How can I rent a tub for waterbirth at home?

[nan]

Hi,
I've recently decided to have a homebirth, and would like to rent a large tub/jacuzzi for the birth. I have no idea where to begin -- how can I find one? what should I look for? I'd like to look via the internet, so even ideas about search tersms would help.
Any guidance much appreciated.
Thanks,
Nan

[yogamama]

Yes, I rented a tub from Aqua Doula. I don't have a web site for them, but do a search and you should be able to find them...

[Ottermom]

If you live in a college town, there should be a place that will rent you a tub also, tho they may charge a larger fee than the actual aqua doula. Make sure you get it enough in advance. As our baby was 3 weeks early, my husband was putting it together while my contractions were 10 minutes apart. And when the midwives arrived they were boiling water to heat up the tub!

Also if you get the plain-jane model, with the "sterile baggie" that lines the tub, think about something to put underneath, like a bean bag, beach chair, or just a cushy foot stool, heck even some pillows would work (everything will stay dry under the "baggie". We actually used an adult sized "barbie-like" blow up furniture foot stool that my husband sat on and I knelt below it and rested on him.

In my opinion, water is the best tool for birth.
o!

[cottonwood]

I used a water trough for two of my births, they are available at farm supply stores. About $100. Nice thing about them is that they are deeper than other tubs so you can submerge as much of your body as you want. Hard plastic, though, so a cushy lining is important.

[babylover]

We have really struggled with what kind of money to spend on a birthing tub. I just can't bring myself to cough up $250 rental and then another $100+ for the S&H for the Aqua Doula. Does anyone know of anything cheaper that is still like the Aqua Doula? We did come accross on E-bay several portable hot tubs and spas for sale pretty cheap. One went last night for $120. We have a storage issue, so I'm not sure that purchasing is our best option. Try E-Bay for some options. We are leaning toward a kiddie pool at this point. We can do it free from our midwives. It's only 22" deep, so I worry that it won't be deep enough for me to benefit from the effects of the water. We're still looking also. I want to look into the farm supply for the trough. Thanks for the suggestion. Jennifer

[Ottermom]

baby lover hmmm, first 22" could probably do it, my tub was probably only 25" deep but I don't think less than 22" would be any good. $120?!!!? wow, that seems good, I'd buy it from you when you were done for $120! or you could probably sell it to someone else! no actually my dh said heck yeah! he wants it! You also could try another midwife/birthcenter in town. I know my birth center rented their tub (for $60) to other non-clients.
o!

[babylover]

It's good to hear confirmation about the 22". People keep saying it, I don't know why I'm remaining a non-believer. We would have done the $120 thing, but we couldn't get the dimensions on the product and bidding was about to expire. We'll certainly keep an eye on e-bay. Good idea about checking with other midwives, etc. I'll do that. Thanks for the feedback.

[DarthP8r]

You can buy a 66"x22" (or so) inflatible kiddie pool at any toy store for probably less than US$40. Sounds like a pretty cheap experiment to me! Buy the little pool, inflate it, and maybe even fill it up and sit in it. If you don't think it's big enough, then you can fold it up and use it when your newest is old enough.

My DW and I just had a homebirth/CPA chat, this morning, and that's what we were shown. We'll get one to check it out. If we think it's too small, we'll just save it for Lela, our 18-mo DD, to play in it later.

[DarthP8r]

Uh, I really meant homebirth/CPM!!! [dork]

[NaturalJoy]

I'm a newbie with a question. How do you keep the water warm in the trough or kiddie pool. And how do you get warm water in there to begin with? Did you all put it upstairs in your house, or keep it downstairs in case of a leak?

I just found out I'm pg and dying to do a homebirth!

Thanks.

[BusyMommy]

I agree w/the earlier post about making sure your tub has a disposable liner in it. My dr. was very worried about bacteria that you cannot get rid of in tubs, but my midwife has liners for all of her tubs. I don't know the height, but I could sit on my bottom and it was over my head. The sides need to be sturdy. Remember, dh will prob. be in there, too, and when it comes time to push, the tub will see lots of action.

We didn't line the floor or anything first. I did splash a little water over as I was getting out so have towels handy. Of course! And, we kept a hose between the tub and the bathtub for when the water temp. got too cool. There was a thermometer in the tub and the mw just bucketed water out and replaced w/hot water as necessary.

Have fun!:

[Ottermom]

I didn't really worry about a leak. Things get wet, carpet bed etc. I figure it is just water, so everything will dry . . . (and we boiled water or just plug in a crock pot in your bed room and have someone keep emptying it into the pool after it is warm.

[Brigitte&Eitan]

Start saving now for the Aquadoula, in my humble opinion. As a homebirth midwife, I can tell you nothing works half as well!!! Clean-up is a snap, the water stays at a constant, WARM temp, and it has a soft floor and sides, really important if you plan to labor there for extended periods of time! I had a waterbith in an Aquadoula, and am planning another one for this baby ( due in Sept.)

[I Love My Boy]

Hey nan,

Gee, everyone's suggestions sound really expensive! We used a kiddie pool Like this one:
http://www.outdoorguides.com/outdoor.../intex47-1.jpg
but a little bit smaller. That one is 90" across and ours was 60". It was perfect for just me, but you'd need the bigger one if you wanted anyone in with you. I think we paid around $45 for ours, and that's CDN, so it's practically free in USD! haha.

It was easy to empty and fill. Used a garden hose attached to the kitchen sink to fill it up and the thick plastic sides kept the water the perfect temp for over an hour. If we'd needed to keep it warm longer I think we could have covered it and it would have lasted a really long time. We used a little drill-powered syphon to empty it and again, used the garden hose and emptied it into the bathtub drain.

I just love the fishies and the fact that it's clear. Our ds will have fun playing in it some day!

[lovinmama]

We just had a waterbirth on the 16th and
got our pool from Redspools.com
its a kiddi pool 24" deep and it worked great
we set it up on a big tarp, attatched a hose to
our sink and filled it up as much as I needed and
had plenty room to keep adding warm water as
I needed it. I paid 16 dollars plus shipping for it, it was on
sale when I bought it. My main concern was the offgassing
of the plastic and all, we just set it out for a few weeks ahead
of time and set it up a week or so before I had the baby and
it was fine, no funky smell at all.
Racheal

[I Love My Boy]

lovinmama

Hey yeah, that is exactly the one we used. Congratulations on your new bundle of love!

[Serenity]

How do I keep the water warm for my homebirth tub?

I've got a jacuzzi at home and would like to use it during my labor. How do i keep the water warm for hours?

[stephanie]

If there is no temp. control, then keep adding(or have someone else keep adding) warm water. The midwife w/ whom I am working uses a horse trough regularly w/ this method.

Happy laboring!

[Serenity]

The problem is that once i fill up the tub, my hot water heater is empty, it takes a while to heat up more water again. i thought maybe there was some kind of heater i could hook up to the tub but i don't want it to be dangerous.

[indigolilybear]

what we did was just to boil water and add it. I don't know about the side heaters or anything. but boiling water wasn't that hard and worked pretty well. good luck