Rent the MW's tub, or buy my own?

[an_aurora]

I am having trouble deciding whether I should rent the birthing tub from my midwife ($200 if we pay for it before 37 weeks, which we probably won't be able to do, or $250 if after 37 wks) or buying one of those inflatable fishy pools (which are around $20, right?).

Is the MW's tub really that much better? Will I be perfectly ok buying my own fishy pool and laboring/birthing in that?

And, is a 40 gallon hot water tank big enough?

[kerikadi]

It depends on the kind of pool your MW has. The one my MW rents is heated so you could have it filled in advance and taller if you want something big. My concern is that with a fishy pool I wouldn't be able to recline on the sides without them squishing and letting water out and that the water would get cold.
I am lucky to have a good size bathtub that worked great for my last 2 births but maybe someone that has tried both can give you the pros and the cons.

Keri

[an_aurora]

She has an Aquadoula. What about one like this, that has the inflated chambers to keep the sides from squishing (one says a full sized adult can sit on the side w/out it collapsing)? We also have an oversized soaker tub in the house, which is nice for bathing but I don't know if it would be too small for birthing?

[paisley]

I've been having the same debate, but I think I am going to go with my MW's AD. PVC (the material used in most inflatable pools) has residual lead in/on it from the manufacturing process and PVC itself is nasty stuff. I don't want my baby being born into a soup of all that! The AD liners are still plastic but they are a different kind (need to do more research on them, but I gather they are made of a more stable plastic). I plan on getting the liner early and airing it out so it doesn't offgas as much during the birth.

Bummer that it's $200. Does that include set up and break-down? My MW charges $200+ for the rental plus set up and draining, etc., but the tub alone is $75 to rent and she is confident that dh could take care of everything. Might be worth asking if that's an option for you too.

[an_aurora]

Nope $200 is the rental fee. She said she'd just put it in my car and we could set it up whenever we wanted.

[krismarie]

i was having the same dilema and have decided on a fishy pool... i didn't have a pool with my last birth and we don't even have a tub, so i spent a lot of time in the shower. seems like the fishy pool will be a nice improvement from that and for much less money than renting one.

[paisley]

Originally Posted by an_aurora

Nope $200 is the rental fee. She said she'd just put it in my car and we could set it up whenever we wanted.

Darn. I wonder if there are other places that you could rent one from (locally or have one shipped to you) for less. Seems like she is making quite the profit - they are only $1400 each to buy. : To give you an idea, our MW fee is $3700 plus labs, u/s, birth kit, etc. and then the tub is $75. Maybe it's all relative.

Maybe an inflatable would best then. If you go with that, I would be sure to inflate it and air it out. Filling it with hot water and scrubbing it gently with some mild soap would help get rid of any residual surface lead too. Just rinse well. Doing a pre-fill like that would help answer your water heater question as well if you can figure out how to get water from the heater outside to your washing spot.

[Full Heart]

Originally Posted by kerikadi

My concern is that with a fishy pool I wouldn't be able to recline on the sides without them squishing and letting water out and that the water would get cold.

I have used one for all 6 of my births and I can tell you the sides don't give. I can recline not a problem, even on my knees drapping my upper body over the sides and pushing and they didn't give. When my mw and dh dove into the water to get ds' shoulder unstuck the sides still didn't give. Water getting cold...yeah that happens but it takes longer than a bath does cause there is so much water.

My mw has offered her blow up spa to me and I don't know if I should take it. Its big, heats the water, and has the bubbles thingy. But I have to buy the filter. When I have a fishy pool sitting in my closet I don't know if I want to spend the extra if I'm not sure I will birth in it yk? Such a hard choice. I sure like the sound of the bubbles thing though.

[appleseed]

we spent around 50 bucks for our fishy pool, pump, and drain/fill hose... and it works great! we can pump out the cooled water and add hot water relatively quickly and the sides are sturdy enough for me- i am a BIG girl, pregnant with twins, and i can lean on the sides without issue, press up against them, anything. i haven't birthed in it yet, only did a test run, but i think it'll do me fine. i got the pool from qualityinflatables.com, the pump came with my exercise ball, and the python drain and fill kit came from petsmart

[StacyL]

Honestly, I don't know how people justify spending $249 (unless you are wwealthy!) to rent an AquaDoula when you can buy the entire setup needed for an inflatable pool for about $60-$100, depending on how nice of an inflatable pool you get. But I know there are people that like the AquaDoula and don't mind spending the $$$.

I would not see any advantage in the PVC issue with an AquaDoula, as they are still made from the same types of plastics. But I think having anything plastic/vinyl inflated and allowed to offgas for a good time period before use minimizes any risks, and you just really aren't in there long enough for it to be a problem. You're certainly not in there for any length of time AFTER the babe is born. I mean, 5, 10, 15, or even 30 minutes isn't going to do anything to you or your babe!

As far as comfort goes, the inflatables are definitely more comfortable when it comes to using the sides to lean on/against. And water spillage is not a problem in an inflatable pool. They are rock solid when blown up and filled with water and you can lean on them all you like and they don't move.

The small inflatables also retain heat well.

Also, see the waterbirth resource sticky at the top of the forum which I put all my info and links into.

[an_aurora]

Originally Posted by paisley

Darn. I wonder if there are other places that you could rent one from (locally or have one shipped to you) for less. Seems like she is making quite the profit - they are only $1400 each to buy. : To give you an idea, our MW fee is $3700 plus labs, u/s, birth kit, etc. and then the tub is $75. Maybe it's all relative.

Maybe an inflatable would best then. If you go with that, I would be sure to inflate it and air it out. Filling it with hot water and scrubbing it gently with some mild soap would help get rid of any residual surface lead too. Just rinse well. Doing a pre-fill like that would help answer your water heater question as well if you can figure out how to get water from the heater outside to your washing spot.

We are actually about 40 miles from the AquaDoula company headquarters (or whatever you call it!) and I looked at their website; it would cost $249 to rent from them for only 2 weeks (MW will let us have it for however long we need it, because she doesn't have any other clients needing it in Feb). Thanks also for that info, if I get a fishy pool I will be sure to scrub when we do the trial run!

Originally Posted by StacyL

Also, see the waterbirth resource sticky at the top of the forum which I put all my info and links into.

I did check that out, you are a wonderful source of information (you answered about 1,000,000 questions I was just about to ask! :

[ColoradoMama]

Wow - that seems like a steep price. Our mw didn't charge us a penny to use her tub - it's part of her services. If she had, I would have opted for a fishy pool (actually I had both - I had a fishy pool in case I didn't get her tub in time, but that's another story.).

[saratchka]

I'll probably rent my MW's Aquadoula. Honestly, last time I wanted nothing to do with water while in labor, so I'm not at all confident I'll use the thing. But if I do use it, I'll be glad to have the heater, I think. It looks like setup may be quicker and easier than with a fishy pool. And I know my MW is comfortable with it and can, potentially, help DH with setup/tweaking/takedown if needed. Yes, it's a little extra cash, but in the grand scheme of things, it's really not much.

Actually, my biggest source of confusion is where to put the darned thing!

[mother culture]

I used a kids pool. It had inflatable sides and bottom. The bottom was the best no pressure while i sat cross legged or was on my knees. I was happy with the 15.99 pool I used!