WHAT YOU NEED WHEN PLANNING ON LABOURING AND/OR BIRTHING AT HOME

Items List

  • 2 buckets For emptying the pool and putting wet towels in and other such things

  • 1 icecream bucket For the placenta

  • 4 plastic shopping bags For rubbish and to birth the placenta into

  • 2 thin clear plastic painters drop sheets The ones that are $1.50 from your local hardware store…to protect mattresses and couches from amniotic fluid and blood and meconium (baby’s first poo)

  • 2 old sheets To go on top of the plastic painters drop sheets

  • 10 old towels Women in labour use the shower often and can be in and out of the birth pool if they have one. Towels are also useful to put over baby when first born.  Towels are needed for after a new mamma’s first shower when she is ready after giving birth.  

  • 1 torch In case of a power failure

  • Hot packs or hot water bottle To ease labour pains, warm blankets for baby and ease after pains

  • Small mirror If you wish to visualize your baby crowning or view your perineum after birth

  • Camera  If you want to take photos

  • Straws They make it easy to drink when you are progressing in labour and not wanting to expend energy lifting your head up to drink

  • 2 packs Maternity pads 

  • Nappies of your choice

  • A comfy top and comfy pair of nickers For after the birth

  • 1 x thermometer To take baby’s temperature 

  • 4 x Bunny rugs and muslin wraps  To wrap baby in

  • Packet of puppy pads To lie on after birth to protect your lounge, bed etc

    — PLACE ALL OF THIS IN A BOX THAT IS EASY FOR YOUR MIDWIFE AND SUPPORT PEOPLE TO ACCESS —

  If planning to labour and/or birth in water you will need:

  • The pool Order from la bassine or hire through your doula or “the community” in Cockburn

  • A regular garden hose To connect to your kitchen or laundry tap to fill up the pool

  • A tap/hose connector For your laundry or kitchen tap to connect to the hose to enable hot water to fill the pool

  • A soft place to lie within a couple of steps of the pool An old mattress, your bed or the lounge

  • 1 sieve To remove any unwanted ‘bits’ from the pool if planning to use water to labour and/birth in

  • Pool liner Order from Simply Birth on line

  • Air pump To pump up the pool

  • Waterproof thermometer To take the pool temperature to maintain as per statewide water birth guidelines (available online)

HAVE ON HAND

  • Food –icy poles, sweet drinks like grape juice or Gatorade, lollies, sultanas….easily digestible food/drink that gives you quick access to carbohydrates to replenish your energy levels

  • Frozen meals - it is sometimes wise to prepare meals in advance and freeze so that support people can be nourished during the labour and not have to take time away from the labouring woman to cook. They can also be useful to pull out if you are transferring to hospital because hospitals do not provide food for support people

  • A hospital bag –If you are wanting to pack a hospital bag I would suggest putting a change of clothes for your partner, pjs for you, a comfy button up or loose top to make breastfeeding and being warm easy, a few pairs of comfy knickers, clothes and a blanket for your baby to come home in, maternity pads, a few nappies, a pair of shoes, a toothbrush and toothpaste, and some easy grab snacks and a water bottle.  

AMBULANCE  COVER

You may already have private health insurance and in which case you may already have ambulance cover.  Please check with your provider to ensure that you do.  If you do not I would encourage you to take out ambulance cover so in the instance that you did need to transfer to your back up hospital you avoid having to pay the full price, which can be around $800.

BABY CAR SEAT

Have your baby’s car seat fitted at around 37 weeks of pregnancy. The reason for this is that if you do transfer to hospital there will be no avoidable delay in bringing you and your baby home. SUPPORT SUPPORT TEAM

If you are planning to have your other children present at the birth I would suggest having a support person for them.  The support person may be available just in case you need them or you may want to have them present during your labour and birth.  This is different for every woman. 

Having your other children present while you labour and birth can be amazing.  And in other instances it can slow things down because you are unable to let go while you are mindful of the needs of your other children and their need of you.  It is not unusual for a woman to go into labour just as her other children are drifting into the land of nod or in the wee hours of the morning while the household sleeps. Women will often birth just before or just as her other children are rising.  I have taken many a photo of a sleepy child sitting on his or her dad’s knee by the pool in awe of what they have just woken up to….a new baby brother or sister who is only minutes old.