ewww, dirty birth tub.

[redhen]

I am UCing but we rented an AquaDoula tub from a local midwife. We picked it up yesterday and set it up in our bedroom right away- the liner (the thick vinyl aqua colored one) was ... birth fluid spattered!!! It was filthy!!! There wasn't a lot of it, but I noticed it right away... I'm assuming it was some left over water that spattered as they removed the plastic disposable liner, but GROSS! You'd think she'd check/clean it before handing it off to the next renter, wouldn't you? It was not only spattered, but also just generally very dirty, I had to use two cleaning rags to wipe the thing down and they both ended up very soiled.

And what's silly is that I feel like a whiner for wanting to bring this up to her, how can I let her know how dirty it was without making it sound like I'm accusing her of being a slob?

[terrordactyl]

i would just tell her. that is very unprofessional and you should probably get some kind of small refund

[DiapersByDeb]

I think you should say something also! She should double check it! Hugs!

[newmommy27]

you are way better then I am....I would have called her when I saw it...and had her clean it....

ewwww...just grosses me out..that may also be morning sickness speaking lol

-L

[blissful_maia]

That's unfortunate.... have you let her know? Do you have a new disposable liner?

[Treasuremapper]

YUCK!!! Can you rent from someone else?

[Tiffany_PartyOf5]

YUCK! I would NOT have cleaned it.. I think I probably would have puked in the process. you are a better person than I am lol. I would make dh call and complain lmao. heck, maybe get it as a free rental lol

[Acacia]

I think I would have called right away and asked if she had another tub to rent because the one you received was not cleaned by the last person. She does need to know about it though because that is really just gross and unprofessional!

[redhen]

well, she's already paid for the rental, I'm ticking to go into labor any minute, and the tub is already set up, so... whatever.

And actually I don't have another liner. She gave me the one that they returned iwth it and said "this one might be used" (!) but you can use it on the floor, then she gave handed me a new one (which was also kind of dirty probably from hanging out in her garage) and I forgot the new one. We cleaned the crap out of the aquadoula liner and I'm going to disinfect it with bleach-water before we fill it. I could go back for the liner but I don't really feel like dealing with her again. She missed our appointment completely the first time we went to meet her and she was 20 minutes late when we met her to pick up the tub.

[birthgreeter]

You should not have had to clean it, nor been given a 'possibly used' liner, even for floor use. That is VERY wrong. Talk about cross contamination! That is only one of the many reasons people have home births! So why would she think you would want to use something used by someone else?!
Talk to her about it, you should be given some kind of refund. IMO.

[Midwife Kris]

FWIW, I clean my tub, then when my client gets it she is instructed to clean it again before she uses it. Then she cleans it after and gives it back to me, then I clean it again. Then I give it to the next person and she cleans it, uses it, cleans it, gives it to me and I clean it.... ad infinitum. So I don't think it's outrageous to clean the tub you receive before you use it. Sure it should've been clean(er) when you received it but personally I would've clean it anyway since it is full of birth germies even if you have a liner. I would never assume the tub I received was clean and ready to use just because goop wasn't visibly stuck to the side.

[mwherbs]

well let her know it happened- I know that demand for a tub can be so brisk that it doesn't get un-boxed and re-boxed-- but instruction sheets and more than one check-in with clients to be sure that they cleaned it after use--

[alegna]

being very glad I used a fishy pool.... makes mental note to not consider otherwise....

-Angela

[Maggi315]

That's totally unacceptable...I would have called her and told her it was dirty and I would need it cleaned (with acceptable cleaning product to kill germs/disinfect). And the "maybe used" liner is totally out of line, unprofessional, gross, and unsanitary.

Anyway, besides this bad experience, I hope you go on and have a great labor! I am thinking about buying an aquadoula for my clients and other to use, but wow, I'll probably be too obsessed with keeping it clean, being a nurse, i tend to get a bit weird about that, i guess.

[mwherbs]

the liner she is talking about is a unifying componet- then on top of that you put a new plastic liner or 2-- the women I know who have rented one in the past they had everyone wash it down 2 times before use and after-- just to colonize all the parts with home cleaner and bacteria and obviously to clean it ... haven't seen one that was dirty tough- ick but they have ended up missing parts or things ended up getting broken
here is a picture
http://www.aquadoula.com/