Equipment Hire

Organic Midwifery make available to clients a selection of inflatable birth pools & TENS machines for hire.

Birth pools are available to hire from 37 weeks onwards until your baby is born. TENS machine hire periods vary and can be discussed with your Organic Midwifery Midwife in the lead up to your due date.

Please contact Helen or Mal using the contact form on this website to discuss availability and pricing. You can start the process by clicking here. Alternatively, you can contact Helen by phoning (mob) 0416 201 143. Or Mal by phoning (mob) 0408 363 802.

Inflatable Birth Pools

Your Organic Midwifery midwife will personally deliver the pool to your home during an antenatal visit from 37 weeks onwards. After your baby is born, either Helen or Mal will collect the pool from you in the immediate days following the birth. We ask you to ensure that the pool is checked for air leaks prior to use. After use, we ask you to clean them thoroughly (including underneath and the outside of the pool – Tuffy wipes provided), before returning them to Organic Midwifery for the next client. It is required that each person using the pool, must use a disposable fitted liner available for purchase from Organic Midwifery. The hire cost also includes the use of an electric air pump to inflate the pool and a pool repair kit.

Inflatable birth pools available for hire from Organic Midwifery are ‘Birth Pool in a Box’ and ‘La Bassine’.

Birth Pool in a Box and La Bassine provide the most comfortable, convenient and safest birthing pool at a reasonable price. Organic Midwifery choose Birth Pool in a Box and La Bassine for the following reasons:

Super comfortable and welcoming.
Handles in all the right places.
Built-in seat (Regular model) for breastfeeding your baby after birth.
Easy to clean up with its included disposable liner.
A size that is right for you and your place of birth.
Is fit for purpose: certified by medical device regulators in Europe and the USA. Evidenced by the CE mark.

Dimensions (Pool in a Box): 193cm diameter, 69cm deep (Great for tall women – Holds 730 litres of water.)

Dimensions (La bassine): 125cm diameter, 65cm deep (Holds 450 litres of water.)

Should you wish to book a birth pool, please contact Helen by phoning (mob) 0416 201 143 or Mal by phoning (mob) 0408 363 802.

Alternatively, please use the email addresses below.

– helen@organicmidwifery.com.au

– mal@organicmidwifery.com.au

Important!

It is recommended that you book your birth pool as early as possible in your pregnancy to avoid the disappointment of missing out.

TENS Units

TENS stands for ‘Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation’. A TENS machine consists of a small box, with a clip on the back that you can attach to your clothing. The machine gives out little pulses of electrical energy. Leading out of the box are four wires connected to sticky pads.

Your birth partner can place the pads on your back for you. Two of the pads are placed on either side of your spine at about bra-strap level. The other two go lower down, at about the level of the dimples in your bottom. The pads are covered in a gel to help the electrical pulses pass through your skin more easily.

The TENS machine has dials that you can adjust to control the frequency and strength of the pulses. There’s also a boost button for you to hold in your hand and press when you want maximum output from the machine to help you with a difficult contraction.

How does a TENS machine work?

There are a number of theories surrounding how exactly TENS works. One is that the electrical pulses prevent pain signals from reaching your brain, while another is that the pulses stimulate your body to release its own, natural, feel-good substances, called endorphins. It’s also likely that various factors interact to make TENS work. TENS may help you to feel that you have control over your contractions, it may help you to feel less anxious, and it also may provide a distraction from your contractions.

When and how should you use TENS?

TENS seems to work best and give you the most effective pain relief if you start using it at the very beginning of your labour, so hiring a TENS machine and using it at home before you go into hospital is advised, if indeed you are having a hospital birth.

It takes about an hour for your body to respond to the electrical impulses by releasing endorphins, so start using TENS when you’re getting regular contractions or backache. You may find your machine works better at relieving your backache than abdominal pain.

It is recommended that you start with the controls at their lowest settings and turn them up gradually as your contractions or the back pain gets stronger. Use the boost button at the peak of contractions.

Very few hospitals provide TENS units. This is partly because most women are only admitted to labour wards once they are in established labour, by which time TENS won’t work as well. If you want to carry on using your TENS in established labour that’s fine – no one should stop you from doing so, if you feel you are benefiting from it.