The gentlebirth.org website is provided courtesy of
Ronnie Falcao, LM MS, a homebirth midwife in Mountain View, CA

Initial Information about Birthing Tub Rentals

Thank you for inquiring about tub rental.  A description of
the tubs available for rental is at:

http://www.gentlebirth.org/tubs/tubs.html

and a description of the optional Deluxe Accessories Kit is at:

http://www.gentlebirth.org/tubs/tubsAccessories.html

If you are not sure whether you should rent the Deluxe Accessories Kit,
I encourage you to discuss this with your midwife.

Please note that these tubs are available for local rental only,
and that you are responsible for pickup, setup, cleaning, packing
and returning the kits in condition suitable to be sent right out
again to the next family.  Some components of the Deluxe Accessories
Kit must be sterilized prior to use.

I am happy to rent tubs for use in hospitals.  However, the hospital
engineering department often wants a lot of technical information
that I'm not set up to provide.  For use in hospitals, you might do
better to rent from the national birth tub rental organizations:

http://www.gentlebirth.org/archives/watrbrth.html#Rentals

I am including the following attachments:

Rental Agreement
Notes Regarding Waterbirth Or Laboring in Water
Waterbirth and Labor Tub Manual
Tub Kit Return Checklist
Directions to my home office
 

Many of your general questions about waterbirth and laboring
in water are addressed online:

http://www.gentlebirth.org/archives/watrbrth.html

This page includes a subsection on national birth tub rentals:

http://www.gentlebirth.org/archives/watrbrth.html#Rentals

Information about the local atmosphere for waterbirth and
other local tub rentals is at:

http://www.gentlebirth.org/local/resources.html#Waterbirth

Please let me know if you would like to reserve a tub for
your due date.  Once I tell you that a tub is available,
I keep it reserved for a couple of days, and if you don't
let me know that you do want to reserve it, then I offer
it to other interested people.  Once you let me know that
you do want it, I keep it reserved for another week while
awaiting your check.

Once tub availability is confirmed, please send me a signed
copy of the Rental Agreement along with the check for the
rental fee and the postdated check for the deposit.  Please
make the checks payable to Ronnie Falcao.

My mailing address is:

Ronnie Falcao
286 Vincent Drive
Mountain View, CA  94041

Once I receive your completed paperwork, the tub is reserved
for you.  Then, contact me about 4 weeks before your
due date to arrange pickup within the next couple of weeks.

Please note also that these tub kits are a little bulky,
and it is prudent to have as much empty space in your car
as possible when you come to pick up the kit.

 - Ronnie

P.S.  My primary occupation is as a midwife, and I offer
these tub rentals as a way of supporting the local homebirth
community rather than as my primary business.  This means that
the rental kit will not be as tidy as you might get from
a national agency; if this is going to bother you,
then I encourage you to rent from the national agencies.

The regularly scheduled tub pickup and dropoff times are
Sunday from 4 to 6 pm.  I might also be able to offer you
other times before or after my irregularly scheduled office
appointments, but there is no guarantee of this.  If you
are not able to manage the Sunday 4-6 pm pickup and dropoff
time, then I encourage you to rent from the national agencies.
Alternatively, you may request to schedule a pickup or dropoff
at a time of your choosing for an additional fee of $50.

Also, I sometimes need to cancel appointments at the last minute
if I'm called to a birth.  Please let me know your phone number
if I don't already have it, and please check your messages before
heading to my office for an appointment.  Thank you.
 

P.P.S.  If you have specific questions about laboring or birthing
in water, you need to discuss these with your midwife.  I cannot
address safety or personal issues with you.
 

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NOTE - If you are having problems downloading or viewing these
attachments, they are also available online at:

http://gentlebirth.org/tubs/tubsIndex.html
 

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