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Original poster

Anyone not get the water birth they wanted?

104 replies

JustAnotherUserinParadise · 18/11/2020 20:48

Hi Everyone,
I am hoping to have a water birth, (currently 26 wks and low risk so far).
For some reason I am really worried that when I need to go in to hospital the pools will all be occupied and I won't get it! I could see myself suddenly getting completely unreasonable and refusing to get out of the bath at home...
What do you think the chance of this is? Has anyone had it happen to them?

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Highheels87 · 19/11/2020 22:17

I had one with my second by chance. I stayed at home throughout the day, spent a good chunk of early labour in the bath and walking around. By the time I got to the hospital contractions were 2 minutes apart and as I was getting changed my waters went and the midwife said the pool was free do I want to give it a go. She went to fill the pool whilst I hobbled to delivery with full on contractions and as they were continuous at that point I was actually lifted into the pool, given the gas and air and baby arrived within minutes. Best experience ever.

xxxemzyxxx · 19/11/2020 22:34

I had really wanted a water birth. I went into labour and it progressed quickly (5 hours from start to finish).

I specifically remember saying to my DH in the car on the way to hospital "if I'm only 4cm and this is going to get worse, fuck the water birth!" not knowing at the time I was 10cm 😂

I wouldn't of been able to have it anyway as babys heart rate was dipping during every contraction so had epidural and forceps, the cord was wrapped around his neck twice.

Epidural was the most magic thing ever - if I decide to have another one i think i will just have it again.

I think when you are in labour (depending which stage you are at and what your pain threshold is like) you end up really not caring.

Gerdticker · 19/11/2020 23:20

I’ve had two water births and loved the experience. Highly recommend

If you’re worried about the pool being available at hospital, have you considered

home birth and get your own pool?
is there an MLU nearby you? often they are less busy, and also more set up for water births

Have you done any hypnobirthing training? Highly recommend positive birth company digital pack, it really helped me & DH get the birth we wanted (I gave birth last week in the pool at local hospital)

ThanksItHasPockets · 20/11/2020 00:20

I got a pool no problem and got in at 9cm dilated. It stopped my contractions dead. I ended up with a syntocinon drip, spinal block and instrumental birth in theatre. I have since learnt that it’s not unheard of for birthing pools to have this effect on some women but it seems never to be talked about.

PopsicleHustler · 20/11/2020 06:09

I had a water birth with my 3rd child, born 2016. Wonderful experience and loved it so much, I wanted to do it again with my 4th who was born in 2018.

Had a really bad experience this time around. I arrived at the hospital and was treated like muck by a racist midwife. Then went to the labour ward at 4cm. Got to the birthing pool room and was given a very nice midwife. Laboured in the pool for a few hours but nothing was happening so in the end, she decided to bring me out to break my waters. I asked if I could get back into the birthing pool afterwards, she said no problem. Literally after she had broken my waters, her shift finished and a second midwife took over. I told her I would like to get back into the birthing pool. She said no, she has a bad back. I thought that was very odd and strange as I am the one in labour. It shouldnt matter. A few hours later again, i asked ,.practically begged for the water birth. She said no , i cant bend down, i have a bad back. She was quite bossy. I didn't know if would have been rude of me to ask for a different midwife so I left it. But I was pretty gutted that I didn't get the water birth.
A couple months ago I was talking to my husband about it and he said no, you definitely should have asked for another midwife. It's your birth. It should be about you and what you want.
I'm now 32 weeks pregnant with our 5th baby and really hope I get the water birth this time.

abitfunny · 20/11/2020 07:00

No not at all. Went on a hypnobirthing course, visited the birth centre and set my sights on breathing the baby out in water. It could not have gone any different tbh but I won’t go into detail!

BuffaloCauliflower · 21/11/2020 16:39

@PopsicleHustler what an awful experience and awful midwife. I hope you made a complaint?

PopsicleHustler · 22/11/2020 08:50

@BuffaloCauliflower
Hello, hope you're well.

In regards to the first midwife, I did report. as she was so horrible to me. I am a Muslim. And clearly she had an issue with me even in antenatal weeks prior. I find it very sad that since I have been a muslim for the past 8 years I have been treated badly by strangers as well as people I know, simply because I wear a hijab.
This midwife clearly had an issue with my husband too. He is black. I am white. She was horrible and dug her nails in during the internal examination to see how far dilated I was. I was saying ow ow ow, but she continued. Then when I put my hand out to get off the bed, needing her help, she crossed her arms behind her back and said no, you get up yourself ..... terrible. I complained about her but never heard anything back.

In regards to the second midwife, I didn't complain or report because I am a very nice person and I wasnt sure if it would have been rude of me to ask for a new midwife if she had back troubles. But looking back, I could have just asked please can you find a new lady to help me in the pool. My husband agreed and so did my midwife at my last appointment. Am currently 32 weeks pregnant and really hoping I get a water birth this time around. I will also be speaking to the midwife in charge before I arrive to ensure I wont have the terrible first midwife. She shares no care. I dont know how you can be a nurse or midwife when you treat people like garbage.

RockyMountainSky · 22/11/2020 13:01

I got stuck in a horrible examination room, bright lights and no comfort, for five hours. Apparently all the lovely birthing pool rooms AND the delivery suite were full. Had to stagger down the hall in full labour once a delivery suite room opened up and gave birth shortly thereafter. I'm still annoyed about it, but what can you do? I was told they couldn't do a proper check on me (something about risk of infection) but they assumed I wasn't very far along. They did give me a nice bed in the maternity-led unit afterwards which made up for it a bit.

Sexnotgender · 22/11/2020 13:02

Me.

Wasn’t time to run it!

RockyMountainSky · 22/11/2020 13:03

Oh and no gas and air... found out later that could have been provided. Just stupid paracetamol! I think they were just over-run that night and I got a very junior midwife due to that.

PFin · 23/11/2020 03:19

I LOVE baths like 2 or 3 a day if im off and its possible lol. I have baths to relax and if I ever have a sore back, cramps anything im straight in a nice hot bath and it always helps. So in my first pregnancy I was hell bent on a water birth I was sure a water birth would be exactly what I'd need to get me through giving birth and hoped for a water birth the whole way through. Well the birth came and luckily there was a room with a birthing pool. So I stagger in clothes off, dont even put the bikini top i brought or anything, straight in with nothing but my bra and I HATED it. I couldnt get in a comfortable posistion and the pool just wasnt warm enough to help me feel any relief. What I didnt even think of but theres a temperature control on the mixer tap so the waters never to hot for baby and the water felt slightly warmer than luke warm to me and it was yukk! It just wasnt hot enough to help with my back pain and it just felt like I was sitting in horrible dirty water. Though this is just me loads of people love water births but im just saying its not the be all and end all. I gave birth with gas and air on my side on the bed with hot water bottles on my back being refilled and rotated on request.

Latteatnaptime · 23/11/2020 04:07

There are so many factors and variables, and pool availability is just one.

For a birth plan I'd suggest taking a wide view on all the various interventions, including pain relief, induction ventouse/forceps and CS. This will enable you to enable you to make informed choice should things change, which they may well do.

Mammyloveswine · 23/11/2020 05:14

I wanted a water birth with my first but midwife said it could slow things down...ended up having diamorphine and gas and air, throwing up and a long knackering labour ending in an episiotomy...

Second time I did have a water birth and it was amazing! So calm! Loved it! Would do it again tomorrow!

NoahsArk17 · 23/11/2020 08:33

I wanted a water birth with my first but she was born before they could fill the pool. No issue with availability/rooms though. Our local maternity unit puts out monthly birth stats and as a rule it seems to be about 15 out of 250 births every month are born in the pool. I ended up giving birth on my back in stirrups - the only position I definitely did not want to be in, and I can honestly say that a) I didn't notice that was the position I'd given birth in until about a week later when I was properly reflecting on it and b) it seemed the most comfortable/natural position to be in at the time. I had a really positive birth and I can't wait to do it again in a few weeks.

emma911030 · 23/11/2020 09:04

@JumperooSue this is what I did 😂😂 I needed toilet and while I was there I was like yep I'm staying right here. I felt like a right weirdo so I'm so glad you have mentioned this! I envisioned my baby being born into the toilet haha it was almost relief that I could relax back and the hole being there was relief as nothing was then touching hard surfaces 😂 I eventually had to get off cause I needed to be examined.
I tried the bath purely cause there was one in the room I was in but you have to have it soooo cool it was crap and didn't even begin to ease any sort of pain! Was crap! I stopped having baths at home cause I wasn't allowed them hot enough. Was like sitting in a cold bath 😕 so I was only in there like 20 mins and couldn't take it being so cold lol

JumperooSue · 23/11/2020 11:39

Hahaha I would occasionally stand up between the contractions but the minute I felt it brewing I’d waddle as fast as I could back to the toilet and plonk myself back down😂

Frazzled2207 · 23/11/2020 11:43

Well I wanted a water birth and laboured in the pool which was fine but they have to get you out to examine you at so many cms. And then there is a rule that if you can’t get back in again you have to stay out to deliver which is what happened to me. As it turned out I needed an episiotomy too and narrowly avoided forceps.
But labouring in the pool was a positive experience.

2nd time round I went for the drugs instead.

BiarritzCrackers · 23/11/2020 11:48

I hoped for a water birth. Followed by, hoped for the midwife led 'home from home' birthing suite. When I got there however, I got the last bed on the consultant led ward - if I'd got there any later, they said I would have been turned away and sent off to another hospital.

I'm not trying to be negative about what will happen for you, but forewarned is forearmed and all that, and it's good to be prepared that you just might not get the things you planned for if the hospital has no availability.

BiarritzCrackers · 23/11/2020 11:53

That did sound very pessimistic, sorry! I hope you get the birth you wish for. I guess plan for the best, but be prepared for something different.

TroubleInSnowland · 23/11/2020 11:55

I wanted a water birth. Whilst I was waiting on the ward ready to go to delivery suite, one of the midwives suggested I had a bath for pain relief. I tried it but ended up hating the feeling of water on my skin which is just as well because when my waters broke there was meconium present and fetal distress so I ended up with a monitor on ds's scalp and hooked up to a machine.

elliejjtiny · 23/11/2020 11:56

dc1 I had a home water birth
dc2, 3, 4 and 5 I wanted a water birth but didn't get one.
dc2 pooped before he was born so I had to get out of the pool
dc3 was meant to be an induction (although he came while they were faffing about with monitoring etc beforehand
dc4 was facing the wrong way so had to be a c-section
dc5 was an induced vbac so I wasn't allowed to be in the pool.

So I got 1 water birth out of 5 but none of them were because the pool was occupied.

ItsStartingToFeelLikeChristmas · 23/11/2020 12:12

By the time the pool was ready it was too late, baby came suddenly after being a slow starter. Really wanted a water birth but wouldn't change it now. Was a perfect Birth. Due to have another next year, I hopefully of a water birth but won't be losing sleep over it.

noonieroonie · 22/01/2021 08:12

Just to update on this thread, had DS 4 weeks ago now and didn't get the water birth or in the birth pool again. I made it clear from being admitted I wanted to use a pool but apparently the 2 they had were occupied. Midwife went to "check" on getting me the room when it became available and conveniently "someone had just got in there before me". Both myself and DH think she was just fobbing me off to be honest, but rightly so as with hindsight I would have never managed the walk to the other room and DS was born pretty quickly after.

December's birth stats released for the hospital show 260 births and only 6 were in the birth pool so I can only imagine they're trying to put people off if they can?

Moo678 · 22/01/2021 08:38

Pools have been available with all three of mine and I’ve not managed to deliver in them once! 1st 2 I was got out the pool because of failure to progress (slightly bitter about this with hindsight). 3 rd I found out mid home birth that I had group B strep - rushed to hospital and delivered leaning over a bed 40 mins later. There was a pool in the room but I wasn’t allowed it due to GBS. It was honestly okay. In my experience by the time you are sore enough to go in the bath is too small and restrictive - I didn’t want to be sitting up or on my back which is what the bath easily allows.
The baths in our birthing centre and labour ward are massive though so you could labour in there for ages.

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