Home Birth without a birth pool?

[LaotianMama]

I'm about to be 39 weeks planning my first home birth (first was natural in hospital) and barely getting started on the at-home supplies. Ya know, the necessities like disposable pads and fresh towels and the like. We are a family on a very fixed budget and simply can't afford the supplies for a birth pool/tub. Our midwives center loan out birth pools but it has to be patched up for leaks and doesn't come with pumps or anything.

Can our full-size bath tub in our very spacious bathroom be sufficient and comfortable enough for a home birth? Have you gone without a birth tub expense at your homebirth? Thanks! Any feedback appreciated!

[100%mom]

My last 2 were born in regular bathtubs. I'll admit I like the pool better, but the bathtub works. It was still a relief to get in the water either way.

[velveeta]

For my second child, we had a smallish bathtub, and I didn't want to risk using the MW's birth pool, and have it ruin my floor. So, Baby was born on the bed, no big whoop. I used shower and bath both for pain relief.

[htcmom]

My first and second home births I did not use a tub or pool. One was born on the bed the other on the bedroom floor. My next birth was in a birth center (insurance reasons) and I used their birth pool, it was amazing. My last birth was a water birth at home. The water was helpful but not amazing like the time before. So it is not guaranteed that the pool will be worth the trouble. So try your tub at home it is already there and free!

[eabbmom]

Did fifty hard hours with just a shower to help with the pain... Without all the right tools the MWs tub might just be a hassle on game day.

[LaotianMama]

Phew! I feel relieved that I'm not 'missing' out on anything! Thanks so much for the responses

[nilatti]

I had baby #1 on my bedroom floor, #2 in my normal-to-smallish bathtub. The tub was awesome!

[Voondrop]

My 3 births were all dry, w/ laboring in the water for #2. It was w-o-n-d-e-r-f-u-l. I plan to have another dry birth w/ bathtub laboring this time around.

[berrymama]

I had my first in a narrow hospital tub (they didn't do waterbirths at the time, I just went quickly to complete and started pushing in the tub and my CNM didn't make me get out). I guess it was technically a waterbirth, but it was basically like a bed birth (I was mostly on my bath, with a leg flung over the side of the tub!). My second was a homebirth in our own soaking tub (extra wide, but regular length) and it was fine. I have fast labors (last one was less than an hour) and there is no way we would have had time to fill a regular birth tub...unless we filled it ahead of time.

[phathui5]

I used my shower during transition with #4 and my tub at the end with #5, but ended up birthing them both on the bed.

[littlest birds]

We had two homebirths without a tub and I never felt like I had missed out on something.  I did not have much interest in either bath or shower during either labor, either.  I had really short labors and was entirely focused on my body and going with the flow.    Once I was in labor it never even crossed my mind. 

Of course I knew some people had waterbirths and I liked the idea but a tub wouldn't even fit in our house so I never really considered it.  The people I knew who had a tub had it set up in their home for a while and it seemed huge.  I have a bigger house now but if I were planning a birth I would not bother considering getting a tub anyway because it seems unimportant.

[cottonwood]

My second was with a birth tub, the two after I didn't bother. I realized that the primary purpose of the tub for me was to shield me from others' eyes and touch, it didn't help with the pain, and setting up and getting in and out of it and keeping it warm was a hassle. With my next two I just dealt with the privacy issues in a different way.

[BK Mommy]

Our daughter was born in an inflatable birth tub at home. It was still being filled during transition so the doula put me in the shower. After getting sick in shower, the birth tub was ready. The second I got into the tub, I felt so much better. I had room to be buoyant and the hot water was nice.

Have you considered a Kiddie pool like the reef one? Lots of mamas seem to like them. Then you could just connect a fresh clean hose to the kitchen faucet to fill. You could use that same hose to drain.

Here is a quick article on how to do an inexpensive water birth.

http://m.voices.yahoo.com/your-guide-inexpensive-but-wonderful-water-birth-470424.html

Good Luck!

[LaotianMama]

Thanks all so much for the responses and info! I think we finally made a decision for the best setup for our first home birth! Our situation are a lot different than last birth so I think it works out better.

I wrote about our situation and how we came to our decision about a birth pool: Why I’m Planning a Home Birth Without a Birth Pool

Again, thanks so much for the insight :)