"Does it have a heater?"

[vegasgrl]

I have an awesome birth team - five women from the NCB community here in town. I'm actually really looking forward to Labor Day. First-time naivete I suppose.

Anyhoo, I bought the Aquaborn pool http://www.waterbirthsolutionsstore....&categoryId=11 and I think I'm going to love it - there are six handles (inside, outside and on top) and a cover for when I get out. But every member of my birth team when I tell them "I got the Aquaborn" has instantly responded "Does it have a heater?"

It doesn't have a heater. Is that really such a big deal? I didn't think it was when just my midwife had asked, but then when the doula and the photog and the others ALL asked the same thing, I started to get worried...

I have a 40gal hot water heater. I'm going to do a test run next weekend. But I only have one stewpot...should I go out and buy more big pots for water to boil???

Tell me your experiences with a non-heated pool. This one is 170 gallons, but all stories appreciated.

[cileag]

We have one with a heater and my midwives and the woman who rents it says it typically takes two fills of the hot water tank to fill (although maybe three with your size tank) and it's much easier to cool down than heat up, so fill it hot and let it cool if you need to rather than be trying to boil water etc. I think the heater is just extra nice especially for first time moms who are often in and out a couple times during labor due to longer labors etc. It's also probably just so your team knows if it does or not so they can be more on top of keeping the heal up---do you have a cover for it?

[vegasgrl]

Originally Posted by cileag

do you have a cover for it?

Yeah, it actually comes with a cover. Plus, I HATE hot water. I realize the water should be about body temperature for the baby's sake; that kind of bums me out b/c I would much prefer something closer to room temp. I guess I could labor in my "cold" pool and then deliver in bed?

[Belle]

I used a La Bassine. I think it is around 80 gal. It did not have a heater either. We filled up the pool the night before I went into labor because I was having some sporatic contractions. When it became evident that I wasn't in labor yet we put the cover on it and went to bed. (around 11pm)

When I first got into the tub to labor (around 6ish am) it was still warm to the touch and only needed a couple teakettles full of water to bring it back up to a comfortable temp for me.

[nashvillemidwife]

La Bassine is 100 gallons.

The heater is so not a big deal. Just keep a pot of water or two on the stove to warm it up if needed. (I'm assuming you have a stove of some kind.)

[Belle]

Originally Posted by nashvillemidwife

La Bassine is 100 gallons.

Thanks. Couldn't remember how much it held.

[sept15lija]

I was worried about having a heated pool but my midwife told me not to worry about it. In fact she gave birth to her two daughters in a kiddie pool - so I decided to do the same, get a kiddie pool, fill it with warm water and have DH boil kettles of water as needed to bring the temp back up. She said it worked great! She told me specifically what kiddie pool to get too, because she said it needs to be the right size / firmness etc.

[prancie]

i think most people birth in pools without heaters. You can turn your water heater up really high so the water goes farther, and the cover will do a lot to keep heat in.

[Gray's Mommy]

We have a Sevylor Electra & don't have a heater. I think it would be a nice bonus, but not truly necessary.

[CageFreeFamily]

We'll be using the La Bassine this time... so no heater.

My only concern is getting it filled with hot enough water.
For my last birth my MW brought her tub, which was actually a horse trough, and I was to deliver in it. However, I went from 2.5 cm to delivered so fast that they didn't get the water warm enough for me to get in. I guess the tank ran out of hot water before the tub was filled???

Dunno. So I wound up in the tub for a bath with my newborn rather than delivering in it.

I'd be happy with the repeat of rapid labor, but I would really like to USE my tub this time (since I had to pay for it and all )

So, what you you turn your water heater up to to insure that you will have enough hot water for 100 gal?

[ecstaticmama24]

There are no heaters that you can safely put in an inflatable pool.

The pools with heaters are quite expensive.

That said, I would have prefered the water to be heated, it was a royal pain in the butt to continually dump hot pots of water in the pool, and then when it got full we had to dump a pot out and then dump hot water in. Obviously I wasn't doing it, but DH wasn't actually "with" me because he was doing it.

The inflatable pool was much more comfortable than a permanent fixture birthing tub that allows for temp. control IMO. I would definitely turn the water heater up though.

There's some info on pools here http://www.homebirth.org.uk/waterchoose.htm

[kolszewski]

We have the birth pool in a box. My midwife said that in very early labor, I should turn the hot water heater all the way up. Then, fill the pool with extremely hot water until the tank runs out. Put on the cover. Then, as labor progresses, when I am thinking about the pool, fill it with either hot, warm, cold as needed. She said the heat holds very well.

[SamGroom]

I think you will be totally fine. We never had to add hot water to my birthing pool that we filled from out facet, if anything when I was in transition I aksed for some cooler water to be added.

[Comtessa]

Originally Posted by SamGroom

I think you will be totally fine. We never had to add hot water to my birthing pool that we filled from out facet, if anything when I was in transition I aksed for some cooler water to be added.

Same here.
We rented an Aquadoula whose heater was broken (it was a heckuva lot cheaper than the one whose heater worked), and it worked just fine. If anything, it was too warm. And I was in it on and off for two full days. I think we had to empty it somewhat and put fresh hot water in, at some point, but that didn't seem to be a whole lot of work. Of course, my DH might have a different perspective on that, since he was the one actually doing it - I was in laborland and don't even remember it.

[vegasgrl]

You know, maybe they're just asking because they know they'll be doing the pool maintenance. I really appreciate the BTDT stories, and that website link was awesome - I haven't been to that site since early on in my learning process. Thanks ladies!

[Amber Lion]

No heater here either

When I had my "OMG this is really it!" moment, I asked Dh to start filling the pool. One hot water tank filled it about half way and then we put a blanket over the top of it. When I actually got in it, it was still warm, and another hot water tank filled it the rest of the way and heated it up to a nice temp. Then as needed they siphoned (with a hose) off water and filled it up with new water from the hot water tank. Worked great and I was never too cold or hot and it didn't seem to take from my support while they did it either.

[CEG]

I used a La Bassine and we just had to take out a few buckets of water every now and again and replace it with hot water. It didn't bother me a bit because my husband was doing it But the water if anything was too hot for me, but I love a hot bath.

[Meredith&Alexander]

My tub had a heater in it- ME! I was putting out some serious BTUs in hard labor.

I typically like a pretty hot bath to relax in, but not during labor. My sister commented on it after DS2 was born- she was very surprised that I was really comfortable and not freezing in the tub, because it was cool to her touch. I don't know, it felt warm to me at the time. So you may not want it as warm as you think you might.

[Jane]

The inflated sides hold heat pretty well. I'd recommend having a bucket available - not a five gallon, that's too big to lift easily, but a 3 gallon cat litter container is good. As a birth team member, it's nice to be able to take water out without using the pot you're heating with.

You'll be fine!