When you decide on a water birth, it is important to choose the right birth pool. Birthing in your own bathtub is not possible. A bathtub has a shallow depth that will restrain your movement. In addition, your bathtub doesn’t provide enough space for the midwife.
For a home water birth, you will need a professionally designed birth pool. You can buy a birth pool or you can inquire with your midwife whether they own a birth pool that you can use. Do you prefer to not have a water birth at home? You can also have a water birth at the hospital.
There are 3 requirements that a birth pool needs in order to support a safe water birth. Your home bathtub does not meet these requirements and is therefore not suitable for water birth.
The baby must be completely immersed in water. The golden rule of birth is that a baby must be born completely submerged in water (water birth) or completely born above water (land birth). This is why it is so important for the birth pool to have enough depth to accommodate a water birth. With a water birth, a baby needs to be born fully submerged in water.
You should be able to adopt different positions. You have to be able to fully relax during labour. Painful birthing positions must be avoided. An inflatable birth pool provides both the requisite space and extra comfort due to its soft floor and sides.
You should have the freedom to move around. A birth pool is specifically designed for birthing. The birth pool provides enough space for you to move around and assume positions that feel most comfortable. Our Regular birth pool provides enough space for the partner to join in the water as well.
When you’re choosing a birth pool it is not only important to pay attention to these 3 aforementioned requirements, but to also pay attention to safety, hygiene, and user convenience.
You should follow the correct preparations. Water birth is as safe as a land birth so long as you make the correct preparations. It is important to know in advance how to properly set up the birth pool.
You must check to ensure hygiene. Hygiene is a top priority and closely related with the safety of a water birth. Always check the birth pool and accessories included in your package for hygiene. Note that also here, when it comes to hygiene, preparation is key.
When you start to labour, it is important that you can easily and quickly set up the birth pool. Of course, you will need to be properly prepared, by reading through the instruction manual in advance for example. Folding and packing away the birth pool is just as easy and simple as setting it up.
You know now what requirements a birth pool needs to abide by for a safe water birth. Would you like to know more about birth pools or which midwifery clinics and hospitals support water births?
Convinced? Look at our shop for birth pools that meet the requirements and point of attention.
