Congratulations on your upcoming birth!
What’s Included:
- Birth pool
- Birth pool liner (a liner MUST be used)
- Electric air pump
- Submersible water pump
- Fish Net
- Waterproof sheet for floor protection
- Sink & Shower adapter fittings
- Tub thermometer
- Garden hose (MUST be a brand-new hose that has never had run water through it)
Optional Items:
*You may require a longer hose or specific tap adapters. Always check if what you have will work before the big day!
*Cushioning for beneath the birth pool (ex: quilt)
*Lots of extra towels
Selecting Where to Place Your Pool
The pool can be placed on any floor provided the floor can bear the weight (a filled birth pool weighs roughly 1200 pounds). Ensure there is still enough space to comfortably walk all the way around your pool. Placing it completely in a corner could make it difficult for your midwife or birth partner to reach you effectively and would be unsafe in an emergency situation.
When deciding where to place your pool consider:
- Proximity to a water source with which to fill the pool & length of hose
- Proximity to AC/Heating vents to stay cool or warm depending on preference
- Availability of comfortable seating and space around the pool for your partner & birth team
- A space that promotes a private, calming and comforting ambiance
Preparing the Space
Once you’ve picked a location, thoroughly clean the area and in particular remove sharp objectives, electrical items and trip hazards. Place the tarp down to protect the floor from splashes. Placing a large flat sheet on top of the tarp will prevent slips and help absorb any splashes. Laying a rug, a piece of carpet or a thick blanket or quilt under your pool can help to protect it if the floor is rough or uneven. It can also prevent heat loss into the floor and provide extra padding. Take care to organize your space as well so that you do not feel overwhelmed by clutter while laboring and your support team can move around you easily.
Towels
Keep in mind that you may need a lot of extra towels handy. Towels for if you get in and out of the tub for bathroom breaks, etc. Washcloths if you would like cold compresses while laboring. Towels for wiping up splashes and any birth equipment (dopplers). And again, plenty of towels will be needed when you give birth in order dry off your baby and keep them warm until you get out of the pool. Each time a towel gets wet, it will need to be changed to keep your little one from getting too cold.
Inflating Your Pool
The tub is thoroughly washed and disinfected after each use even when a liner is used. The tub is clean and ready to go when you are!
1. Make sure the birth pool has been sitting at room temperature before setting up
2. Unfold the birth pool gently
3. Using the electric air pump and the smallest adapter, inflate the floor of the birth tub. The valve is on the floor of the tub where you will sit while laboring. You may need to pinch the valve while air is pumped into it.
4. Change the air pump to the medium sized adapter and inflate the sides of the tub using the large valves on the exterior. There are 3 separate chambers to be filled. Air up the bottom one first, then middle, and fill the top last.
a. Note: the valves on the exterior have two portions that can unscrew. Keep the larger portion screwed in/closed. Open the smaller, valve cap to air up the pool. The smaller valve cap will allow air to be pumped in but prevent it from escaping.
5. Each chamber takes about 30 seconds to inflate. Fill with air until the sides are firm to the touch – do not overinflate! The surface should dip in 2-4 inches when pressed into.
6. Check that all the valves/valve caps are tightly closed
7. Check your pool for air leaks. If you suspect a leak, use a spray bottle full of soapy water to spray the area; bubbles will be produced if there is a leak.
*To prevent any surprises on the big day, you can conduct a trial inflation of your pool. The pool should not be left aired up if not in use.
*Please do not allow children or pets to play in or with the birth pool.
Filling Your Pool
Once you know you are in labor, have someone turn up the settings on your hot water heater to allow the water to get up to about 100-120 °F; be sure to warn everyone in the house and supervise children so no one gets burned!
Be sure not to fill up the tub too soon, if the water sits for long, it will become too cool for you to stay in it. Ideally, you wait to fill the tub up until you are very far along in labor (7-8 cm). That way, it will be a huge relief for you as you go through the last bit of labor. Save the water as your last and final comfort measure and you will truly feel its relaxing effects.
Always use a new hose as an old house can contain bacteria. Utilize your tap adapter fittings to attach your hose to an indoor tap. If available, you can use a tap with a mixer (hot and cold through the one tap) and fill your pool with warm water; hooking up to a shower allows this.
Many people use their laundry machine hook ups if the hose can reach.
*If you are using separate hot and cold taps (washing machine hookup):
1. First add approximately 5 inches of cold water to prevent the liner from breaking
2. Then add hot water aiming your hose at the body of water, not the side of the pool
3. Ensure the hot water you’re adding does not exceed 120-140 °F
4. Fill no higher than 5 inches from the top of the pool as the water level will rise when you get in
5. During birth the water must be normal body temperature, around 98-99 °F, to ensure the water temperature will not be a shock to the baby as they are born.
Taking down the Birth Pool
What You’ll Need
- Submersible electrical water pump w/ hose adapter screwed in
- Debris scoop/Fish net
Emptying the tub
1. Use your fish net to remove and discard any debris like blood clots, bowel movements, etc.
2. Lower the submersible pump to the bottom of the pool at one end.
3. Place the other end of the hose in a toilet or outside drain. Make sure that there is enough of the hose in the drain/toilet to ensure it can’t slip out when the flow starts.
*If using the toilet, feed the hose through the hole in the toilet bowl; really shove it in there! This will cause the water to go straight to the pipes because you don’t want it to just fill the toilet bowl up and overflow.
4. Ensure any water on the floor has been mopped up and then plug the pump into the wall and switch it on.
5. Monitor the progress of the pump and the placement of the hose in drain/toilet
6. When the pump starts to suck air, remove the liner from one end of the pool and pull it towards the pump to increase the water depth
7. Once the water stops flowing, unplug the pump
*Do NOT allow the pump to stay on when no more water is left or it could overheat.
8. Once the bulk of the water is gone, you can remove the liner. If a lot of water is left, it can be helpful to place the liner over the tub to empty the rest out. Then trash it!
THROW away
- Pool liner
- Fish net, if used
- Pool thermometer, if used
- Garden hose, if you don’t want to keep it for your yard
KEEP these things and place in the large trash bag so they can be disinfected/sterilized
- Submersible pump (do not place it back in its original container- needs to be cleaned first)
RETURN these items
- Folded up birth pool in duffel bag
- Air pump and air pump box
- Unused adapters, fish net, tarp, thermometer, etc.
- Large trash bag with sub pump