Birthing Tub

[AllOrganicMomma]

My husband is absolutely intrigued by the thought of a water birth and he is absolutely thrilled and totally on board with my choice to birth at home. Here are my questions for those who have HB/WB before

How do you choose what type of tub/pool to use? Ive seen some that are deeper then other, larger then others, some that have a built in heater. What's BEST? & What is a decent price to pay for rental/delivery/set-up/clean up/pick-up? Im looking at one around $400

Did you labor in the tub and then decide to birth outside of it? Or did you labor outside and only move to the tub after transition?

Ive seen a lot of home birth videos and the ones where water birth occured, the mothers just looked so comfortable, in control, and ready to bring life into the world. But then, after you birth your child, everything else comes out into the water and you and your new baby, or even partner and midwife are sitting around in all the 'extras'. Did that gross anyone out? How does cleanup go?

I just imagine I wouldnt want that sitting around hours after I had my baby. Maybe its because Im a neat-freak/perfectionist/control freak. How soon can you have it taken down? & That's another thing. Im not sure I would want anyone coming to my house that night/day. That's a special time and I wouldnt want to worry about a team coming in to clean and disassemble the tub. BUT, I know I wouldnt want it there.

Any input, ideas, or information is much appreciated. Thanks ladies!

[MegBoz]

:) Excellent on the support & plans to move forward with HB!

Do you have a HB MW yet? Mine owns tubs she rents to her clients. I think most do, so that will save you a lot of expense & a lot of work. I think her rental fee is like $50 and that includes the liner (actually, I think the liner is the ONLY expense - I think liners are around that.)

My MW has 2, so I only had to 'shop' around to decide between them. She owns an Aqua Doula, which is super deep & some mamas said they actually didn't like that - didn't feel 'grounded.' But I was able to labor floating in the deep end of my in-ground pool with DS which was fantastic! So I want to be buoyant.

I think we'll get the tub from her when she comes for the 36W in-home visit, so DH & I can have it set up. Some people do a trial & fill in advance.

I think most people hook up a hose & drain the tubs out a window into the yard. No idea what to do if you're in an apartment. Search around some old threads & you'll find lots of tips.

Yeah, I too don't want to hang out in the water with all the blood & my placenta! So I'll try to get out right after baby is born.

[AllOrganicMomma]

This is also my first vaginal delivery I will be HBA2C, so I have never had to deal with even seeing anything that comes out except for baby. I do have a LM in my area that Im in love with, but we haven't had out official interview with her yet. I hadn't thought to ask if she had supplies for water birthing on hand, I thought that was something you do yourself. So, thanks so much for bringing that up!   I do have a large garden tub, but it's nothing like a birthing pool. I wouldnt get full submersion, and I figure if you're going to do it, you should do it right.

[XanaduMama]

I don't think there is a "BEST" birth pool--they all have pros and cons, and personal preference is obviously a big factor. Personally, I think paying $400 for a pool is outrageous! There's no way I would or could have paid that :)  I used a fishy pool, which I got for about $25, and really loved it--no complaints at all. It was comfortable, easy to use, easy to take down afterwards...everything I wanted (not to mention affordable!). I wanted to get out once I saw the rush of blood that signaled the placenta detaching (about 10 mins after dd was born, maybe?). Up to that point, there wasn't much "other stuff" in the water--a tiny bit of blood from a small tear, and I did have a small poop during pushing, but that was quickly scooped away and disposed of. I did bleed a good bit once I stood up and after the placenta delivered, but it was easily managed and not gross at all :)

Afterward, we siphoned the water with a hose into the yard and let it run out. We deflated the pool after it dried, washed it out, and ds used it that summer as a play pool!

[noahcat]

Many people drain the birth pool into the toilet.  It should flush itself as it fills.  I would watch it at first to make sure its working correctly. 

[MidwifeErika]

I have pools that I lend out to my families and they just need to supply the liner and a new hose. Women can always hop out of the water to do the placenta elsewhere if they don't want to be in the water with it. As soon as the mom and baby are settled into bed, I hook up the pump and drain the pool (most often into the toilet) so that way the water is out of it within a few minutes. It technically is the job of the families borrowing my pools to clean them up, but I often end up doing it myself  and getting it out of there by the time I leave after doing the postpartum care. Having a good pump is very handy as the water will be drained in about 30 minutes and once the water is gone, there isn't a ton else to do to clean up the pool