If you search the web and go to different birth pool websites, you will read a lot of different things about pool liners. I would like to set the record straight.
Have you ever wondered why Birth Pool in a Box requires that people use a liner for the warranty to be valid even on personal use pools, and other pools don't even come with liners included? It's not because those other pools are better and don't need an extra protective layer. In fact, Birth Pool in a Box is very well made, and very durable.
The issue is that all three inflatable birth pools on the market are designed in the UK. In the UK, BPIAB owns the patent on pool liners. That means that in the UK, only BPIAB is allowed to be sold with liners. Fitted liners on the other pools would be infringement.
If you buy an Aquaborn in the UK, it will not come with a liner in the box the way it does here in North America. It's not because the liner wouldn't be a good idea. It's because they're not allowed to include it.
So, if you go on the UK sites for La Bassine (Made in Water) and Aquaborn, they will talk about how a liner doesn't help or doesn't make any difference. It's a sales pitch. If you live in North America, and can therefore access liners for both of these pools, USE THEM. If you're purchasing a La Bassine, you will need to purchase a liner separately. DO IT.
Here is why:
- The way these pools are designed, we're not worried about some sort of catastrophic deflation and emptying of water all over your house. Whether you're using a liner or not, the vertical beams in both the La Bassine and Aquaborn will hold their shape and contain the water for long enough that you can drain the pool.
What we're worried about is a small little tear in the floor, or a little puncture that goes unnoticed. Without a liner, you can either have water escaping into the air chambers and weakening the pool, or you can have a pinhole leak in the floor that goes unnoticed until someone kneels on a sopping wet bit of carpet, towel, blanket, or hardwood. At that point there is little that can be done, and it's a frantic panic to soak up the water, drain the pool, and protect your house!
Both of these scenarios can be prevented with the use of a liner. I've heard several stories of people having to abandon their plans of water birth when their pool suddenly springs a leak. It's too bad. If they had used a liner, it wouldn't have been an issue at all, and probably would have gone unnoticed entirely.
We have an Aquaborn pool set up on our patio in the summer (I've sat in it several times today). It's our old first generation demo pool. It was sent to us for free from the UK because I wanted a demo, and this pool had a manufacturer's defect so was useless to the UK distributor. It has a very small (actually, I've never been able to find it) hole in the floor. It doesn't affect the look of the pool, and the pool stays inflated very well (even the padded floor shows no sign of deflation). One day my husband forgot to put a liner on and filled it. He had been in there for quite some time before I came home and noticed. He had noticed no change in the water level, so he assumed that everything was fine. Luckily it was set up on our porch and not our living room, because the blanket underneath was SOPPING on one corner. It had leaked considerably! However, when we remember to use the liner, we don't have any leaking whatsoever.
- From a practical standpoint, using a liner makes for very easy clean up. When I am at a birth with a birth pool, I require my clients to use a liner if they want me to clean up the pool afterward. With a liner, clean up is fast and easy. You drain the pool, take the liner off and throw it away, and you have a clean and dry pool underneath that is ready to be packed away. If you don't use a liner, the pool must be washed and dried before it can be put away, otherwise you will get terrible mold and bacteria growth.
The most common reasons why people choose not to use liners:
-extra cost on a La Bassine (Aquaborn comes with a liner included)
-it's harder to grip internal handles (which on the La Bassine is all of the handles)
-it looks nicer without one, and none of the beautiful pictures of birthing women on the internet have liners in the pools
In my opinion, if you weigh the pros and cons ($1000s in floor damage with a leak vs $40 for an extra liner or having to utilize internal handles a bit less) liners are well worth it.
