10+ Tips for a Smooth Home Water Birth

Planning a home water birth? Here are 10+ practical tips to create a smooth home water birth experience:

Image description: black and white photo of a newborn baby, held by their birthing parent in a birth tub. Their other parent looks on, holding baby’s hand. Two dogs tuck their heads over the edge of the pool to get a look at baby. Birthing parent and baby are wrapped in a towel. 📷: Megan Boone

1. Talk to your care provider about their experience and comfort with water birth

   How often do they attend water births? How often do their clients who plan water birth actually have water births? When and why might they ask you to get out of the tub?

2. Turn up the temp on your hot water tank

   Unless you’re one of the lucky ones with an infinite hot water tank, make sure to turn up the temp on your hot water tank at the start(ish) of labour. This increases the likelihood you’ll have enough hot water to fill your tub.

3. Test everything before labour

   Make sure that whoever is setting things up knows how to hook your hose up to your tap (do you need an adapter? does your adapter fit your tap and hose? will the hose reach to where your pool is? what’s your back up water source in case option #1 doesn’t work? etc).

   Does your pool come with testing instructions? Follow them thoroughly. Troubleshooting this when you’re in labour is not just hard, it’s nearly impossible.

4. Put plastic under your tub

   Make sure to lay a dropsheet or tarp under the tub to catch drips when you get out or to catch any water that gets splashed over the edge.

5. Use a floating water thermometer

   Your midwife will likely recommend a specific temp your water should be at to keep baby nice and warm after birth. Having a floating water thermometer helps keep track easily.

   BONUS TIP: a regular digital thermometer will work in a pinch.

6. Assign someone to watch the hose

   While filling your pool, assign someone keep an eye on the water temp as the pool is filling. Fill the pool with straight hot water until it runs out and then bring the temp down by adding cold water. It’s MUCH easier to cool a too warm pool than to heat a too cool pool. Also, this way you’ll avoid having to boil water like a cliché.

7. Get a debris net/small strainer

   This allows your midwife or doula to discreetly remove anything from the pool that doesn’t need to be in there. You don’t need anything fancy - the dollar store is a great place to find what you need.

8. Invest in ALL the towels!

   For yourself, get bath sheets. These are the giant towels that go all the way around your body from shoulders to knees. It’ll be much cozier getting out of the tub when you know you’re getting wrapped up in a giant fluffy towel right away. Have more than you think you’ll need in case you’re getting in and out more than once.

   Also, face cloths! When it comes time to push, labouring folks often feel hot - have some face cloths soaking in a bucket of ice water to lay on your forehead/neck/upper chest to help cool you down.

   If you’re feeling especially generous, have a few handtowels available for your midwives and support peeps to dry their hands on after doing hands on support.

   BONUS TIP: Assign someone the job of popping the towels in the dryer once you’re pushing (your midwife will likely suggest this for the towels for baby too so it’s a two birds, one stone situation).

9. Beg or borrow a sump pump if you don’t have your own

   A sump pump is the quickest and easiest way to empty an inflatable birth pool. If you don’t have one, check with your midwife, doula, friends, and family if they have one available for loan. Make sure to use your handy debris net to scoop out anything that needs to be scooped out before emptying your pool.

   BONUS TIP: If you don’t have a sump pump though, you can siphon the pool with the hose. You’ll need to run the hose to a toilet or drain on a lower level for this to work. Make sure to take the pool end of the hose OUT of the pool while moving the drain end of the hose where it needs to go, otherwise the water will start flowing before you’re ready.

   BONUS BONUS TIP: If all else fails, go old school and use a bucket.

10. ASSIGN SOMEONE TO WATCH THE HOSE

    I’m not kidding. Make sure someone’s in charge of watching the hose at both ends when emptying so that the water’s going where you want it to and ISN’T going where you don’t want it to. Unfortunately, I’m speaking from experience on this one.

PS Looking for water birth supplies? We’ve got you covered!

PPS Or doula support? We’ve got that covered too!