Once we’ve received your booking form we’ll confirm availability of a pool. We aim to have your pool ready for you from 37 weeks of pregnancy, and we’ll contact you again when your pool is ready for you to collect.

Please note, Stroud Maternity Matters is a volunteer run organisation who circulate the birth pools for the benefit of the local community. It is not a hire scheme for profit and consequently women and birthing people must take on the responsibility for proper use of the pools themselves, and for collecting a pool from the previous user once notified that it is available.
 

Once you know what size pool you'll be using you can order a liner from Birth Pool in a Box using this link https://birthpoolinabox.refr.cc/stroudbirthpool?t=tg  which gives you a 10% discount and earns us a small commission. Visit the What Else Do I Need page for the other things you’ll need: Birth Pool in a Box sells useful kits of equipment too.
 

Because the pools often pass directly between users, volunteers do not always see them between uses. When you receive the pool please inflate it to check its condition and report any issues to us as soon as possible - we will try our best to help.
 

It is vital that the pools are cleaned carefully after use. Once the pool is emptied and the liner has been removed, please wipe the pool with a cloth soaked in detergent solution, then with a cloth soaked in Milton sterilising fluid or with anti-bacterial wipes. The pool then needs to be left inflated to dry out completely before being packed away, and one of the boxes on the side of the pool should be ticked off indicating that it has been used, whether or not your baby was born in the water.
 

Please remember to let us know when your baby has been born so that we can arrange for it to be collected. If you live outside of GL5, GL6 or GL10 we ask that you return the pool to us in Stroud, or deliver it to the next user.
 

Once the pool has been passed on successfully, we will delete your contact details from our records.