Jacuzzi Bathtub for birth

[WorldlyDoulaMama]

We have a big jacuzzi tub in our master, so we are going to be using that for the birth. I'm kind of concerned that during labor and birth it'll feel hard so I'm looking for suggestions on what I could put at the bottom, if I need anything. Or any experiences of using a big bathtub. My mws said to sanitize it a couple of weeks before I am due by filling with water and putting a little bleach in, then running the jets for a few mins. My last labor was 3 hours from start to finish so I honestly don't think this one will be all that long so hoping it'll do, but we don't have the space or $$ for an inflatable birth tub.

Also, how much do i turn up the hot water heater? Any experiences or info would be greatly appreciated, thank you!

[Meganlove]

I don't know how to make to bottom softer sorry. For our birth tub we turned to hot water heater up all the way. Good luck. 

[womenswisdom]

Do you know how many gallons the tub holds?  Usually, when filling a birth tub, you turn the hot water heater up as high as it goes, empty it into the tub, wait for it to refill/reheat, fill the tub about 2/3 full with hot and then start running cold in to get the correct temp, which is between 97-100degrees, no higher.

You could just put some thick folded towels on the bottom for softness I would think.

[WorldlyDoulaMama]

I don't know how many gallons it hold... like twice as many as a reg tub or more. The water heater is up half as high as it will go but it's only a dial that says A, B, C, D. It's on C I think. Perhaps I'll turn it up to the next letter and take a test bath to see if that's enough hot water. That way I can sanitize it after wards too. Towels should work I guess, though I'll probably just get annoyed with situating them. I honestly don't think this labor will be very long so hopefully it won't be a big deal. Thanks ladies!

[crunchymama214]

I was going to suggest just putting towels down in there as well. If you have a small inflatable ring or float, maybe you could use that?? Or maybe even a padded seat cover, like for outdoor chairs?

As for the water heat, I'm not sure. We filled out tub directly from the faucets in our laundry room, so he filled the tub a quarter of the way with cold water, then just started putting the hot water in until it was 3/4 full. We didn't have a therm for the tub (hubby accidentally stepped on it and broke it :S) and it did feel pretty warm to me, but it was very relaxing and helped immensely with the pressure waves. 

[tennie]

With mine, the hardness of the tub didn't even come into the picture.  I had some towels for just in case, but never ended up using them.  For the heating, we had ours turned all the way up, and I liked it just a bit warmer, so DH would just start boiling a big pot of water when we started filling up the tub, and he'd just add that, and it made it perfect.  Good luck!

[Squrrl]

I also had my last one in our whirlpool tub, and never thought about nor noticed the hardness issue.  Then again, I wasn't in there long.  Leastways, it didn't feel long, but apparently it was half an hour.  Anyway, didn't notice.  Didn't notice a lot of things...lol.  At any rate, I was planning to use the tub again this time, and hadn't thought to worry about hardness.

Didn't think to turn up the water heater then, either, but we've turned it down since then, so thanks for the thought!

[Tumble Bumbles]

I would ♥ a jacuzzi tub to labor in! As for the hardness issue, I was looking at some cushy bathtub mats in Target the other day, perhaps that would be an option? They had some that felt like they had gel in them, almost like shoe inserts, know what I mean? That might feel nice and wouldn't have to be repositioned like towels.

[WorldlyDoulaMama]

Hmmm a bath mat may be an idea, though I don't think I'll be in there very long to make it worth while. My last baby (3rd) was born after 3 hours of labor and 20 mins after I got to the hosp. I'm thinking this one will be quick too. Thanks for the idea though! I will have to contemplate that.