Anyone use a Birthing Pool in Hospital? Please help me out!!!

[simonboy'smommy]

Hope it's ok to ask this:
I need names of hospitals

I am attempting to use a birthing pool in our hospital. My dr is ok with it. The head of the Women's Center is cool with it. However they don't have a written policy or protocols for use of a pool at their hospital. I need names of hospitals in which you or someone you know labored and/or birthed in a pool/tub I would like to contact the hospitals and see if they are willing to email their protocols to us to use as a reference for writing one for our hospital.

Also, any references on the internet or whatever else you might know to help would be awesome.

We are soooo close to having this happen! I am the second one to request this (the first person changed their mind and didn't pursue it) and I would be the first to try this in our county. I want to do a good job with helping set up the protocols so that it will be easy for them to offer this to other women in the future.

TIA!

ETA: Feel free to PM me rather than publicly posting info if you prefer. Thanks!

[Lilcrunchie]

I labored in a tub when I was having DS, but that was 5.5 years ago. Their hospital policy was no birthing in the tub, but you could labor. That may have changed in more recent years. I now live in a different state so I don't have contact w/ those midwives and that particular hospital any longer.

If you are interested I can PM you the hospital name.

[tzs]

columbia st mary's in milwaukee has a room with a tub and i think st josephs also in milwaukee might have one as well.
i got the tub room at columbia but never got to use it since i ended up having an epi with pitocin. oh well

[khaoskat]

Family Beginnings in Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton Ohio has three birth tubs in the natural birth center. It is a Natural Birth Center located within the Maternity Building of the Hospital and controlled by the Hospital and their policies. Employees are employed by the Hospital.

Good Sam Hospital in Dayton Ohio has 5 of it is 10 L&D rooms with birthing tubs, and they used to have a tub in its own room if the other rooms were full. Not sure if that other tub is available for use still, because I have not birthed there in 6 1/2 years.

Greene Memorial Hospital used to do the Kiddie Birth Pools when the Midwife's were there in Xenia, Ohio.

There is one other somewhat local hospital to me that has a tub, but I cannot remember which one it is.

[AfricanQueen99]

St. Louis, MO

I remember hearing that Barnes-Jewish Hospital had birthing tubs, but it's not on their website - http://www.barnesjewish.org/?id=3331&sid=1

Missouri Baptist Hospital's website mentions using the Aqua Doula tub for laboring, but no mention of delivery - http://www.missouribaptist.org/?id=5597&sid=9

Those are probably the only two worth looking into around here.

[EarthsSpiral]

Some hospitals have a no water birth policy... however it is often dictated by the individual doctors insurances!! Many doctors here in OK are endorsed by PLICO and they dictate no water birth and no VBAC. I found an OB who had insurance other than PLICO and was able to deliver in a hospital with no formal policy on water birth IN THE TUB.

I had my doctor ask himself, to the board, as I felt if he didn't support me who would yk?? Well he did and... ask and ye shall receive.

[Belle]

If you get ahold of waterbirth international they might be able to help you out. They have helped develop the protocols for the hospitals that do waterbirths. I heard Barbara Harper speak once. She said that hospitals w/o clear protocols would have things happen like the doctor get into the pool with the mother or do a blind episiotomy in the water. Some doctors really have no clue.

http://www.waterbirth.org/

[simonboy'smommy]

Thank you all for your responses. I'm on the phone and trying to get in touch with someone who can help. I'm down to 17 days till my due date. Ack!! Hope we can get something soon. Checking out waterbirth intern. again....

[kjenkins55]

I sadly was risked out of a waterbirth, but my hospital does them. Bromenn Regional Medical Center in Normal, Illinois. They have only been doing them a few years but my midwife was the one who first introduced them, so really she'd probably have information in getting a protocol established and approved. Let me know if you'd like her information!!

[savithny]

Cayuga Medical center in Ithaca NY has a lovely tub.

I was told at the time that people had birthed in the tub, though I did not push out either baby in the tub (I get irrational during the last of transition).

The only policies I know of regarding it are that they only have one and it has to be cleaned/sanitized between users, and you can't get in it if you have an intrathecal. They taped off my heplock and that was no problem. they have waterproof dopplers for heart rate checks. The nurses all were completely and totally supportive of tub use, and when my water broke in the tub and DD dropped to crowning, they were all "either sit back down and push the baby out in the tub, or get out, and push the baby out on the bed."

[Mamatoto2]

West Suburban Hospital and Rush Copley Hospital in Illinois both do water births.

[jecombs]

Mission Hospital in Asheville, NC allows laboring and birthing in water. They have four rooms with H-U-G-E tubs in them for this purpose.

Here's their website.

Good luck!

[mysticmomma]

mercy hospital in balto md.

[stealthmode]

Originally Posted by Mamatoto2

West Suburban Hospital and Rush Copley Hospital in Illinois both do water births.

I'm giving birth at Rush Copley and my CNMs have both attended several water births there. In fact their practice is in the hospital itself. We're planning to have the tub available.

[simonboy'smommy]

Originally Posted by khaoskat

Family Beginnings in Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton Ohio has three birth tubs in the natural birth center. It is a Natural Birth Center located within the Maternity Building of the Hospital and controlled by the Hospital and their policies. Employees are employed by the Hospital.

Good Sam Hospital in Dayton Ohio has 5 of it is 10 L&D rooms with birthing tubs, and they used to have a tub in its own room if the other rooms were full. Not sure if that other tub is available for use still, because I have not birthed there in 6 1/2 years.

Greene Memorial Hospital used to do the Kiddie Birth Pools when the Midwife's were there in Xenia, Ohio.

There is one other somewhat local hospital to me that has a tub, but I cannot remember which one it is.

Greene Memorial Hospital doesn't have a birthing center any more!!! Man, that stinks because it sounded like one that could have helped me out.

[Mamatoto2]

Originally Posted by stealthmode

I'm giving birth at Rush Copley and my CNMs have both attended several water births there. In fact their practice is in the hospital itself. We're planning to have the tub available.

I hope that you have a wonderful birth! I was supposed to have a WB with Karen/Noreen for my second, but my DD was transverse breech and refused to budge no matter what we tried so I ended up with an emergency CS instead (Karen did stay with me through the CS though and was very nice and supportive).

I was seeing them for my prenatal care for this pregnancy too even though I'm not eligible for a VBAC due to the nature of my incision, but they just had to transfer me over to the OBs because my pregnancy complications have made me too high risk to continue under their care (which makes me totally sad-I've never seen an OB before, and I really liked Karen/Noreen!) I'd love to hear how the WB goes at Rush Copley since I never got to experience it myself (my water birth with DD#1 was at West Sub.) I bet it will be wonderful.

[wombatclay]

Arnot Ogden Medical Center, Elmira NY (water labor and tub birth with provider approval for vbac as well as non-vbac women. each birth suite in the renovated birthing unit has a birth tub while the pp rooms have huge showers.)

Cayuga Medical Center, Ithaca NY (water labor only for vbac mamas, moving towards a water labor only position for all mothers though provider counts for a lot. like savithny mentioned though there is just the one tub, so they may have better protocols for a center just starting out with tub birthing)

--I had dd1 and dd2 at Cayuga and used the tub both times. I had ds at Arnot and used a tub there too---

[simonboy'smommy]

Thank you for all your responses!!
We were sooooo close to being able to use the birthing pool. DS was born on the 15th nov. Problem was I waited too long to go to the hospital. I was 9 cm when we arrived and since I was only allowed to labor in it, I would have had about 15 mins. in the water by the time dh set it up. So it was abandoned in the corner with a few puffs of air in it lol!
The director of the womens' center is still wanting to work on protocols for next time so I will gather the info I can and get it to her.
Appreciate all the info!

[lunita1]

Congratulations on the little one!

Sutter Davis Hospital in Davis, CA has birthing tubs and regularly does water births http://sutterdavis.org/services/serv...rthingcen.html I'm not sure who the best contact person is there, though.