticeable because it is hidden and I felt that the water was all dark around me. Also would cover the smell!! (Sorry!)
My sister had a water birth too, and she said that although she didn't feel it was particularly good pain relief it was relaxing. (And relaxation is most of the battle I reckon.) She also said it was a change of scene and something to do.

Maybe this isn't answering your question, but I am interested to see if anyone has anything 100% negative to say?

I didn't have the nerve to go for the full water birth experience, but I laboured for ds3 entirely in the bath with dh directing the shower on my stomach during the contractions (water as hot as I could bear). I found the water and the warmth hugely comforting and I hardly used the G&A I was given (originally given it because I was a bit hysterical with fear of the pain and I used it to regulate my breathing). I only had to get out to push. I am not having any more, but I seriously think a full water birth would be the way I would go if I did.

Hello morningpaper,

I didn't actually have a water birth but did spend hours of labour with dd3 in the birthing pool.
Found it very relaxing and good pain relief, although I do wonder whether it slowed down labour a bit - don't suppose I'll ever know though.
My main gripe was the temperature of the water. Apparently, the water has to be a certain temp if you're planning to give birth in it (which I had originally hoped to do)but it was absolutely boiling - put it this way, when I did come out I was bright red and all my skin was peeling {shock} which I certainly didn't expect.
Also, I found it quite awkward actually getting in and out of the pool, in my large, cumbersome, heavily pregnant state.
Oh, and it would have been nice to have had a seat in it - after a few hours, my knees were aching.
Apart from all that it was great

Tabitha - that is a shame about the water temp. It should be at a temp that is comfortable to you. Ideally it should be about 35 degrees when you first go in because you can overheat easily because of the contractions. It is recommended to be 37 degrees (body temp) for actual delivery but there is lots of stories now of babies born in cooler temps with no problems. As more and more waterbirths have been done, there is less concern about water temp.

I would like to add that despite all these minor 'niggles' I was still glad that I spent much of labour in the water.

I got into the pool at 4cms dilated and in the middle on a contraction. It was absolute bliss. I had an epidural with dd1 and being a real wimp when it comes to pain was a bit worried that I wouldn't be able to cope. However dd2 was a home birth and I managed with just gas & air and the pool. I did poo a little bit but it wasn't significant enough to be problem - dh did duty with the sieve!

With the poo issue I take it then that this doesn't cause any problems with potential infections? Being now two days overdue with my first I have been really keen to use the pool. Soemone told me that all the contractions tend to empty you out anyway..is this not the case? Sorry to be graphic but if it's all a bit loose are you still around to hang around in it?

Is that mears of nuneaton by any chance?