homebirth or water birth at birth centre??

[steph1512]

I am nearly 39wk with my third dc.

will just give a rundown of previous births both with just g&a

my first dd was born st local and completely fantastic birth centre with birthing pools etc and fab post natel ward with endless support..the pool was filled but at the time i felt unable to move into it was too far along n couldnt bare a change of position

2nd dd the birth centre was closed due to staffing issue so i opted for a homebirth as the nearest consultant unit/big hosp doesnt have best rep or post natel care. it was a lovely experience again althou was so much more painful than i remembered first time, but modwife said it was prob because of time n intense..first labour 3.5hr 2nd 1hr40

so my plan this time was to go to birth centre again and make use of extra pain relief (if time) and try the pool along with gas and air...and planned to make the most of the fab post natel ward for day or two

i was told today that the post natel ward has been closed due to cut backs so now i dont no what to do??

feel like the only reason now for leaving my home comforts is for the birthing pool..which i may not have time to use or it may not help with the pain enough to not have homebirth?? hring a birth pool prob not an option for home now due to time money and space.

so question really if you have experienced both water and no water did the water make a big diff to pain???

thanks..scared soon to be mummy of three

You can buy an inflatable pool cheaper than hiring one.

I've had 2 "dry land" births and one water birth and I wouldn't have another dry birth (well, technically I'll not have another water one either but you know what I mean )

Personally, I don't think it did much for the pain TBH but the support and privacy it offered were fabulous.

wow quick response..suppose im slightly worried bout spending on a pool if..my labour is as quick or quicker than last one and therfore could either not have time to get it ready and me in or not be in for long!

nut at same time im soo scared of labour this time not sure why as second time i wasnt too worried even slightly looked forward to whole experience but this time i can just remember the pain so much despite being lucky that is wasnt long n was hitch free

yes, the water helped me a lot. i loved it.

i would be looking at hiring or buying a birth pool and having a homebirth if i were you

that said, my third baby arrived in 45 mins from first contraction, so I only just had time to jump in the pool before i had him! lol (quick labour another reason for a HB tyhough!)

yes quickness another factor my midwife even said she thinks it would be wise to plan a homebirth!

45min is soo quick i found 1hr40 intense enough!

did u get any warning or just straight into labour? n were first dcs around?

well, 2 days before i had had a run of BH and i thought things mihgt be getting started, so we got the pool up and then nothing happened.
next day i saw the midwife for a check-up and she did an internal and said i was 4cm

then at about 2.50am the next morning i woke up having a contraction which just went on and on and on, really strong. went to the toilet, and had another one on the way back! and that was it really, got dp up and made him get the pool filled.
It was VERY intense. I really was struggling to cope with the pain. my waters went, i felt the head and THEN i made dp help me into the pool lol, between contractions (see how desperate i was to get in! lol)
was much better in the water, but he was born with the next contraction aynway

oh and yes, my older 2 were there, but fast asleep in bed.
They got up in the morning to find their baby brother had arrived by magic in the night! ds1 still talks about htat lol

sounds very intense am also worried mine might end up this way n midwife not make it.

might sound silly questions..but how do u go aobut filling and emptying pool?

and does it have to be a 'birthing' pool or could you get a big paddling pool lol

every labour is different, though by that record you may simply not have time to get to the birthing unit.

during my second HB DD was at home, having her lunchtime nap, though she came in to say hello after...Dh was there to deal with her and if it had taken longer, him and my mum could take turns to attend.

haven't had a water birth, thought it might slow me down....though second labour slower anyway, but more relaxed.

You fill it with a hosepipe (we've got a combi boiler so hot water wasn't an issue. I filled it up (about 2/3) with just hot water early on, put the cover on it and then topped it up with cold to a comfortable temperature when I needed to get in.

Empting it wasn't my problem I was tucked up in bed with DD... (although I understand it was simply left to syphon out with the last bits being bundled up in the liner)

I don't think a paddling pool would work - the sides of the birth pool are robust and wide for leaning on.

yeah, my midwives didn't make it. nor did the ambulance.

needs to be a birthing pool really, because you need it very deep, and sturdy enough to lean on (if you want to lean that is)

we filled it iwth a big long hose that came with it. we'd set the thermostat on the boiler up high so that the water was REALLY hot, so that we'd need less hot to fill it iyswim?

we also had an electric pump that came with it too, so just stuck the hose out of the window and pumped it all into the garden

ok thanks i had visions of carrying buckets from sink to pool hehe thought ther must be a better way

where did u get your pools n can you remember the cost etc

if i have time to get one its becoming very tempting..anything for extra pain relief..ive always suffered with severe period pain n a hot bath has always eased so figuring pool might do the same in labour.

ps how did you find having your other dcs there from the word go of having the third?? i was really thinknig i would need a day or so with the new arrival..but at same time cant relax if my dds go and stay else where

with the bh im getting this evening i might not have time to organise a pool lol..i hope not thou im not ready!!

ive ordered my baby to stay put just a bit longer

I loved it. it was a nursery day for ds1, we said he could stay home if he wanted, but he decided to go to nursery and tell everyone.

My mum had come over too, so she took him to nursery. I stayed in bed with ds3 and dp pottered about downstairs with ds2.

was all very calm and lovely.. Came downstairs to have a couple of visitors. I had plenty of time with the baby, but it also meant that I could be with the other 2 and give them attention and they didn't feel pushed out at all, which was nice I htink

I got my birthpool second hand from someone on here I think. sold it on ebay for more than I paid for it!! lol

that does sound nice..my eldest dd breaks for easter for 3wk on fri she usually does 5ams so it looking like ill have all three at home for first wks.

Bit will be nice for them not to feel pushed out im just not good at switching off when they are around so would prob be not good at resting upstairs etc!

bonus re pool..dont know the first place to start looking but guessing it could take a few days to arrive so i may have left it too long! If so would u all still opt for home or def pool depsite not being at home?
go midwife2mo so i can throw some questions re pools etc to

i think i'd have still had the homebirth even without the pool.
but that is partly because my local hospital is fairly dire and the nearest birthing centre is about 45 minutes away.

I guess you have to think about what is best for you in labour and what will make it easiest, more relaxing for you. if having the pool is a big part of how you want to give birth then go to the birth centre,
if not then stay at home I reckon.

might be worth searching on ebay for any that are local to you. in the panel on the left hand side you can click on "distance" and then put your post-code in. you never know, might be able to get one sooner rather than later

oh no, dont say scared soon to be mummy of three. I am about 29 weeks on number 3 and not feeling nervous yet but I remember that feeling. Frightening.

I wanted waterbirth for first. Spent night in birth centre but never reached 5 cm so didnt get into pool. Waters had gone more than 24 hours so had to be transferred to hospital. All was fine in the end.

Managed a water birth for second. didn't quite get the hang of it was only in 20 mins before baby was born - they kept having to push me under the water cos I kept floating up. Just started the gas and air when I got in the pool as well and that sent me off the planet which didn;t help. Baby had trapped cord and had to be resuscitated so we were straight out after.

The water birth was all higgledy piggledy really and a bit quick but I am definately going to try for the pool on baby 3.

I guess depends how important a water birth is to you. I just changed hospital because the nearest one had one pool and the slightly further away one (only really 1 mile further) had brand new MLU unit with 4 pools plus 2 more pools on labour ward upstairs. DS born in a pool and was perfect labour in every way!

Because of the speed of your last labour though no guarantee you'll even have time to get to the MLU let alone into the pool there! Why not stay booked into MLU but if when it started you are concerned about timings and whether you have time to get there just call for midwife to come to you?

You might be able to get a pool (look at pool in a box) quickly (call your community midwifes to check they don't have one you can use first). if you buy inflatable you can resell on ebay to cover part of the cost.

Boots.com sell BPIAB kits, that might be a really quick way? I ordered mine and collected it form local store.

I would say you might want to plan to be at home, pool or no, since it is likely to be so quick, then there won't be the stress of scrambling for the car etc.

Also, you can make your bath really deep, blu-tack over the overflow holes, and use that for pain relief with hot shower aimed on your back (by someone else obv!!)

I bought my pool from birthpoolinabox.co.uk. It arrived two days later. I think it was about £90 but so worth the money.

DP inflated the pool in 10 minutes with electric pump (I've heard you can inflate it in advance if you wish). It took 45 minutes to fill with a hose from the kitchen tap (we have a combi boiler)

Labour was great. Felt very enclosed and relaxed. DP topped up with hot kettles after a few hours.

DS1 (4yo) was wandering in and out the room, completely unfazed and he was there when I delivered his brother. I'd suggest you have an extra person there to help with your DC if needed.

As far as emptying goes, midwife sieved out the worst and took it all with her in her big yellow sack. DP used the hose and a pump to drain water straight down the outside drain and the liner went into the bin. Quick wipe down and it was back in the box. I've considered selling it but my DS1 loves using it as a pool in the garden (the sides are strong enough for him to stand on and jump in!)

If you were to get a pool for home, you'd have the best of both worlds and wouldn't have to worry about getting to the MLU in a hurry.

Mine was from Birthpoolinabox too.

Whereabouts are you, Steph?

The third tends to be similar to the first, not quite so intense from what i've read/vaguely remember , plus if I use the pool for my 4th I'll get into it a lot earlier on, I tried last time in transition, not good.

You could try www.waterbabybirthingpoolhire.co.uk.
BPIAB can be used as a paddling pool after - the first 2 inflatable layers have jolly pictures of sea-life on them. It's only when you blow up the 3rd layer that you realise it's a birth pool.

There are plenty of people who have laboured and birthed in ordinary baths - if you fancied a homebirth but didn't want to bother getting a proper pool, perhaps the bath could be a substitute?

thanks for all the replies really appreciate it, im in a village inbetween oakham and melton mowbray (leicestershire)

ps just found out today baby is back to back so looks like my labour might not be so quick/straight forward after all!

in that case go for the birth centre - being in water will make it easier for you to move around and hence baby to turn ....