Birth pools in labour suites - how does in happen in practice?

[Habbibu]

I've asked to use a pool in labour, which LS can supply, and consultant has written in my notes, but I'm wondering about the practicalities - they don't know when I'm coming in, so do I just ask when I first ring to tell them I'm in labour? I know this is probably very obvious, but I'm very keen to be able to labour in a bath, at the very least, so don't want to miss out.

How many birth pools do they have and how busy are they?

My logic would be that you loose nothing by mentioning that you'd like to use the pool at every possible opportunity - if they only have one then the earlier you tell them that you're in labour and you want to use the pool, the more chance you have of getting it (as opposed to the woman that calls up 1/2 hour later and say the same thing). I would imagine that nothing's guaranteed until you're in it, though, so you might want to enquire about whether you could take your own birth pool in - the answer varies by PCT but its worth a try.

generally they are first come first served, but although you shoudl mention it when you ring they usually can't take a phone booking (iyswim)

tell them the minute you arrive at the hospital and keep on telling them - even if there's someone in it they have to get out eventually

I arrived at the hospital at 4am and immediately said I wanted the pool - they told me someone else was in it
at 5am I was still banging on about it and they found me a bath (which was actually rubbish for the pain, I ended up standing up in it leaning against the wall, but it did keep my ankles nice and warm)
at 6am I demanded that DH find the pool and kick whoever was in it out immediately
this seemed to work and at 7am I got in the pool, which was utter bliss, and dd was born an hour later.

Oh, thanks. The consultant wrote water labour in my notes, so I'm hoping, no doubt foolishly, that this will carry some clout if there's a tie! I don't know how many pools they have, but lots of low risk women will be in the midwife unit instead, so maybe that'll reduce demand - I have a little risk of shoulder dystocia, hence LS.

Will ask early and keep asking - good advice!

yes that is my plan for this time
all the hippy low risk women will be upstairs in the shiny new hippy MW-led unit, none of the high-risk women in the normal delivery suite will be hippy demanding enough to ask for the pool, and I will get it all to myself ...

When are you due? And you're not going to Dundee, are you?

no no, susbstantially further south

and you'd ahve DH to contend with as well...