Home Waterbirth Question

[carlasher]

After reading a couple dozen UC birth stories, about more than half having to do with water, I think I want water to be a part of the process. Baths for me is VERY relaxing and I feel this would help me in the process.

This may sound like a dumb question but...

Is it possible to birth in a bathtub? In our current, place we have
an old largish, claw foot tub. It is not super huge, but it is bigger
then a lot of apartment tubs! I measured it at 49" long (in the
inside) and 17" deep. But the water line drain is only about 11".

It is NOT possible to bring a small pool in here. It is simply NO
ROOM. Besides, I have no idea where all that water would come from. Pots on the stove? Not one story mentioned how this was possible! I am sure our landlord will not be happy with that amount of water anyway (we dont pay for it).

So is it possible to have a waterbirth in a bathtub? Or do I have to settle with being in the tub some of the time and pushing outside the tub?

Sorry, if this sounds like such a dumb question! :

[oceanbaby]

Hi neighbor (I live in the same area you do)

I don't see any reason why you couldn't use your great claw foot tub. I rented a birthing tub, but that's only because I have a cramped teeny tub. If I had had a big tub of my own, I woudn't have rented one.

We filled the birth tub by running a hose from a faucet (we used our washer hookup) to the tub.

Good luck - I LOOOOOVE laboring and birthing in water.

[farmer mama]

I have been at a birth where the mom birthed in a clawfoot tub. Ideally it is nice if the water can go over your belly (for optimum comfort). Are you concerned your water heater will run out of hot water? I have done it where you fill the tub up really hot, then wait for the water heater to heat enough water for the rest of the tub. At the same time you could put some pots on the stove for temp boosts.

[carlasher]

I see!

Hello neighbor!

The problem is, water excapes through the drain in the middle of the tub. We will have to keep refilling and refilling.

We dont have a washer hookup in our unit...so a little pool would be a problem anyway!

Originally Posted by oceanbaby

Hi neighbor (I live in the same area you do)

I don't see any reason why you couldn't use your great claw foot tub. I rented a birthing tub, but that's only because I have a cramped teeny tub. If I had had a big tub of my own, I woudn't have rented one.

We filled the birth tub by running a hose from a faucet (we used our washer hookup) to the tub.

Good luck - I LOOOOOVE laboring and birthing in water.

[carlasher]

tubs and pools

In my previous post, I mentioned the water drain level being kinda low so I would have to keep refilling the tub a lot, which is probably a good thing anyway.

We have a LOT of hot water so that is not a problem. I was just wondering how people with kiddie pools fill them up! Oceanbaby mentioned a washer hookup which doesnt apply to us because we dont have one in our unit. Plus the size of the place is an issue.

Originally Posted by farmer mama

I have been at a birth where the mom birthed in a clawfoot tub. Ideally it is nice if the water can go over your belly (for optimum comfort). Are you concerned your water heater will run out of hot water? I have done it where you fill the tub up really hot, then wait for the water heater to heat enough water for the rest of the tub. At the same time you could put some pots on the stove for temp boosts.

[farmer mama]

Could you get some sort of temporary putty or something like that to plug up the water line drain? To fill our birthing tub we got a faucet adapter from the hardware store and a brand new hose. We attached this to the kitchen faucet and viola. For my second birth we had a birthing tub service bring us a tub, fill it, and then they came to pick it up the day after the birth. Warm water is such a wonderful thing in labor and birth.

[Jemper]

My 2nd homebirth was in a garden tub, it was a bit wider than yours. In hindsight, I wish I had used my m/w's birthing tub as I never really got comfortable during the pushing stage. Frankly, though, it was still better than "dry land" contractions and it wasn't so uncomfortable that I actually got out. (I pushed on my hands and knees and I couldn't spread my legs as wide as I would have liked).

I'd also look for some way to plug the overflow drain so you don't have to deal with that. Do you have any problems filling the tub for a bath? If not, then I wouldn't worry about hot water, etc. Using the existing plumbing definitely simplifies that process.

[homebirthing]

I don't think that it would be a good idea, and here is why. It just isn't deep enough for most people. That means it isn't safe. Now I am 5'9, so maybe if you are 5'0, it might work, but you really don't want to risk having that babies head come up and out of the water. If you can really open up your legs and be open, then I don't think it would be a problem, but if you can't sully submerge yourself, I would stick to laboring in it, and getting out for crowning. There is a lot of information available out there to help you make a great decision though!

[MonikitaUT]

Plugging Up The Drain Overflow

This is what we do to plug up the drain overflow so we can fill the tub to within a couple inches from the top. Just take a piece of saran wrap and wrap it completely around the drain overflow. It is so simple, and it really works. It might still leak a LITTLE bit, but you can usually push it in the wholes pretty easily to get it to stop completely. I do this every time I take a bath so I can fill the tub up over my belly.

Good luck!

[carlasher]

You may be right! I am only 5'6", but with very long legs (for someone my height), so that may be a problem for me. Next time I bathe, I will pay more attention on how that actually feels.

Originally Posted by DoulaSarah

I don't think that it would be a good idea, and here is why. It just isn't deep enough for most people. That means it isn't safe. Now I am 5'9, so maybe if you are 5'0, it might work, but you really don't want to risk having that babies head come up and out of the water. If you can really open up your legs and be open, then I don't think it would be a problem, but if you can't sully submerge yourself, I would stick to laboring in it, and getting out for crowning. There is a lot of information available out there to help you make a great decision though!

[darsmama]

We filled our kiddie pool with a hose that was connected to our kitchen faucet. Carlasher, I would definetly see if there is a way you can make 5 feet of room for a kiddie pool even temporarily..I bought mine from www.birthwithsol.com
maybe look at the pic & see if its possible? No way would I have a home birth without birthing in water, but thats just my 2 cents....good luck & take care!!!

[carlasher]

If we dont move to a bigger place, making room for 5' would involve moving major furniture to unknown place because we literally dont have the space! Not a good thing to think about around that time, and I will not be able to help DP move the stuff (most stuff is a two+ person job!) Plus I dont want to block exits in case we have to leave in a hurry. Its that bad! It is a small one bedroom apartment and we both have home offices set up.

I really like that pool though! If we move, I will order one of those!

Originally Posted by KatienDwayne

We filled our kiddie pool with a hose that was connected to our kitchen faucet. Carlasher, I would definetly see if there is a way you can make 5 feet of room for a kiddie pool even temporarily..I bought mine from www.birthwithsol.com
maybe look at the pic & see if its possible? No way would I have a home birth without birthing in water, but thats just my 2 cents....good luck & take care!!!

[gottaknit]

Here is the kiddie pool my midwife recommends. We will fill it up using a hose attached to the kitchen sink.

http://www.qualityinflatables.com/56493.html

Even if you do cover the overflow on your tub, 17 inches isn't very deep! It may be better than nothing, but if there's any way you can move some stuff out of your apartment (rent a storage unit or take it to a friend's house for the month?) to make room for the tub....

I tried to take a bath in our bathtub (about the same size as yours) the other day, and it was soooo uncomfortable. There's no where to put your legs, they have to stick straight out in front of you, and the water doesn't cover the belly.

Also consider that there is no way you could fit another person in there with you (DH or midwife) if you needed assistance (stuck shoulder or something) or just wanted someone to lean into.

[carlasher]

That is a good point, DP and I can bathe together now, but only if we have our legs out in front of us sitting up - very limiting. The though that I may want someone in with me didnt come across my mind!

Moving the stuff out will just take more work then is worth: renting a truck and finding someone(s) to move. Not one piece of furniture will fit our cars. Our place is VERY tight. Plus my DP WILL NOT go for spending money on truck, labor and storage just for a few days. He just wont. Plus we actually need everything we have (or we wouldnt have it in this place). We are really leaning on moving - but just in case that doesnt happen yet...

Originally Posted by gottaknit

Here is the kiddie pool my midwife recommends. We will fill it up using a hose attached to the kitchen sink.

http://www.qualityinflatables.com/56493.html

Even if you do cover the overflow on your tub, 17 inches isn't very deep! It may be better than nothing, but if there's any way you can move some stuff out of your apartment (rent a storage unit or take it to a friend's house for the month?) to make room for the tub....

I tried to take a bath in our bathtub (about the same size as yours) the other day, and it was soooo uncomfortable. There's no where to put your legs, they have to stick straight out in front of you, and the water doesn't cover the belly.

Also consider that there is no way you could fit another person in there with you (DH or midwife) if you needed assistance (stuck shoulder or something) or just wanted someone to lean into.

[Asheville Mama]

For my dd's birth, we used my mw's 300 gallon agricultural tub, with no heater! It was great once it was full, but our 25 gallon hot water heater wasn't much help. My dh spent the majority of my labor filling this stupid tub! :
We literally had pots of water boiling all night long to fill and reheat the tub. For about an hour, everyone had fallen asleep but me! and I was carrying these pots back and forth to the tub so I could keep it warm. I must have looked ridiculous, 16 hrs. into labor and heaving stock pots of boiling water around my house! But I did appreciate it once I was able to get in and "swim" around, the water is soooooo wonderful.

When it came to pushing, I got back in the water to push. But my contractions stopped after about 10 min. in the water. Once I stood up, an hour later , I had my dd in less than 10 min.

This pregnancy, we are in a smaller place where having a birthing tub would be really restrictive. We have standard size bathtub/showers...small! but the mw's I've talked to say they have had plenty of women birth in this size tub. I would agree that the only issue might be the position you have to get in to push and whether or not baby's head is totally in the water when it comes out...not bobbing in and out.

[momto l&a]

My second dd was born in a bath tub. Its an old cast iron tub nice and deep but not a clawfoot. I'm 5'8" and the water cover my tummy. Twas a perfect birth IMO as water does so much to help with pain management.

IMO birthing in a tub is great for the clean up dept. also, just pull the plug and rinse yourself off :LOL

We just moved this past spring into our new house and the tub in this house isnt deep enought to cover my tummy so my mw helper is bring a stock tank for me to labor/birth in.

I wish I had a claw foot tub

[carlasher]

Originally Posted by momto l&a

I wish I had a claw foot tub

Well, its just a rented apartment - its not OURS, LOL. I am drooling over a owning anything!

[pixiexto]

Originally Posted by gottaknit

Here is the kiddie pool my midwife recommends. We will fill it up using a hose attached to the kitchen sink.

http://www.qualityinflatables.com/56493.html

My midwife recommends the same pool. I was so thrilled to find that you don't need to spend a few hundred $$ just to *rent* a birthing pool!

[Denise K]

I would love to birth in water next time around. (Last time was in the hospital, just barely.) But last time I spent some of my labor in the tub, and it was so helpful even though it was impossibly small. and I am a small person. The thought I wanted to offer is that even if there's no way you can manage a whole waterbirth, water can still be there for you. and the practical suggestion: You might try turning sideways in the tub, sitting crosslegged. This was the only way I could fit in the tub toward the end of pregnancy anyway. Depends on how floppy your joints are, but it does get you in a better position, if you are just using it as a comfort measure earlier on. The worst part is before pushing, anyway.