Blue Lagoon's attractive birth pools are ideal for the job!

Our beautiful yet practical portable birth pools have been used by hundreds of satisfied women since 1992. The majority of our hirers are referred to us by their midwives or friends. We are proud of our personal service and our unblemished ‘infection control’ record since we started hiring out pools.

The design:

Choosing the right equipment can be confusing. At Blue Lagoon we have just the right package for you including a tried and tested design (over 16 years), which offers all you need to provide an ideal environment to labour and give birth in.

Blue Lagoon birth pools are hexagonal in shape and have been designed specifically for their purpose, being hand-built by craftsmen from attractive, robust natural wood. The walls are well insulated and the birth pool retains its heat during many hours of use, requiring minimum top-up.

We hold a variety of sizes of birth pool to suit different height women and all our pools allow for more than one person in the pool, if desired. We believe all our pools offer an optimum depth for the labouring woman to comfortably kneel, squat or sit; buoyancy effectively ‘cushions’ the woman in the pool.

Midwives have commented on how secure they feel with a pool with solid sides. Should they need to lean in to the labouring woman there is no danger of the sides dipping under their weight, which could lead to the possibility of flooding the floor with a wave of water!

We have found that our customers also feel more secure in a pool with rigid vertical sides. The thick PVC shaped liner which holds the water in our pools is protected by the wooden shell of the pool, minimising the possibility of puncturing.

The robust sides of the birth pool provide something solid to push against during the birth process, if you wish. You can brace yourself in any position that feels right at any time during the labour and yet at the next moment be floating free, cushioned by the bouyancy of the warm water. At least two people can sit on the edge of the pool if necessary.

The rim of each pool is made of smoothly planed wood which is wide enough to allow you to sit comfortably on the edge as you get in and out and is pleasant to lean on when you are in the pool. We provide a padded cushion to clip to the rim for extra comfort.

The vertical sides allow you to face outwards (leaning on your arms) if you wish, without having to lean uncomfortably over your bump.

The hexagonal shape allows you to sit in one of the angles of the pool and rest both arms on the rim without having to stretch them too far back.

An internal seat can be created by placing a small bean bag under the liner before filling, in one of the hexagonal corners. With the pressure of the water as it fills, this turns into a firm little seat to give extra flexibility for those who would like it.

DIMENSIONS

Our birth pools start at 1.3 metres (4’ 3”) wide which we believe is the minimum for a mother-to-be to enjoy the full benefit of using water for labour and/or birth. They measure between 1.3m (4’ 3”) and 1.55m (5’ 1”) across flats (a pair of parallel sides). Their maximum width dimension between the opposite corners of the hexagonal is between 1.50m (4’11”) and 1.78m (5’10”).

Our pools are also deeper than an ordinary bath at approximately 0.701 metres high (2 feet 4 inches).

Our birth pools weigh approximately 750 – 1000 Kg when filled, and have a capacity of 750 – 1000 litres (200 – 264 gallons).

All our pools are the same cost to hire at £195 for an 'all-in' package. Please go to Hire Costs and Details for more information.