Birth Pool In A Box Testimonial:

Amy and David live in North Wales and had previously had their Son at the local hospital. They chose a birth pool in a box for the home birth of their second child – a beautiful daughter. This is their story:

When we had out first child, the hospital birth went really well, and we were lucky enough to get a room with a pool, so were able to have a water birth and appreciated all the pain relief and de-stressing benefits of this approach. The midwife at the time said Amy would be ideal for a home birth next time. This comment definitely stuck, and when Amy become pregnant 3 years later, she was really keen to see if this was a viable option. The local midwifes were extremely supportive and so we decided to go for it. We liked the idea of being a little different, as we didn’t know anybody else who had progressed with a home birth. We checked that  from a safety point of view the risks of a home birth was as safe as a hospital birth (in fact more safe), providing it was supported by the midwives.

Given our positive experience with a birth pool with our first child, we definitely wanted a birth pool for our home birth. There only seemed a few suppliers and birth pool in the box seemed to have good reviews, was cost effective and could delivery very quickly after the order – so no worry about baby arriving whilst the birth pool was in the post. A home birth with a pool also meant that Amy wouldn’t be separated from our first child, and meant that there would actually be more midwifes present at the birth – 2 and a trainee as it turned out. We’d noticed with our first child how much more relaxed things like breast feeding were once home, so it seemed the perfect option to start our new babies journey at home. Getting a birth pool in a box for a home birth was the only way we could guarantee a water birth – either at home or in hospital. Purchase seemed better value than renting, particularly as we may consider more children in future, or if not, could sell the pool on.

Our experience with the birth pool in a box was really positive. When it first arrived we did a test run, to see how long it would take to prepare. It was all very simple. Then when labour started David was able to get the pool blown up between contractions, and then got the hose running to fill up the pool – the most time consuming part. We were expecting labour to last quite a few hours, so had filled up the pool with water a little hot, so it could cool over the next few hours to the right temperature. As it was Amy’s labour progressed extremely quickly and we ended up putting in some cold water as she wanted to get in the pool only an hour after the midwives arrives. Shortly after our daughter was safely delivered in the pool, with the water pool and a little gas and air being the only pain relief required – not that it was easy! If we had planned a hospital birth, its quite possible we wouldn’t have made it in time – we certainly would not have had sufficient preparation for a hospital pool birth – so we definitely made the right choice.

It was really lovely to have our daughter at home. We had re-decorated the room to make it lovely. The house is quite old, so its probably not the first child to be delivered within. Family could visit straight away to celebrate the arrival. Our daughter was born at 10pm at night, with our son sleeping upstairs without disturbing through the whole process. This led to one of the most wonderful memories, which was our son waking up in the morning and being introduced to his new sister. It was a beautiful moment which couldn’t have happened in hospital.

Overall we were really pleased with our birth pool in a box. It allowed us to have the home birth we wanted, with a water birth, and some treasured memories. The product itself is great, but its the moments it creates which is really special. We’d thoroughly recommend to anybody who is able to have a water birth at home.