Waterbirth tips and tricks

[cocobean]

So we just decided on renting the Spa in a Box from our midwife. I have no plan to use the jets durring our birth but before they sound amazing! I'm looking for tips and tricks others have found for using their pools. I've heard of people using noodles to help get more comfortable. Anyone try this? Any ideas or thoughts are appreciated!

[HappyHappyMommy]

I'm bumping up your post. Anyone have a tip to share?
 

[Alenushka]

A fishing type net to fish out poops. Pooping happens during labor and delivery. Petco and such sells ones with the handles.

[cocobean]

Yeah, the fish net is on my list. :)

[IdentityCrisisMama]

Definitely something to step on as you get out - maybe one of those rubber bottomed bath mats. 

[Alenushka]

I would also make sure that your MW has neonatal resuscitation equipment and credentials.  And you should take infant CPR/First Aid class as well. There have been numerous cases of drowning and severe aspiration during water births.

[mamaharrison]

Originally Posted by Alenushka 

I would also make sure that your MW has neonatal resuscitation equipment and credentials.  And you should take infant CPR/First Aid class as well. There have been numerous cases of drowning and severe aspiration during water births.

This is really a terrible thing to say to someone asking for tips and tricks for comfy waterbirth, IMO.

Not only is it not accurate, but it is insulting to think that the woman who has chosen to birth this way hasn't already done amply research on the topic. 

Pregnant women are very open, literally, and this kind of unsolicited comment is really uncalled for and not helpful.

[cocobean]

Thank you mamaharrison! I have done my research and can assure you I am very educated on the topic of midwifery care at home as well as a waterbirth. But thank you for your concern. It turns out I care very much about the safety of my baby before I care about my birth experience.
Edited by cocobean - 10/24/12 at 7:48pm

[katelove]

I didn't end up having a water birth but when I was planning one people suggested a squirty bottle of cool water in case my face got hot while I was in the pool.

[Cynthia Mosher]

Alenushka, your post contains some important advice but it really is not appropriate to be posted out of the blue to someone asking about comfort tips for a birth pool. If you're interested in writing a resource article for homebirth preparation that could be used to direct homebirthing moms to in preparation for their homebirth send me a PM. Otherwise please refrain from posting random warning posts to homebirth threads. 

[mamaharrison]

Originally Posted by katelove 

I didn't end up having a water birth but when I was planning one people suggested a squirty bottle of cool water in case my face got hot while I was in the pool.

good tip! Also, cold packs in the freezer have been suggested for placement on back, hands, neck etc for the same purpose ; )

[callieollie]

Are you looking specifically on tips to be comfortable?  I used the "fishy pool" and found it more comfortable than I anticipated. The ground was so squishy that I felt like I was floating on a cloud. Seriously, it was heavenly!  lol!  Just being in the water was comfortable! The only thing that bugged me a bit was that whenever I had a contraction, I naturally went on all 4s. So I'd flip over and drape my arms over the edge. But breathing with my head down toward the water made warm air come up in my face and it really annoyed me! So I had to turn my head to the side instead. That was fine, but I wish I could have been looking down. Not sure how to fix that, though. A cool washcloth on the edge of the pool might have helped a bit, I'm not sure....

A technical recommendation is to make sure you "swirl" the pool while you're filling it up. I kept touching the top of the water to check for temperature but the hose was at the bottom of the pool so when the water was cold, it felt hot on top but was freezing at the bottom. So when I thought I could get it, I found that it was too cold! So we had to take water out and fill it again with warm water, this time while swirling the water with our hand.  

[dovey]

Lots of towels.  A smaller tub to dip your feet in before you get in the pool (especially if you're getting into and out of the pool a lot).  I found it very distracting to have all the dirt from the floor of our house tracked into the water and floating around in front of me.  Of course we do live in a very dusty place and have various pets and two other children....

Also, we were able to turn our water heater up to its maximum temperature before filling the tub.  Since the tub's volume was larger than the water heater, that allowed for more of the tub to be filled with extra hot water before the hot water ran out.  Does that make sense?  You can also put pots of water on the stove to be boiled and then poured in as the temperature of the pool gets too cool. 

[aumismommy]

Definitely turn up the water heater as soon as you know you are in labor (unless you want to turn it up ahead of time). 

Fish net for unexpected floaties.

Lots of towels....more than you think.  Nothing fancy but stuff to throw down on the floor makes life easier for everyone (especially whomever is cleanup crew).

A robe?  If you get in and out a lot (I didn't but one of my friends did and she's the one who told me to have a robe handy) she said it was just nice to throw the robe on when she wanted to roam.

Sea salt - to add to the water - our midwives suggest one pound of sea salt to add.

We put a plastic/vinyl table cloth (like super cheap kind from walmart or whatever) under the tub with the plastic side down closest the carpet and then the other side is that flannel/poly fabric and that goes up so it's non slip...this is better imo than a tarp because tarps are slippery.

I had a hard bottom pool - think plastic horse trough - that I loved because it was so sturdy, the only downside was it was hard ;) on my bottom which sucked for my crazy back labor so our midwives threw down some beach towels on the inside of the pool down at the bottom for me to sit on...that helped a lot.

Hope that helps!
 

[SplashingPuddle]

I wanted to use a birthing pool but didn't in the end because during my labour we couldn't figure out how to run the hose from the washing machine.  So I definitely recommend trying it out in advance. While we had blown it up in advance, we had not filled it before, and no one in our house would figure out the connections when the time came.  

Instead I used the bathtub a lot but my knees got so sore because there was so little room to move around. If I was to be in the bath again, I would definitely recommend a yoga mat or knew pads.

[katt]

Make sure you have the correct pieces to attach your hose to the faucet (or wherever you are getting your water)

Have a back up plan if you run out of hot water

I got towels at Goodwill, they were going on the floor to step on, no need to spend a fortune on towels for that purpose.

Make sure your SO knows how to empty the tub