But WHERE do you dump the water?

[happydoulamama]

Ok, so my homebirth is coming up and I'm trying to figure out this pool stuff. My dh wants to dump the water from a hose into the bathtub and drain it that way. I think that's totally gross considering the amount of bacteria and pieces of yummy stuff that will be in it- and won't it mess up the plumbing? I say just throw the hose out the window and into the backyard, but he's worried about 1) our dogs eating/drinking/licking the contents and 2) the neighbors seeing a bloodbath in the snow.

What have you done? What's the best to do?

[Pandora114]

We're just using the python hose and draining it into the laundry sink. If that gets clogged, we have a drainage thingie in the basement floor that the furnace dehumidifier uses we can use that I guess...

[StacyL]

I've used the Python pump twice now, and it works just fine. Everything goes right back down the drain of your sink, and it doesn't do anything to your plumbing. If you had any large clots, you can just fish them out with a large aquarium net and put them in the trash.

Python Pump

[Phoebe]

Last time we drained it out the window as your husband suggests. But it was April and the snow was gone at that point that year. I might tend to agree with you about the grossness of it. As for the bath tub. I don't know, I mean, my son has pooped in the tub!

My midwife has a pump that she uses. She said she just puts it down the toilet. I'm not quite sure how that works but I'm sure she knows what she's talking about.

[SunRayeMomi]

We put it into our sump pump (I delivered in our newly remodled/finished basement/bedroom)

[twogreencars]

With DS, we drained the pool into the backyard, which is what we'll do this time (no snow here! ;o) ). I guess it'll fertilize the garden! Gotta remember NOT to have the dogs in that part of the garden just after the birth, though...Good point! Haven't a clue what we did with the water from DD's birth. DH can't remember, either....

[ecoteat]

DH scooped out the solids with a fishnet and flushed them down the toilet. Then he pumped the dirty water into the shower to drain. It never occured to me to be grossed out by that stuff being in the shower. I was submerged in it a few hours earlier, so what's the difference? It doesn't collect in the tub or anything--it just goes right down the drain. If you do drain it out the window, I'd suggest scooping and flushing the solids first. I wouldn't want that stuff laying around the yard.

[MamaSong]

Obviously the snow makes a difference! But, as for the dogs, I've seen dogs eat some pretty nasty stuff IMO - and what is in the birth tub after birth doesn't seem gross to me at all in comparison - I mean women and other animals eat their placentas all the time and hopefully your MW or doula or DH will be scoopin' the poop out of the pool as it comes. hehehehhee. This thread is kinda funny to me in a way. We threw our water out onto the yard and the grass where we dumped the water was a brilliant deep shade of green for the entire summer - it was really awesome. Anyway, just my 2 cents... Good luck!

[pigpokey]

First, get a fish net if you're worried about clogging up your bathtub. Fish chunks out and flush them down the toilet.

Second, it's your bacteria (thus close relatives of your intimate's bacteria) but if you are not yet embracing your microbes, dump some bleach into the birth pool before you drain it so you can have nice sterile dead bacteria.

Third, I'm on heavy painkillers so I will just say it, this is not medical waste. This is birth. Get a little more lovey with your insides.

[tuansprincess]

I agree with pp. After all, you were just sitting in it! My mw dumped the water down the toilet. The force of 10 gallons going in at once just pushed itself down - no flushing needed.

[Drewsmom]

So glad you asked! We just spoke with our future midwife the other night and she suggested dumping the water outside and while we won't have snow I wondered the same thing...won't it be messy in the yard then? Of course that's great to hear about it fertilizing the yard, I *love* natural fertilizers and that should save us some $ on organic fertilizer

[Reha]

if you are using a water pump to pump the water out (we use the kind used for fish tanks), it won't really be able to suck up chunks of stuff, just liquids.

At births, we normally drain it down the tub or the toilet (as for the toilet, the water just goes right down, it doesn't make the water levels rise in the bowl or anything.)

[LizaBear]

Ours will be draining into our kitchen sink - then the sink will be cleaned before use again.

Same as last time.

No problems with plumbing at all.

[StacyL]

Originally Posted by pigpokey

Third, I'm on heavy painkillers so I will just say it, this is not medical waste. This is birth. Get a little more lovey with your insides.

:

[AllisonK]

We put the hose in the toilet and just let the pump run. As the water goes in the toilet drains to keep it at the level it is supposed to be at. So everything just gets flushed away. Really easy and no other clean up.

Allison

[earthie_mama]

Mine's going out the window onto a sheet, that way the chunks are all ontop of the sheet, There will be snow here ( there is already snow here!!) but my neighbors all think I'm crazy anyway so I don't care lol

How bloody is the water really? Isn't it so diluted that it would just be pinkish?

[Reha]

Originally Posted by earthie_mama

How bloody is the water really? Isn't it so diluted that it would just be pinkish?

It depends on how long you stay in the water after your baby is born. If you don't birth the placenta in the pool, the water will have little to no blood in it. And, if you do stay in there for the placenta, it will just be diluted red/pink.

[pamamidwife]

I think the toilet is by far the easiest place to drain. Any chunks are never an issue, either!

[zoebird]

personally, i think outside is best. the blood and 'chunks' are good for the environment.

my plants love my menstrual blood--and i put it out even in the snow, because snow will melt and the the soil gets nutrients.