Birth Kit Questions

[AustinMom]

Ok, so my midwife told me to buy a birth kit and she stated that they are around 75$ or so. Me, I'm pretty penny pinchy, and am a coupon freak!, so my question is, are there cheaper birth kits, better off, can I put one together for myself? I know some stuff you can't find at local store like all the sterile stuff, BUT, my sister, who will be at the birth works at a hospital, and i may be able to ask her to smuggle stuff out for me. She's done it before, nothing HUGE like meds or anything, but she did bring me a pregnancy test once, and I think a bulb sirenge because none of the store bought ones worked.

What all do I need? What all can I get at the store? What all would I need from a hospital like store and are there any online?

[jljeppson]

Birth with love and In his hands are both good places to get birth kits online. Both have basic kits that are a good bit less than $75, though In his hands tends to be a bit cheaper depending on the item you are buying.

[iemaja]

There are definitely cheaper kits online.

This one from Cascade is $30.00. http://www.1cascade.com/ProductInfo.aspx?productid=6000

You may want to have your midwife specify if there are any particular supplies she would like you to have on hand, so that if you put the kit together yourself, you'll know for sure what she wants her clients to have.

In His Hands is a good site to go with if you are going to pick and choose the items you'll need.

Also check out your local craigslist for mostly unused birth kits. I live in a big city, so I've seen a few birth kits for sale on craigslist.

Good luck!

[mwherbs]

I would say look at her birth kit online and see what it includes- pay particular attention to quantaties of things and SIZES- I very often seen a lower number of chux pads that are way smaller, also there are laytex gloves when I will only use non-laytex (sterile non-laytex can be way more costly) any way the way to price compare is to actually compare apples to apples- maybe you can find a better deal for all this midwife's clients.

[MsBlack]

Yes, $75 seems like quite a lot. I would see what is in the kit as others have suggested, and then ask your mw about each item. Some may be non-essentials--or things you can easily swap out for something cheaper locally, even at a thrift store. I mean, anything that must be pre-wrapped/sterile such as bulb syringe or gloves, you want to purchase new. But some things you could buy used, and clean yourself, or get some cheaper alternative.

I'm curious as to what's in her kit that makes it so pricey! Most people I know spend $25. or less on their 'required supplies'. Now some do spend more, because they want to buy special things such as a 'commemorative certificate w/footprinter', homebirth t-shirts, etc. But the basic necessities cost far less.

[JorgieGirl]

Yes, that is very pricey! My mw's birth kit is $20. I'd love to know what is listed on there as necessary and what brand they supply. It seems outrageous!

[feminist~mama]

I hope your sister cleared it with her manager before she took stuff- but it doesn't sound that way from your post! Honestly, saving you a few dollars isn't worth losing her job or even being reprimanded- because really, it *is* stealing.

That bein,g said, I'd find out what's in her kit and post on MDC, check local medical supply stores, etc. You likely can put together a kit- people often have stuff leftover that they didn't end up using.

[rlmueller]

Goty mine for $40

$75 is too much for 2 straws, chux, and ugly hats. check in his hands, cascade, craigslist, and google birthkit.

[*MamaJen*]

There's no way I'd ever pay money for those hideous mesh panties. I never wore mine and gave them away during an office white elephant party.
But seriously, you could get a list of the supplied in the birth kit and ask your midwife to tell you the essentials versus the optionals. Most midwives are pretty good about working with you on that kind of thing. $75 does seem a bit high. Some things you might be able to get cheaper or may even already have (straws or newborn caps, for example). Also, if you had any friends that homebirthed they might have spare supplies. The actual medical things you will have to get new, or at least unused.
I really like In His Hands for birth supplies. They're really cheap and they ship insanely fast.

[mntnmom]

A lot of the things, like water proof sheets, can be substituted (shower curtain) for. We're having our second homebirth, and we might have spent $40, including postpartum pads! Look at her list, and go item by item. Some things you can get at Walgreens. Some things you can get at the thrift store!
For those things you have to get online (like umbilical cord clips) I like "In his hands" too.

[AustinMom]

Originally Posted by feminist~mama

I hope your sister cleared it with her manager before she took stuff- but it doesn't sound that way from your post! Honestly, saving you a few dollars isn't worth losing her job or even being reprimanded- because really, it *is* stealing.

I do have somewhat of a guilty conscience of her getting those two things (a preg. test and bulb syringe) but the way I see, after we were transfered to the hospital, we ended up paying them over 5K out of pocket after insurance kicked in, so they can cough up 5$ worth of stuff. I don't think it's a big deal. Yes I know it is stealing, and that is wrong, but if she is ok with it and her higher ups really don't care, then I say it's fine.

As far as price goes, every interview I had with midwives (over 9) all said a birth kit is around 75$. I guess they all order from the same people/company, I don't know.

I get with my MW and go over this at our next prenatal.

[Sijae]

You need to know exactly what she expects you to have in your birth kit and which items she wants in there for her sake and which items are optional. $75 seems like a LOT for a birth kit. Our birth kits are around $35 and there are often items left over that people give back to us and we give to clients who can't afford even $35. It seems a little weird to expect clients to pay $75 unless there's something unusual in there.

[Dese]

My midwifes supply everything, but I have bought a couple of things myself (plastic sheets for under the pool/on the bed and hospital grade pads). The site I buy from has a 'classic' homebirth kit for $35 CAD and a deluxe kit for $50 CAD. http://www.mamagoddessbirthshop.com/...ome-birth-kits

[meesh933]

My midwife has a custom kit with In His Hands, and the total is $67.36, including shipping. Although, looking at the list, there are a few things I won't order, such as a thermometer (already ahve one), the vitamin K, and the mesh panties, to name a few. That gets the total closer to $50.

Most of the items on the list are things it would be hard to find locally, though, and the IHH price is so low that it definitely wouldn't be worth driving all over to find them. There's very few items on the list over $2, so I figure it's worth my time to just order her kit, vs finding it myself.

[starrmama]

I went over every single item on the list of stuff my midwife said to get, including what was in her birth kit lol. $75 sounds about right, but I wasn't doing a waterbirth, so that ruled out a number of the supplies, and a mama friend gave me chux pads she had left over, plus I decided to mostly use old towels over our old shower curtain (I don't like disposable chux pads anyway!), and the same mama gave me the arnica oil that my mw wanted me to have... and anyway, I'm quite sure I got away with paying a lot less. There were a number of items that my mw said I didn't have to have, or that I could substitute something else for.

I'm with you - why spend the $ if you don't have to?

[Carson]

I would talk to your MW and get a list of the specific supplies before just ordering any other kit somewhere else. Find out if she has preferences about stuff.

The one my MW needed was $56 without shipping and I thought that was a lot. Especially because it included an organic hat and thermometer for a total of $20. I had those already, so could save the money. I got some other supplies from a family friend who works in healthcare (legitimately gave them to me) and bought the rest and my birth pool from Born With Love MW supplies. It all worked out really well. I would have felt awful if MWs needed something very specific and it caused them or us problems after birth.

[iamelated]

Originally Posted by Dese

My midwifes supply everything, but I have bought a couple of things myself (plastic sheets for under the pool/on the bed and hospital grade pads). The site I buy from has a 'classic' homebirth kit for $35 CAD and a deluxe kit for $50 CAD. http://www.mamagoddessbirthshop.com/...ome-birth-kits

I did pretty much the same thing, from the same place. I'm happy with the supplies and service.

[Comtessa]

Check the MDC trading post too, I know some mamas sell all or part of their birth kits there!

[MyBoysBlue]

I got my kit from In His Hands and I ordered some extra stuff like the collodial silver, Bath herbs, and rescue remedy and it was still under 75$. That was almost 4 years ago though.

[averlee]

My midwives had a specific kit from Cascade that they needed me to get, and it was about $40. It had the specific exact items they would need to assist me giving birth, gloves in the right sizes, sterile supplies, etc. They provided a lot of things themselves, and also gave me a list of things to gather up (receiving blankets, washcloths, towels). Some birth kits come with suture kits, my midwives supplied suture materials if needed. My birth kit was supposed to include some certain number of alcohol prep pads, and only had half as many, which turned out to be a minor hassle and luckily the midwife had extras. That's why I'm thinking, you need to order their kit, the one they know has everything they need. If they assume it's come in the kit they won't be expecting to supply it.