# Waterbirth Question



## Waiting4bb

So I'm curious. If your water breaks before you go into labor, can you still do a waterbirth? Because I read that you shouldn't take a bath after your waters break, so would that mean you can't give birth in a pool?


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## Laucu

My waters broke before I got into the birthing pool, so yes it is fine!


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## Sommerfugl

I had a water birth and my waters broke 9 hours before I got in the birthing pool, so here at least, yes! 

I also had a bath after they broke, no one told me I shouldn't, in fact I think the midwives might have advised it when I called them?


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## Waiting4bb

Awesome! Thanks for the responses ladies. xx :)


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## TattiesMum

They don't tend to let you use the pool if there is meconium in your waters when they break, but otherwise it's OK :thumbup:


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## NaturalMomma

It really depends on your providers policy. The whole can't get into a bath if waters are broke thing is more of a "cover your ass" policy for Doctors. Your chance of infection does increase, but slightly. I did get into a birth pool with ds2 and my water broke before labor even started. I didnt' give birth in there though, but only because my body had other plans (standing to birth).


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## Jaysmummy

My waters also broke before I got in the pool, about half hour before I think

xx


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## mummymarsh

i think they advise against bath at home if waters break incase u get infection, but when your in hospital and u r being checked etc its totally fine, unless maybe there is meconium in waters when they break xxx


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## Guppy051708

i agree with one of the PP about the doctors doing it to cover their butts. Anything is possible, but its not likely with water, to happen. The irony of it all, is refusing women this great pain relief because of an ever so small risk of infection, and yet they dont mind doing internal exams every hour :wacko: [which increase your risk greatly! :dohh:] Many studies indicate that that its not necessarily PROM (premature rupture of membranes) that puts you at greatest risk. It's all of the internals they are doing. If you want to decrease your risk, get no or limited internals. Study after study will back that up. 

but to answer your question. I had two water births. With DS1 My water was broke for 30 hours. I was in hard labor (back labor is the devil!!!!) the entire time (he was posterior). With DS2 my waters were gone for 32 hours. It broke and i wasn't even into active labor until 30.5 hours later. Active labor was less than 2 hours. He came out just fine.

Neither of them had problems. I didn't get an infection either. With that said, i also had verrryyy limited internal exams done. ...honestly, unless there is meconium stains when you're water goes....it's evil to "not allow" a mother to do as her body is telling her when it comes to water (or anything else for that matter)!


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## Betheney

I beleive it depends if you're in active labour or not, if your waters break and you're in early labour and you get in a pool which means you increase the risk of infection and you might not hit active labour for a very very very long time so this is obviously bad, so generally here you can get in the pool/bath once you've hit active labour because that means birth isn't as far off as it would be if you were in early labour. Here the same goes for internals, they wont do one if your waters have broken and they believe you're in early labour because they increase the risk of infection and then because you're only in early labour your contractions might stop and they're not going to be able to let you go home and wait for them to start because they've increased the chance of infection and if your labour doesn't start soon because of that chance they'll induce you. But in Australia they let you go 3 days before inducing someone with broken waters so it's important to still decrease that risk on infection, where as i know other countries only let you go 24 hours so knowing you're going to get induced within so many hours they might not be as picky as they are in Aus.

So it all goes by whether you're in active labour or not.


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