I had my DD in the bath at the birth centre, so I don't know about getting the carpet wet lol, but the water does get pretty murky/bloody. Not hideously so, but you wouldn't want to drop your keys in there lol.
At the BC they just pulled the plug & bye bye water, although at home I think you'd be right to tip it on the garden if you wanted to.
Hope this is some sort of help... although reading back... maybe not so much...
I can't help much either, as DD was born in the bath at the hospital, but yeah, the water was pretty dark by the time they pulled the plug, but I hardly noticed it! Clear until she was actually birthed though....
If you can get your hands on The Waterbirth Book by Janet Balaskas it might answer lots of your questions, I found it a great read
As sson as I hopped in the water I knew I'd made the right decision to try a waterbirth - the relief the warm water gave me was amazing.
As others have said the water can get a bit yucky. There are 2 main ways to empty the water out if there is not a plug. The easiest is to siphon, and let the water run onto your plants. The other way is to scoop it out. Again you can put the water onto your plants or down the toilet if you prefer.
To protect your floor a couple of shower curtains from the cheap shop works well. Put the shower curtains on the floor, pool on top of the curtains and a few old towels on top of the shower curtains around the outside of the pool.
My waterbirth was at a birth centre and looking at the photos the spa water wasn't very dirty at all. I didn't tear though so I imagine if I had have then the water would have not been clear...
Thanks for posting this thread ummAadam, I am also wanting a water birth (but at a private hospital) and I'e also wondered about eh water getting dirty.
Alan does it really only get dirty right near the end like human bean said? Do you think not tearing like chocolatecatty mentioned could make a big difference?
In regards to how dirty the water gets. I only had a 1 degree tear and it wasn't dirty at all. My waters also broke in there. However afterwards the placenta fell out pretty much straight away and well yep it got very yuck then..
Also keep in mind, when pushing, sometimes you can have bowel movements and that'll make the water yuck too obviously.
Tearing usually will not have much of an effect on the water colour. In most cases when you tear there is not much bleeding. However if when you tear you damage a vein or an artery then there can be quite a bit of blood. How murky the water gets depends upon a few things including if you pee or poo, if your newborn poos, if your waters break when in the pool, how much bleeding you have after your baby is born. I usually carry a small scoop so that if mum does poo I can quickly scoop it up and dispose of it without too much trouble, and hopefully without mum seeing it. (saves embarrassment)
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