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We had lots of chux pads and
clean, old towels & sheets and plastic backed table cloths ready. We also had peroxide on hand to deal with any stains.
Plus, we had a waterbirth with Ethan, so most of the birth matter was washed into the sewer system afterwards. Simple as could
be!
~Carrie
UC Board CL
I
think that this is where your support people/partner comes in handy. Let everyone else worry about the mess later and sit
back and enjoy your babymoon!! Have tarps/ plastic sheets/rags/towels handy to prevent some mess or staining. But also if
stains DO occur, have some peroxide handy. Pour it on, let it foam, then blot dry. Chux pads are disposable and can be bought
at most any medical supply place.
karly
After I was done, I let my husband take over the cleaning part and I cuddled with my little guy.
Tina Mom to Quentin 3/4/97, Ashton 6/23/99, Owen 4/11/01 first UC, due again May
We just tossed everything on the plastic bed sheet & wrapped it up & threw it in the wash.
We lived in an apartment and we tossed everything out.
It was no big deal...
I had a water birth. Most of the "mess" went down the drain. My husband
buried the placenta under some ferns in our backyard, and they are growing really well now. Our towels washed right up, no
stains. I also had some old sheets on the bed, that washed right up without stains. We put a vinyl cover under the sheet to
protect the mattress. Lots of folks just use an old shower curtain instead. We had tarps and a big sheet of clear plastic
on hand, just in case I didn't want to birth in the tub, but never used them.
Kiley
Like you would any other mess... :) But really, there is a chance that there won't be much of a
mess-- after Dora's birth, we washed one *small* load of laundry that was birth related (that was IT). And the only thing
we threw away was the paper wrapper that was around the scissors/cord tape that we had sterilized in the oven. The receiving
blanket that I birthed her onto, then sat on for awhile, then birthed the placenta onto, was wet, but had barely any blood/goop
on it at all (I air dried it, then kept it as a keepsake... So now you know!).
Beatrice-- mama to Max (6, CNM hospital
birth), William (4, LM home waterbirth), Dora (2, family UC), Wee One (in belly, arriving late-Winter, UC)
*Bee's
Official Disclaimer: All of my answers express my own personal opinion, and as I am not a trained birth professional, but
better, an experienced mother, none of it ought to be construed as medical advice.*
As far as I can recall...
There just wasn't much of a mess! I didn't do any of my laboring
or birthing on my bed anyway, so there were no sheets to worry about. I used disposable underpads to stand on & stuff
when I started dripping blood and gunk, and we just had a couple blankets and more underpads to cover the floor.
I
would never consider the placenta part of "the mess" - it's part of the baby, and has a purpose. It's there to stem hemorrhage,
and deserves to be treated with respect, not like "a mess". We plan on planting the next baby's under the Christmas tree this
year.
Washing messed-up sheets, blankets, towels, and cloth menstrual pads is as easy or easier than doing diapers.
And diapers just ain't no big deal!
(Incidentally, I think a lot of "the mess" is allopathically created - much of
the blood associated with birth just isn't there when there's no episiotomy & artificial hormones to deal with. When you
birth at home naturally, there isn't "mess" - just a bit of fluids, some blood to soak up with a towel, and a placenta to
wrap & store until planting time.)
Birthing in water cuts downs on the mess...
The next morning dh emptied the pool, wiped
up a few blood spots and that was it.
Annabelle Mom to 4 girls and a boy! Makaley 2/24/94, Arden 2/24/94, twins by
c/s, Anniston 11/12/95, HB w/ midwife, Taegan 12/30/98, UC, and Balen 12/7/00, UC.
I birthed on some chux pads, then sat on some chux pads on the bed, then held a chux pad like a
diaper around myself when I went to the shower. After that I put on panties and a sanitary napkin. Baby and leaky placenta
lay on a chux pad, changed as needed. Dh threw out the chux pads.
Ruth
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