Which birthing pool should we hire?

[tompkins1978]

Hello! I am due with my fourth baby on the 20th August and after 3 awful hospital labours we have decided to have our last baby at home.

As the forms of pain relief whilst having a HB are limited we have decided to get a birthing pool for me to labour in.

We are struggling to know which is the best type of birthing pool to get, and should we hire or buy? As it is our last it won't be used again so I am thinking hiring is the best option. We have a budget of about £250 and it appears for this we can get quite a good one, but are all the extras necessary?

Would really appreciate some feedback from other mums that have been in a similar situation and have hire and bought pools before.

Many thanks in advance,
penny.

It's cheaper to buy (£100 ish for pool in a box etc) but you don't get all the heating.

It does mean tho that if you have to go into hospital, don't want to use a pool ... you can just sell it on.

(I say this as a mum who spent 10 mins in the pool and then jumped out - midlife said she's never seem a pregnant women jump out so fast )

I've used the birthing pool either for labour or for the actual birth in all three of my labours. In the first, I used the hospital pool which I din't like very much at all. In my second at home I used some sort of framed pool - it was ok, but the midwives didn't like it. For my third thirth, also at home, I used Birth Pool In A Box which I found great, and the midwife liked it as well. That's the one I would recommend.

Ninja, I hired my first pool and there was no heating included, it was extra anyway.

Belgo, my BPIAB was fab too...

I hired a framed, heated, filtered pool for DD. As it turned out DD stayed breech and whilst the IMs were very experienced with breech birth they didn't have experience of breech water birth, so we agreed I'd labour in the pool as much as I liked but birth on dry land. I think I was in the water for all of about 10 minutes during labour, but the pool was worth its weight in gold in the last few weeks - I didn't fit in the bath anymore and it made a fantastic wallow! If you've got the space I'd definitely consider one.

what tangle said. being able to hop in anbd out at will for the last few weeks was a joy. children like them too, but conversly need to be kept safe from them when not in use of course.

the main plus for me was the rigid one really took the strain when i was pulling back on the sides during labour. MW said the inflatables sometimes can't take it, if you labour the wya i did.

heated was def needed for march delivery. don't know about August!

sorry, can't see the company we used onloine anymore.

I have used heated, filtered pools for my last three labours. I felt they were an essential as labours have all been quick (about 4 hours) with no warning signs that anything was about to start, so having a pool up and ready meant my DH was at my beck and call for all other things such as ice, sacral pressure, cold flannels etc and not busy filling the pool. Have used both Birthworks and Gentle Water and found them pretty much the same, however GW seem to have a much better deal on at the moment.