Immersion in deep warm water is highly rated for comfort and coping during labour.
You don't have to actually give birth *in* the pool unless you want to. Nothing wrong with using the pool as a labour activity and support measure. You can hop in and out as you please. You can certainly go right ahead and have your baby (and even the placenta) while actually in the pool, if you please.
So here, in one place, is your trove of links and info for all things water birth.
General education:
Water Birth International - Barbara Harper
Waterbirth - from the Gentle Birth Archives
The Evidence on Water Birth - from Evidence Based Birth
Birth, Bath, and Beyond: The Science and Safety of Water Immersion During Labor and Birth (2014)
Where to buy a birth pool:
Pregnancy Birth & Beyond - Jane Palmer
Birth Afloat - New South Wales
Simply Birth - Immerse Yourself
Which birth pool? Comparison chart
Things I have learned, from supporting many women during their planned home water births:
* Fill with a food grade hose. Empty with a garden hose.
* A new liner is worth it.They're like $65.00
* Pump up the pool 3/4 - THEN put the liner in place, then pump up the rest of the way.
* Giving
it a trial run is worth it - mostly so you can figure out how long
pumping it up takes and if all the tap attachments and hot water supply
are going to behave themselves. Besides, a family spa pool night is fun.
Also - the trial run will let you know if anything needs patching. (Once, I had my husband in the kitchen of my client's house, frantically holding the hose in place on the kitchen tap to stop it spurting everywhere - with his back discreetly turned while the client birthed her baby just round the corner ... Yep, pretty much, good to check those tap attachments before Baby Day!)
* Buy a decent pump. I like foot pumps over electric pumps.
* You
can fill the pool half or 3/4 in early labour and keep it warm with
bubble wrap (or better still, a pool cover) until you're ready to
immerse yourself.
* Yes, boiling huge pots of water still has a place at the modern birth.Especially if your hot water service isn't brilliant.
* Have a bucket or two, in case you need to empty out cooler water to replace with warmer water or vice versa.
* Birth soup is not as nice as Bone Broth. So, yes ... invest in that pool emptying suction device.
* Used
pool liners have multiple uses in the shed or garden. I cut up an old
pool liner to extend the water-proofing around the edge of our yurt.
* Buy a massive army-worthy duffle bag, because you are never getting that beast back in the small freakin' bag they come in.
* When
you fold and unfold the pool, do it in a really warm room or after
letting it soften in the sun for a little while - it makes it so much
easier, and also it will help prevent damage to the pool.
* If
you don't use a liner, I clean the pool with gentle soap and water,
rinse it well then let it dry in (gentle) sunlight - UV rays kill germs.
* Yes, you will need a pooper-scooper.
* Blood
loss - a small amount of blood can make the pool look really red. Scoop
some out into a clear glass of water to assess better. Also be aware,
if the room is dark and there are large clots sunk to the bottom, there
could be more blood loss than you realise. So, be aware of vital signs
and how 'with it' the mother feels and seems. And hop out of the pool if
you have any doubts or concerns about what is going on with blood loss.
* Ick
stuff in the water - best thing ever for baby's micro-biome. If you
siphon your birth soup out into the garden, whatever plants in the
firing line will be very happy.
* Temperature:
if it feels right for you, it's right. I've never used a thermometer.
Just have a little hot water ready for baby, because a hard working mama
in the pushing stage usually likes the water a tad cooler than a
newborn baby, and you can be so besotted with baby-gazing that people
might not notice that the water temperature has cooled a little. So, a
room heater, warm towels & cloths and a bit of extra hot water at
hand can be a good idea, to help both mother and babe stay toasty warm
(which is important for those third stage hormones, right?)
* If your budget allows, consider buying something like a Birth Pool in the Box Professional and a stack of pool liners - and then being the local "hire a birth pool" person that other women can rent a pool from. Way to win friends and influence people eh.
RESEARCH ON WATERBIRTH:
The latest is this one:
"Largest Ever Waterbirth Study Just Released.
What happens when researchers are able to look at more than 17500+ waterbirths and match them with a control of 17500+ land births? By looking at 80+ confounders, the researchers were able to take the most detailed ever look at all of the factors that affect waterbirth outcomes."
From Uplift Labs/Oregon State University.
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