Dublin Homebirth

Do you need a birthing pool?

You absolutely do not need a birthing pool. It is more than possible to birth at home without one. That being said, most women who birth at home love the soothing effects of being submerged in warm water during labour.

Inflating the pool, filling it and keeping it the right temperature takes a bit of effort and if you are going for the pool, you should ask your birth partner to do a trial run or two so that they know what they’re doing when the time comes. This is absolutely not your job. You’ll have enough to be doing in labour without that. Your midwife will also be too busy.

Most women who birth at home do go for the pool, but it is your decision and you should do what is best for you.

Items usually suggested for homebirth

Below is a list of items you might want to consider getting in if you are considering a homebirth. Obviously, women have been birthing for millennia, long before TENS machines and facial mist spray were available and none of the items are essential to have a homebirth. But that being said, from experience, these are items that might make your birthing experience easier and more comfortable. They can also protect your soft furnishings and save you from problems if you have to be transferred to hospital.

• Plastic sheets for the couch, the floor and under the birthing pool (if one is being used) to protect your floorboards and furnishings. Waterproof shower curtains can be used if convenient.

• Old bedsheets to cover the plastic sheets and make them more comfortable.

• Loose tees and tops are handy as you might need to change a few times during and after labour and it’s important to be comfortable.

• A good supply of towels (8-10) for drying off and a nice soft one for wrapping baby in when they arrive.

• A pack of (12) disposable incontinence sheets. These can be found in most pharmacies.

• A robe for when you get out of the pool to keep warm.

• Clothes for the baby (2x vest, baby-grow, cardigan, socks, nappy, soft blanket). Of course, these are for after a period of skin-to-skin which can last as long as you choose.

• Plenty of drinks (ginger ale, fruit juices, Labourade*) and lots of ice cubes

• Bendy drinking straws

• Plenty of easily digested snacks (bananas, yoghurt, honey, toast, ice-cream, glucose sweets)

• Massage oil

• Hot water bottle (for lower back relief)

• Vaseline/chapstick for chapped lips

• Face cloth or facial mist spray

• Aromatherapy oil burner and essential oils

• Candles

• Relaxing music

• Disposable sieve (for pool poo!)

• Floating thermometer to measure temperature of the water. This is often supplied with the pool.

• A mirror if you want to see what your midwife and birth partner can see.

• A camera (make sure it’s charged - or loaded if you’re old school).

• A small table for your midwife to keep her equipment or do her paperwork.

• Sanitary pads (maternity), breast pads, baby nappies

• Nipple cream (Lasinoh)

• Nappy rash cream (Sudocrem, Vaseline, etc.)

• A TENS machine (can be bought or hired) for natural pain relief.

• Rescue Remedy (useful to sip in water during labour or transitional stage).

• A baby car seat. This is one that is easy to forget, but if you are transferred to hospital, you will need on in order to be discharged after the birth**.

If you are planning on keeping your placenta whether to eat, encapsulate or plant under a shrub or tree, here are some items you may need.

● A roll of sealable plastic freezer bags x 2 (to eat or encapsualte).

● A garden spade, and shrub/flower/sapling (to plant)

*Recipe for Labourade: 2 pints of water, ½ jar of honey, juice of 2 lemons, ½ teaspoon of bicarb of soda, ¼ teaspoon of salt, 2 calcium capsules-Blend all together and drink regularly during labour.

**For more information on what you might want to pack in your hospital bag in the event of a hospital transfer, have a look at the HSE guidelines here: https://www2.hse.ie/wellbeing/child-health/hospital-bag-for-labour-and-birth.html