feedback on birth kits idea - Page 2

[umami_mommy]

Originally Posted by kalamos23

That would be awesome - I spent way too much money on cute cloth diapers and was not really relishing spending a ton of money on tinctures that I may or may not use a few drops out of! :-)

sarah at www.herbsfromthelabyrinth.com


you can tell her andrea sent you.

[kittywitty]

Originally Posted by sapphire_chan

Glucose/protein test strips
Fetal scope
Little chart thingy to enter your info.
Cocoa butter

:

I woud say stethoscope instead of those cheap fetoscopes, though. They work much better. A measuring tape for da belly. Some good pg supplements: Rainbow light prenatals, RRL, nettle, alfalfa, oatstraw tea mix, liquid chlorophyll, cal/mag supplement. Also, a blood pressure cuff and sphygmomanometer, maybe a copy of a good pg book like Hearts and Hands, Birthing From Within, Emergency Childbirth, etc.

Or a GBS prevention kit: chlorohexidine, garlic pills, vit C, probiotics.

[BlessedOne]

well I do not know about to have for sale but what I have/had in mine is...

mirror(although never have used it...lol)
suction bulb
chucks
pp pads (mesh panties if available)
placenta bucket
scissors
ubcord tie offs (ribbon or braided thread for ties before cutting and then small rubberbands to put on stump)
water to drink
babyoil
baby outfit
my outfit
birthing outfit
when my hair was long I had hair ties..but this time I just cut it short
I have been known to be a germophobe so I have various disinfectants, such as peroxide, alcohol, anti-bact. wipes and anti-bact soap.....I know many people say it is worse to be that way...but oh well...hehe
nice music and fragrant candle available
blow up floaties to help relax on
cotton balls
q-tips
scale
measuring tape
camera
I have other things that are not in the box, such as a new hose and air pump for the pool and water heater.

if one was having a non water birth then they should have plastic sheets and a different sheet that they could just ruin.



Honestly if you made a COMPLETE kit.....say birthing pool and ALL then that would probably sell well. Of course you would have to have a higher price to offset what you spent...but honestly I bet many people would buy a complete kit........especially if they have not done a hb before. Easy one stop shopping and no trying to figure out what you need and who has it.

[BlessedOne]

Originally Posted by Prensa

I'm confused by the disposable measuring tape, why does it need to be disposable?

what I do is use the same measuring tape that I got from the birthing center with a prior pg. I just mark right on it and put their name and date....I just keep reusing it and it is sort of a keep sake now. It has all my babies except one on it.


but then again I am so into reusing stuff than disposing of stuff.

[georgia]

Moving to WAHMWell

[umami_mommy]

Originally Posted by BlessedOne

what I do is use the same measuring tape that I got from the birthing center with a prior pg. I just mark right on it and put their name and date....I just keep reusing it and it is sort of a keep sake now. It has all my babies except one on it.

awe... that is so cute!

[nursingmom]

I recently (last November) gave birth at home with a midwife. I had to purchase a birth kit that my midwife group needed. They recommended three different website. I'm sorry, but I can't find the sheet with the list of the three websites. Anyways... the one website I ordered the kit had list of many different birthing centers kits. Each birthing center/midwife requires different list of supplies for birth. So, this lady, whom I bought the kit from, had list of my birthing center birthkit, as well as many other birthing center birthkits.

If you want to start a kit, that would be my recommendation. Contact all the midwives/birthing centers and asked them the list of items (birth kit) they recommend for their patients. And ask them to list your website on their recommended supplier sheet.

So, just to let you know, there are three others websites that sells birth kits. I wish I saved that paper for you.

[umami_mommy]

yes, thank you.

there are other websites. part of a business plan is scoping out the competition.


i'm not sure why this got moved i was looking for comments from UC mamas.

[sapphire_chan]

Yeah, there are already plenty of birth kits out there aimed at what midwives want their patients to get. 90% of that stuff I'm not going to be using or even considering using at my UC. Plus there's stuff that a midwife would bring to the birth that isn't included in those kits, like a scale and tinctures.

I wouldn't use it, but a little kit with embroidery floss and instructions for making a slightly thicker cord for tying off the cord might be nice. Hermetically sealed extra sharp scissors could be good too. Or a placenta bag option for people who want to do lotus birth.

[sapphire_chan]

Originally Posted by BlessedOne

what I do is use the same measuring tape that I got from the birthing center with a prior pg. I just mark right on it and put their name and date....I just keep reusing it and it is sort of a keep sake now. It has all my babies except one on it.

I'm taking this idea . And it's a definite point in favor of either a paper measuring tape or a measuring tape plus a pen that can write permanently on the measuring tape.

[Maggi315]

well, i'm a midwife, so I do birthkits for my clients and I order them from a company online. for me and my clients, it is far easier to get everything at one time and pay just one price. Many of my clients are amish and/or don't drive, so it's much easier. I put in what i need for the births and then we make the little extras and put in, it's a way to make it personal and a way for my girls to earn a little cash.

we custom blend teas and tinctures, we can make them very cheaply if you're interested, our afterpains is much less than the commercial and we organic herbs. We make them in 1/4 oz, 1/2 oz, and custom sizes because some people need alot, some don't. Stuff like afterpains usually will all be used up, but stuff like shepherds purse, you might use just a little. We also make up hot packs which people really like, do footprint cards and also have a wall hanging with a quote and a cute design, we footprint those also.

I will have to take a look at your site, I think it's a great idea, especially one designed to uc'ers, but my only concern if it was me was competing with the larger companies for price. I found for us, by the time we bought everything and then make the birth kits, we couldn't compete with the price I can get them for. Are you able to get things at good wholesale prices?


also, have you seen the new cord rings? we use them, they are basically fancy rubber bands with a handle to put them on with hemistats, I really like them and they would be easy for uc'ers to use.

did you post your website? if not, you could pm it to me, I would love to have it on hand for people interested and happy to spread the word!

[umami_mommy]

i don't know what "good" wholesale prices are, but i have seen many wholesale medical supply places.

i will PM what my website *will* be we aren't up and running yet.

[Maggi315]

I guess what I meant by good wholesale prices are prices that are going to let you compete with places like cascade or other birth kit places online? I found some prices like through moore medical, but by the time I paid the shipping and put the kits together, I wouldn't be able to do it cheaper or even the same price as some of the online places. i don't want to list all their names, but there are 3 or 4 that I can think of that many midwives get their supplies from.

having yours suited to UC'ers is a great idea, when you did your business plan, did you try to figure out how many you would need to sell to break even? and how much you would have to put out monetarily to buy the supplies in bulk to get the best prices? Just asking because when i did it, i would have to sell quite a few to make it worth my efforts and I needed to buy things in pretty big bulk to get the best deal.

Not trying to be discouraging, I think it's a great idea, we are still working on our business ideas for birth products so we have been doing lots of research, but sometimes it seems like the work would not be worth the return.

[umami_mommy]

i haven't finished my business plan yet, but i'm not planning on doing just kits, or even focusing just on UA births. i'm planning on doing all kinds of pregnancy, birth, newborn and PP "kits" and supplies.

i'm going to be very woman positive (ie very pampering) and focus on getting as many products as i can form WAHMs and woman owned businesses.

i am going to do midwifery kits and UC kits and also a line of my own kits for birth, but it will be just part of the business.

[AngelBee]

Originally Posted by honeybeedreams

LOL! i'm not sure what will be up and running by then, but i can totally put you in touch with sarah, the woman who custom mixed my birthing herbs in a small bottle for less than $20!

I would love her info.

[AngelBee]

How is it going?

I think is all sounds WONDERFUL!

[Defenestrator]

If you are interested in doing birthkits for midwives, you should see about being an exhibitor at the 2008 MANA conference in Traverse City. They expect about 350 midwives or so there and the exhibiting fees aren't too bad.

Good luck!

[georgia]

i'm not sure why this got moved i was looking for comments from UC mamas.

Sorry, I just stumbled across your comment. The thread was moved because posting in a subforum to get input about possible business ventures is considered advertising and/or promotion (User Agreement #4). In an effort to help keep the thread on the board, I moved it to WAHMWell

If anyone ever has comments or questions about a thread's moderation, please PM the moderator of the forum so questions/concerns don't go unanswered!