Different birth pool options for home birth

[Southwestwhippet]

I'm just wondering if anyone has any experience of this. I'm planning a home birth and I want to use a birth pool

To hire a birth pool, average price for 4 - 5 weeks is around £200 (give or take). Week by week price is about £65. These pools generally tend to be wooden, hexaganol affairs with a liner.

But I've also found that you can BUY birth pools from a company called "Birthpool in a box" from about £85. These birthpools are inflatable oval affairs with replacable liners. Once inflated it, the advert states a 15stone person could sit on the edge (i.e partner) and the pool would maintain its shape. so they are fairly sturdy - not like paddling pools for exampl

My question is, does anyone have any experience of the "birthpool in a box" as this would clearly be the cheaper option. Especially as you can buy them even cheaper off ebay . www.birthpoolinabox.co.uk/

From what I read, they looked great but my mother suggested I do a bit more research to find out why, if the inflatable ones are so much cheaper, the non-inflatable, wooden ones are still in buisiness. Are they better in some way? is there some unspecified problem with the birth pool in a box?

Thanks in advance

I used an inflatable pool (La Bassine, also called Made in Water) and it was great.

It was very sturdy and only took 5 minutes to inflate (with a pump) and 25 minutes to fill.

On the whole the non-inflatable pools have heating systems and some sort of way of keeping the water uncontaminated, so you can keep it ready to go, and just change the water every few days.

You can't do this with an inflatable pool, however as they don't take long to fill I don't really think it's a problem as long as your boiler can handle making lots of hot water.

After the birth the water can either be pumped out down the toilet, or syphoned (sp?) out, collapsed, washed and packed away quite quickly. So you get your house back within a few hours.

Home waterbirths are the best, good luck

I gave birth to ds in a birth pool in a box. It was great. It was deep and comfortable, with handles on the side which I could hold onto to sqat down to get the baby descended before being born.

I gave birth to dd2 in a metal framed birthing pool which wasn't nearly as good.

I have a la bassine too. Loved it. Absolutely loved it. Is a fab paddling/ball pool too! BPIAB gets rave reviews on here too. Do an archive search.

Many thanks everyone. I have been archive searching as well and it looks as if the inflatable ones are the way to go.

I'm a little nervous as this is my first baby and I want a home birth which seems to be a bit unusual. but our local hospital is a bit of a dive and the local midwifery units round here are either as busy heathrow on a Friday afternoon or only open Monday to Friday .

Everywhere I read seems to say that water is the way to go though... almost looking forward to it and I love the idea of using it as a paddling pool for little one afterwards

I've got a BPIAB (mini size) which I never used - I chose this option because we've got a small house. I'm still undecided whether to sell it or keep it for the next one, but if you live anywhere near Warwick let me know

I bought my la bassine for my first birth. Obviously planning to have dd at home. I loved being in water, adored it.

Just to add, I ended up transferring to hospital after pushing for 6 hours. Turned out dd had her head on one side and twisted, no amount of intervention got her out and I ended up with an em cs. About as far away from a home waterbirth as you can get. Anyway, the best piece of advice I can offer to anybody contemplating a homebirth is go for it, but plan for any eventuality, accept the birth you get and don't beat yourself up over any of it. I learnt all of this the hard way.

4 home waterbirths. 2 in rigid heated hired pools, 2 in BPIAB - the BPIAB were the most comfy, and cheap, and easy. Couldn't keep the pool up and ready to go with toddlers/preschoolers around anyway, and didn't have the space to sacrifice for potentially 4 weeks!

Hurrah, nice affordable second hand BPIAB it is.

DP will be delighted

I had a Birthpool In A Box. It was fab.

I inflated and filled it in the middle of the night whilst in labour (well, it took my mind off everything!)