Not allowed to give birth in pool :-(

[alton]

I'm planning on a homebirth and the way it works here is that I see a team of midwives and two of them will attend my birth, but which two is unpredictable. They are employed by the hospital, so if I get transfered they come too, but the downside is that they operate under hospital protocols. When I enquired about birthing in water, they told me that water will be fine for stage one and three but I must get out to give birth.
Now I know that this is the official line but it is hard to ascertain at this stage if there might be flexibility in that. I'm hoping that when the time comes, hauling my ass out of the pool might not be their highest priority.

BUT...it has changed my whole sense of what this homebirth might be like. The idea of climbing out of my tub during transition, getting harder contractions without the water to soften the effect, being cold and shivering, etc - well, it doesn't exactly appeal. Now I'm thinking that I might be better to forget about the pool altogether and just focus on birthing on dry land.

Sorry for the rambling post everyone! I suppose what I want to ask is:

For those who have used a birth pool, how would you balance the benefits of it for the first stage, versus the unpleasantness of leaving it to give birth? Is it worth having, or should I abandon it?

[onyxravnos]

i might point out that you could just not get out.....
here at the hospital you are 'allowed' to shower or use the bath but are not 'allowed' to actually birth in the water.... I've known a few moms who just refused to get out s

[wbg]

Hmmm....its your home, i think you should get to make the rules!!
I loved the water birth. Did not make much difference to me re pain, but I really felt it was a much more gentle arrival for my LO. I would fight for it! Or as PP said, just stay put!

[dancindoula]

I love the way one midwife I know put it when asked about the best position for pushing if the hospital nurses tried to make her (the client) get out of the tub:
1) assume desired pose
2) firmly grasp edge of tub with one hand
3) extend other hand, palm up, fingers curled towards you
4) uncurl longest finger and hold upright
5) push as desired until child emerges

Advice to live by, I say.

[PhilsBabyMama]

Originally Posted by dancindoula

I love the way one midwife I know put it when asked about the best position for pushing if the hospital nurses tried to make her (the client) get out of the tub:
1) assume desired pose
2) firmly grasp edge of tub with one hand
3) extend other hand, palm up, fingers curled towards you
4) uncurl longest finger and hold upright
5) push as desired until child emerges

Advice to live by, I say.

Hahaha! I totally agree with this and Onyxravnos's post. They are not going to drag you out of the tub. While no one wants to fight while in labor I have a feeling that if you're at home it will probably be even less of a problem than if you were in a hospital.

I had a water birth (at a freestanding birth center) and I loved the water. I got in for a while, then felt like getting out and walking around, then got back in because I realized I was pushing. I would say that any amount of time spent in it would be good, even if you do end up getting out, but that in reality you don't have to get out anyway.

[nikirj]

One of the biggest benefits of home birth, IMO, is that you don't have to follow silly non-evidence-based hospital policies. I don't get why this is a rule for you .

[ShwarmaQueen]

Originally Posted by dancindoula

I love the way one midwife I know put it when asked about the best position for pushing if the hospital nurses tried to make her (the client) get out of the tub:
1) assume desired pose
2) firmly grasp edge of tub with one hand
3) extend other hand, palm up, fingers curled towards you
4) uncurl longest finger and hold upright
5) push as desired until child emerges

Advice to live by, I say.

Unless there's a reason to get out (meconium, emergency, etc.) then why do it- it's your house!

[rlmueller]

Mine can't either

The group I see do NOT attend waterbirths. I suspect it may have to do with the CNM contstraints and ability to take ins.

I have no interest in waterbirth though for some reason so it's no big deal to me.

[AlishaB]

First you have to figure out *why* they are giving you this suggestion...when I met Barbara Harper (waterbirth international) I told her that my midwives did not want me to have a water birth with my second because I have a lax pelvic floor (do your kegels!!) Anyway, she told me that a water birth was good for a pelvic floor that was not strong, as it would be less stress on the muscles. She concluded that it was the midwives reluctance to assist a water birth that was the issue....having said that I switched midwives for this (my 3rd) and not one word has come up about not being able to have a water birth.
I would do as the other posters have said and stay in...they can *make* you get out, and really...you dont want to during transition.....

[CEG]

In a hospital setting the nurses/care provider may simply drain the pool so you deliver in the pool but without water. Just so you are aware of that scenario, I have seen it happen. In that case it wasn't the provider's reluctance to do waterbirth, it was her fear of losing her hospital privileges.

I'm assuming no pool you would have at your house would have a regular drain plug that can be pulled, but just so everyone is thinking about that possibility.

[alton]

Oh I'm laughing so much reading these replies!!!

Over here (in Ireland) there was an infant death during a waterbirth a few years ago and the healthservice banned waterbirths while it was being investigated. The conclusion was that the unfortunate death was not directly related to being born in water. They lifted the ban a few months ago but it is still up to the individual hospitals to decide on their own policy and of course, I'm booked with a very conservative hospital.

I think all midwives are trained in waterbirth anyway, but I might try and verify that before I try that position dancindoula suggested

I think I might just have to be a bad girl for once

[AimeeandBrian]

Originally Posted by rlmueller

The group I see do NOT attend waterbirths. I suspect it may have to do with the CNM contstraints and ability to take ins.

I have no interest in waterbirth though for some reason so it's no big deal to me.

(maybe same practice? lol)

However, with my DD, I felt the need to bear down in the bathtub and my mw said to just not get out if I felt the need to keep pushing. So I think they *have* to say its not allowed and can't plan one, but they will do it. I ended up being annoyed by the water and birthed on land.

[Belle]

Originally Posted by alton

Over here (in Ireland) there was an infant death during a waterbirth a few years ago and the healthservice banned waterbirths while it was being investigated. The conclusion was that the unfortunate death was not directly related to being born in water. They lifted the ban a few months ago but it is still up to the individual hospitals to decide on their own policy and of course, I'm booked with a very conservative hospital.

How silly of them. How many infant deaths occured in a hospital in those three years? I'm sure they didn't ban hospital birth just because of one infant death. I also find it a little rediculous that the investigation took years. I think they were probably stretching out the investigation.

[GoBecGo]

Alton i think you should try to appease them during stages 1 and 3 and not during stage 2 - 2 out 3 ain't bad, right? Seriously do they think you will get out of the tub for the baby and then, juggling babe and cord, get back in to deliver the placenta...? Um, no!

It's YOUR house, and presumably you have to arrange the tub yourself, so it's YOUR tub. They have no jurisdiction in your home, YOU have it. I know women in Australia who birth at free-standing birth centres where water birth is "not allowed" - they take their own plug for the tub and when pushing begins tell the midwife if she touches their property (the plug) there will be serious legal implications! LOL. Another option is to say after every pushing contraction "ok i'll get out in the next gap" at the end of one gap, and then "oh i'm so tired, i need to rest a second" in the next one (and rest until another contraction starts). Repeat ad nauseum (a bit like them telling you "only think about ONE more contraction" to encourage you through ) and baby will be born...

I would follow dancindoula's highly hilarious advice to the letter. You can easily read up on water birth yourself in case they aren't "qualified" - basically when baby is born guide it gently to the surface and snuggle it on your chest. Unless room is very warm put a hat on it - wrapping the air-exposed bits of the two of you in pre-warmed towels (which a handy birth support person can warm up and change over every few moments) is an optional extra for the not-too-warm room. Then simply chill out getting to know one another and waiting for the placenta.

[paquerette]

Is your husband handy? You could build a trap door and put the midwives' chairs on it. If they try to get pushy about making you get out, you push the Eject button on the wall next to the tub. Viola!

Okay maybe I've been watching too many old cartoons.

[sunfish21]

Originally Posted by nikirj

One of the biggest benefits of home birth, IMO, is that you don't have to follow silly non-evidence-based hospital policies. I don't get why this is a rule for you .

Agree completely! I would let them know, ahead of time, that this might be your plan. Just in case they are real sticklers about it--you don't want to try to be arguing in the moments before you meet your baby.

[Materfamilias]

Originally Posted by dancindoula

I love the way one midwife I know put it when asked about the best position for pushing if the hospital nurses tried to make her (the client) get out of the tub:
1) assume desired pose
2) firmly grasp edge of tub with one hand
3) extend other hand, palm up, fingers curled towards you
4) uncurl longest finger and hold upright
5) push as desired until child emerges

Advice to live by, I say.

[SuzyLee]

It seems like many moms get "pushy" but either don't realize it, or won't admit it. Perhaps you can just fail to mention to your midwife that you are in fact pushing.

[alton]

That sounds like a plan Paquerette! We obviously share the same high-brow viewing tastes. I can't believe I was even contemplating giving birth without an eject button!

Gobecgo - I love this suggestion! Another option is to say after every pushing contraction "ok i'll get out in the next gap" at the end of one gap, and then "oh i'm so tired, i need to rest a second" in the next one (and rest until another contraction starts). Repeat ad nauseum (a bit like them telling you "only think about ONE more contraction" to encourage you through ) and baby will be born... Last time the hospital midwives kept telling me "one more push and you'll see your baby" again and again and again until I was ready to throttle them. Trust me, if you repeat something 16 times it loses a smidgen of its motivational value!

Methinks superglu-ing the plug in place might be a wise course of action.

Sunfish21 - the way it works is that I meet with a team of midwives, with no guarantees who I will actually get on the day, so I think I'll have to play it by ear.

Suzylee - Last time I was grunting like a pig. I'll have to pick my background music carefully and turn it right up.


Belle - yeah, I know. The frustrating thing was that the inquest findings were clear but it still took years for the ban to be lifted.

[brightonwoman]

I had a waterbirth (first HB) 5 weeks ago. I will shout it from the mountaintops that being in the water made a HUGE difference for me during labor.
During pushing I was focused on the pushing--the contractions didn't even seem the same (they didn't steal my focus in the same way)...I dont' know if they changed or if it was me, but honestly I think I probably could have hauled myself out of the tub to actually deliver on the bed.
I would just have a whole bunch of towels/blankets (ideally some in the dryer that will be nice and warm and someone can grab them for you when you climb out so you'll be toasty too). Lay them all over the bed/birthing area, and then have some you can put over you too. Turn up the heat if you want... Actually I'm usually quite cold (even when pregnant) but in labor I get really really hot. By delivery time I don't want/need anything on me. Even in late active labor (8cm) I had to get out for a few ctx cuz the baby's heartrate was having decels and mw was nervous and wanted to monitor several in a row--I had a towel because I was wet and didn't want to drip on stuff, but I wasn't cold.
I would TOTALLY do the pool, regardless of where you birth.
and yeah, you could just *accidentally* not get out