Birth Pools - What is best solid frame or inflatable??

[schmizaj]

Considering home birth now, mainly because had fabbo waterbirth with first and really want to guarantee WB with second, so looking at pools.

Any experiences thoughts on what to get, looks like same price to buy inflatable or hire solid base one. Solid looks nice and sturdy like hospital ones but inflatable such good value and no faff with couriers.

Are inflatable ones just as good?

Any experiences/thoughts appreciated - ta!

Inflatable ones are great, ours has been used twice and is sitting in the garage hopefully!

i would recommend the solid frame. that's the only one i have used..just my preference on that though. i heard a women who told of her experience using both types. she loved the solid frame pool for her first birth then tried the inflatable for her 2nd. said the pool just didnt feel 'right', and said the inflatable didnt make her feel as secure and safe as the fiber panelled pool. i liked the firmness of the sides to grip to when i laboured. but then again, i suppose with an inflatable it would be cheaper to buy and easier to store than to continously hire each time for a new labour, so that could be a deciding factor to which one you'l go for. i got my 2nd labour in 4 wks time and have my hard pool all ready to be picked up in a fortnight!

Thanks that is interesting, inflatables have the handles etc and sure if used it once then fine but maybe after having a solid hospital one I like idea of the solidness(???) and websites say they are still super easy to put together. Will be my last birth though so not thinking of the long term investment!! Just thought easier to get it in my own times not choosing hire time organising courier back etc...

So butler you must only be a week ahead of me! Sounds like you have somewhere near to pick pool up which is great, can't find any in essex for myself, will keep deliberating... Good luck to you!

I used the fibreglass solid oval one from Splashdown, it was brilliant, used it again 2nd time.
I really loved the strength of the sides to push against HOWEVER, I have no other experience so the pool in a box may well be just a sgreat!

im due round about 16th october schmizaj. my OH will be picking up the pool frm a family company based in bristol, which isnt really close to us, but will be cheaper to pick it up from there than to have it sent to us via courier. the family who run it are very pleasant, lady said i can pick up the pool a little earlier if we want, plus she throws in extras like a homeopathy kit, birthing ball, tens machine at no extra cost, and the hiring of the pool itself was 175. i thought it was a really good deal.

greyskull- i used splashdown with my 1st labour. they were good. the lady who dealt with me was fantastic. but i still giggle at how only half a pool was delivered to my house, the other was sitting in some depot in Portsmouth! and through some kind of rig marole, didnt get delivered till a few days before my birth! i got half he courier charge refunded though!..