should a birth pool 'dry run' be done?

[elus0814]

My birth pool in a box is set to arrive in a few days. The website I ordered it from says it should be inflated to check for defects (but, of course, if it's been inflated it cannot be returned if not needed for the birth but that's another dilemma).

I'm wondering if it's a good idea to totally set it up and fill it to make sure everything works ok. It seems like it would put my mind at ease but it sure would be a huge hassle. It would involve not only setting everything up but also drying out the hose, folding the pool back up, somehow drying out the pool liner, bailing out the water to drain the pool (the midwife will be bringing the drain pump so we don't have one), and assuming the possibility that we might damage the pool in the cleanup/drying out process. Is it worth it?

[stellercrys]

I have a birth pool that I'm borrowing from my midwife, so no worries about not being able to return it. But I did blow it up already, mostly so that it's ready and I don't have to blow it up last minute when this little one decides to arrive. I haven't done a test fill, and doubt I will. We won't be using a pump, so no need to test that. We're just going to use a hose to syphin the water out afterwards.

I'd say at least blow it up so that you know that it will hold air and there are no defects that way, but just not fill it with water. And if you don't use it and just deflate it and repack it, will they even know that its been blown up? (some foot pumps have a 2nd outlet that will "suck" air or even a vacumn if you have the right connector with it, and would pull all the air out so that it was flat again)

[Belle]

We also rented one from our midwives. We did a dry run to make sure that it would hold air, but did not check with water. We discovered an air leak that we were able to patch up easily in time for the birth.

[Chavelamomela]

I highly recommend the "dry run" - and you can keep it dry.

Blow up the pool, have the liner, tape, tablecloths, etc nearby so you can at least talk about what you'll do with the pool and figure out logistics (i.e. I borrowed mine from my MW and knew the bottom of the pool didn't stay blown up, so we knew to put some pillows underneath the tub to make sure it was soft enough.).

Just blowing it up and talking it out with the objects in front of us was helpful. It also allowed us to gauge enough time to prepare the tub during labor before contractions got too intense and for it to be ready when i needed it.

[womenswisdom]

Yes, do a dry run. It's not good when you go to fill the pool only to find that you have the wrong adapter for the faucet or the hose isn't long enough. Those are things you do not want to have to deal with during labor.

[sattygirl99]

We are doing a full trial run on our pool... Including filling it. I'm almost 36 weeks, the pool has been inflated for a week (was partially inflated for a while to off gas) and we got everything we need for our liner (heavy duty plastic) so we can do a full trial run.

I personally think a trial run is needed... I need to know how long to expect filling to take. I'm envisioning a 5 hour labor (not impossible, my DD was 15 hours first contraction to transition, in a hostile enviroment with a non supportive MW) and I need to know, do we start filling the pool as soon as we're sure it's the time or will it not take that long? I also got a larger pool so we need to have an idea of if we need to boil water on the stove or not.

I also want to make sure we know how to drain it. The adapter we purchased for the sink also drains and I want to be sure that whoever is doing the draining (or instructing someone else to) knows what they're doing. I would really hate to bail 178 gallons of water out onto our patio... It could be done based on pool location but not fun either LOL.

I'm confused what you mean by 'drying out'... the pool will dry on it's own if you just leave it. You want to have it blown up pre-birth anyway so why would you deflate it? Am I missing something? If you don't want to worry about the pool being wet, you can get some plastic from the hardware store and make a liner and then pitch it... Then the pool stays dry but you get an idea of fill time and all.

Just my thoughts

[Pyrodjm]

Definitely do a dry run. I know a mama that purchased her La Bassinne new and when they went to inflate it there was a hole. Also we planned to use the same tub we used with DD1 this time around but it had mystriously develpoed two hole while being stored for 2 years. Also you want to make sure you have enough hot water to fill it that the hose and adaptor work with your faucet, etc.

[elus0814]

Thank you for all the responses!

My concern with 'drying out' everything is because we live in a very, very humid area with lots of bugs. Things cannot be taken outside to dry (especially a hose) because it will never really get dry and things could crawl inside. I don't want to have to worry about the hose being moldy when I'm in labor.

I'm not planning on leaving the pool inflated. It will take up an entire room which we need to be able to use. I also can't imagine letting my four and five year olds around it, they would climb all over it and that would be it for the pool!

Luckily, hot water is not an issue. We live in military housing and all the houses have tankless heaters, we could run the shower all day and hot water would still come out.

After reading all this I think I'm going to do this:
-inflate the pool and leave overnight to check for defects then pack back up
-check that the shower pipe adapter and hose fit properly but not turn the water on
-leave the liner and everything else alone