Home Birth with a pool

[blue_kat]

Hi,

I was recommended to this section after asking people's advice on second tri!

I had my 26 week midwife appt yesterday and not only was she really enthusiastic about my waterbirth plan, she started to convince me that I could have a home birth...I hadnt even considered this before!

She has explained about ambulance being on call, and I am only 10 minutes from hospital so not worried about that!

I know about pain relief being just gas and air/water! But I figure I will probably regret it if I go into hospital just because I am scared I may not 'cope'! No1 knows how they will feel till the day!

Apart from that I am just nervous - what do I need to prepare if I decide to go ahead? Obviously have a pool ready but when do I start blowing it up? Whats the best way to empty it? Will I not get water everywhere? ( i realise I will cover things with plastic but still....I will have a pool in my living room?!) how is it emptied? How big does my room need to be to fit a pool and anything else I need? Will i just be creating so much work for my OH?

I think I am just worried as it seems too relaxing to have your labour at home where you can move around and not be worried about when to go to hospital...I am looking for the negatives so I can be prepared!

Thanks everyone!

 

[Mervs Mum]

This website is a nice one for good info and tips about homebirth in the UK - www.homebirth.org.uk

The Good Birth Company sell pools but their water birth resources are free on the site and very good. I dont use one of their pools but they do have a great comparison chart to compare their pools (and sizes to fit your home) to other popular ones on the market.

These are a few books you might like to read when considering a home birth - all good positive inspirational and practical stuff!

Birthing The Easy Way – Sheila Stubbs
Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth – Ina May Gaskin
The Father’s Home Birth Handbook – Leah Hazard
Home Birth – A Practical Guide - Nicky Wesson

I'd also highly recommend looking at some other labour techniques such as Hypnobirthing or Natal Hypnotherapy - both are very effective techniques and perfect for homebirthers!

Hypnobirthing – The Mongan Method – Marie Mongan

As far as filling and emptying you do that when you want! Mine takes 4 mins to inflate/deflate and has an electric pump to empty it - no water anywhere! Most come with pumps as standard and you fill with a hose from the nearest tap! Easy! It often gives OH something to 'do' as men like to 'fix' things or make things 'better' and sometimes something practical helps them to feel they are doing that

Enjoy planning your home birth!! Take advantage of having a supportive MW! A few women on here would bite your arm off for one!

 

[Jenniflower]

When I kept going back and forth what finally made my decision was that with a planned homebirth I was able to change my mind at any time. But if I haven't planned a homebirth and decide at the last minute I want one it won't work.

You should also ask you OH how he feel about doing extra work. Yes he'll have to blow it up, fill it up, unfill it and take it down. But with my OH he was happy to do anything to feel needed! I never thought about a homebirth because I didn't want him to be overwhelmed but when I started talking to him about it he put my mind at ease saying he would be happy to do everything.

You're absolutely right about having no clue how you'll feel till the day. But starting off at home just means you're giving you self the but chance of having a really relaxed time. If at any time you do feel you may need more then just say so and be transfered. Nothing lost at all. But if you realize you can do it at home then you'll be snuggling your little one in your bed within the hour of giving birth.

As for when to put the pool up... Some women simply do it at around 38 weeks and leave it up. Others get their OH's to do it at the first sign of early labour. I think I'll wait for the latter. I can just imagine having a pool up in our teeny flat for weeks at a time will only remind me that she's not here yet and frustrate me! But at the first sign of a contraction I think I'll get him to at least blow it up.

As for when to fill the pool... If you get an inflatable pool you can fill it up hours in advance and put a cover over it so that it's ready whenever you want to get it. I would suggest doing a trial run sometime before week 38 with this. You'll see how long it take to blow it up, fill it up, and how long it keeps its heat. At that time you'll get more of an understanding of how you'll want to do it the day of. A lot of people say not to get into the pool until you're over 5cm. But you may decide not to have any vaginal examinations in which case you won't know how far along you are. So just listen to your body and get in when you want. My hypnobirthing practioner was in hers for 6 hours! You won't shrivel hahaha.

 

[blue_kat]

fantastic help thanks!

How much room do you need to set it up? I have a pretty good idea that the pool I was looking up online would fit but do you need much extra room around it? I dont have the smallest room by any means but its not exactly huge either!

Is Hypnobirthing just teaching you about breathing etc? I havent heard of natal?

It seems silly as I should be terrified about giving birth but I am so calm about the whole process and am actually excited about it! I think its a control thing!

Oh and what pool do you have? I was looking at la bassine? or there was a pool in a box or something which the midwife recommended? Are there any that people say not to touch with a bargepole? (Ideally I would like one I could use again for a second birth with a new liner of course)

 

[Mervs Mum]

I use a La Bassine and I love it. Smaller than a BPIAB mini but still very roomy. Mine was in my kitchen as it's at the back of the house and close to a tap!!

Hypnobirthing and Natal are deep relaxation techniques. HBing is a mindset or philosophy and breathing techniques.

There is absolutely NO reason to be terrified!! Calm and excited is exactly how you should be!! Enjoy! x