# Water birth pros and cons?



## pinkpolkadot

Hi all!

I had previously been set against a water birth for some reason despite DH thinking it was a great idea. However after visting our local midwife fair last night and discussing it I may be coming around to the idea!! They only told me about the upsides though so I was wondering if any ladies who have experienced one would like to share the pros and cons?

Thanks :thumbup:


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## cherry_pie

Haven't experienced it as this is my first and might not get to as its looking likely that I will be induced on friday as I have a little lazy monkey in my tummy. I only know good things as well, I love warm water for period and back pains so it seemed a good option for me. I also like the fact it reduces the chances of me needing an epi as its a natural form of pain management and there seems to be a lot less perineal tears if you use the pool. Only cons I can think of are if you or baby get into trouble its a hasstle getting out quickly but apparantly they monitor things closely and get you out early should they feel they might need to.


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## lynnikins

I planned waterbirths with boy my sons with ds1 i labored in the pool for 4 hours before getting out to be asssesed and he was born while i was out, the water was lovely and really helped me manage my pain and completely calmed me and i was lovely and chillled out in the pool, 
sadly being induced with ds2 led to a cancelled waterbirth but i snuck into the bath a few times during labor to ease things and it defo helps for me.

this one im gonna have at home so planning water birth not sure if it will be pool or bath yet but im really looking forward to it


cherry-pie, how far pregnant are you? you know your within your rights to refuse induction and just to go in when you go into labor? they cant make you do anything and some women natrually do have pregnancys closer to 42 wks than 40 wks ( im one of them as is my mother and sister ) they can offer you monitoring every day or every other day but the "rules" state pregnancy is full term between 37-42 wks so if you havent reached 42 wks yet and are comfortable waiting for that then dont feel pushed into an induction


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## moomin_troll

ive never heard a downside to a water birth other then some women find the water too hot but others find it too cold.

the more relaxed ur body is the more that helps with pain and the more relaxed ur body is to help baby come out. plus u can get into alot more positions to help birthing easier while being supported.


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## SackBoy

I've just had a waterbirth and would recommend it. They monitored my LO without being intrusive my labour was incredibly quick but I have no idea if that was due to the water. I was the first person to hold my baby as I caught him so for me it was totally worth it.


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## pinkpolkadot

Thanks ladies, the water is sounding better by the minute :thumbup:


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## Guppy051708

Hands down, best experience of my life! So glad i had a waterbirth! I dont know how women who go unmedicated DONT give birth in the water!!!


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## Kiddo

I didn't give birth in the water but I laboured in the pool. I found it lovely and relaxing, it helped a bit with the pain and I was comfortable knowing nobody was going to examine me down there while I was underwater. 

The only down side for me was that I had quite a long labour and I'm not sure if getting in the pool made my contractions slow down a bit. I'd still recommend it though.


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## Guppy051708

Kiddo said:


> .
> 
> The only down side for me was that I had quite a long labour and I'm not sure if getting in the pool made my contractions slow down a bit. I'd still recommend it though.

If you are in the bath/pool, you arn't supposed to get in until active labor (4CM) and then you are supposed to make sure you get out every hour. I had a really long birth too (30 hours) and no one told me about getting out. If you get too relaxed then it can slow it. Of course my son was born posterior so who knows how much that played. Honestly though, when you have a hard birth, getting sleep isn't a bad thing. But yeah if you get in too soon or you dont get out every once in a while it can slow it.

Now getting in the shower is a lot different bc you are in the upright position, it wont slow labor.

Another pro for me, i was terrified of tearing. And i did not! The water did a great job making everything stretchy. So even though i pushed for 6 hours and 30 min of crowning :shock: (remember i had a back to back baby), i didn't get any tearing :D


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## Guppy051708

Here is my water birth experience if you are interested: https://www.babyandbump.com/birth-s...-arrival-posterior-style-bradley-way-3-a.html


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## Katy30

Guppy051708 said:


> Hands down, best experience of my life! So glad i had a waterbirth! I dont know how women who go unmedicated DONT give birth in the water!!!


Hello I'm new here but I had to reply to this post as soon as I read it and I 100% agree with the above posting!

I had my son 28 weeks ago by waterbirth, my labour was short and the heat of the water I found was a great pain reliever. I'd also spent 2 hours in the bath at home before I went to hospital! Best decision I ever made!

Whatever you decide I wish you all the best with the birth of your baby


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## fides

we are planning a water birth, and here are some con's i can think of (water birth is not allowed at the hospital, so we'll be doing this at home):

- cost of renting or purchasing your pool
- filling it at the right time and trying to keep the water warm by boiling water if your hot water heater is already emptied out
- clean up!!! yeah - my husband's not looking forward to that one, lol!


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## aileymouse

I had planned a waterbirth. 

I laboured for a while in the pool but I got too hot in the pool. Water temp was 37 degrees for baby.
But because I was too hot baby got a bit stressed out, her heartrate was high. So I got out. Baby calmed down a little once I got out the pool. I had meconium in my waters once they had broke when I got out the pool. 
I don't know if that was because I was too hot or not...


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## Kess

aileymouse said:


> I had planned a waterbirth.
> 
> I laboured for a while in the pool but I got too hot in the pool. Water temp was 37 degrees for baby.
> But because I was too hot baby got a bit stressed out, her heartrate was high. So I got out. Baby calmed down a little once I got out the pool. I had meconium in my waters once they had broke when I got out the pool.
> I don't know if that was because I was too hot or not...

I was worried I'll get too hot in the pool at 37 degrees, but my MW says I can have it as cool as I like earlier on, it only has to be at 37 degrees for the actual baby arriving so s/he doesn't gasp when they move from your body temperature to the colder water.

We're having a birth pool at my home birth, but atm I expect I'll get out to actually have him, and just labour in the pool (totally subject to how I feel on the day). I agree with Fides about the downsides of filling it etc: we did a trial run the other day and gave up after about an hour and a half with the pool less than half full and the hot water all gone! I think we'll be boiling lots of kettles etc! The current plan is to fill it early and use a sheet of bubblewrap over it to keep the heat it - when it's full it'll only lose about a degree an hour, but at half full I'm sure it'll be faster than that. Then we'll top it up with hot when the hot water tank has recovered a bit!


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## moomin_troll

37 degrees for me is cold lol. i will be having my water 39 degrees as hot as im allowed it and then add cold water when it comes to pushing


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## Kiddo

Guppy051708 said:


> Kiddo said:
> 
> 
> .
> 
> The only down side for me was that I had quite a long labour and I'm not sure if getting in the pool made my contractions slow down a bit. I'd still recommend it though.
> 
> If you are in the bath/pool, you arn't supposed to get in until active labor (4CM) and then you are supposed to make sure you get out every hour. I had a really long birth too (30 hours) and no one told me about getting out. If you get too relaxed then it can slow it. Of course my son was born posterior so who knows how much that played. Honestly though, when you have a hard birth, getting sleep isn't a bad thing. But yeah if you get in too soon or you dont get out every once in a while it can slow it.
> 
> Now getting in the shower is a lot different bc you are in the upright position, it wont slow labor.
> 
> Another pro for me, i was terrified of tearing. And i did not! The water did a great job making everything stretchy. So even though i pushed for 6 hours and 30 min of crowning :shock: (remember i had a back to back baby), i didn't get any tearing :DClick to expand...

I was 4cm when I arrived at the hospital so more than that when I got in the pool but I didn't get out every hour so that might have had something to do with it.

I did end up tearing - I had a 3rd degree tear despite spending hours in the birthing pool :(


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## nomadlife

My ideal birth is a water birth.


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## moodle

Here ya go (this is from https://bellybelly.com.au/birth/preparing-for-a-waterbirth):

Examine your own motivations, incentives and expectations for wanting a waterbirth. Ask yourself what made you decide to have a waterbirth and why â is it something you are doing for yourself or are you doing it because someone else expects you to? Remain flexible and let go of your expectations that you must birth your baby in any certain way. Examine how you might feel if your baby is not born in water. Get in touch with your own fears. Most importantly, develop and trust your own intuition.

Choosing a tub

The tub should be big enough to sit in comfortably and deep enough for the water to come up to armpit level, so as to get an adequate degree of buoyancy.

Make sure that your tap adaptor fits the outlet you will be using. Clean the tub with a non-abrasive cleaner, then use 10% solution of bleach and rinse thoroughly.

Consider purchasing 2 hoses, of different colours, one for filling and one for emptying the water. Remember that the water rises by 3 to 4 cms for each person who enters the tub and allow for this as you are filling it. Fill the tub to 30cms from the top, then add more water as necessary to avoid spilling over. Do a test run by timing how long it takes to fill the tub so that you already know this when your labour starts. Depending on how quickly you are progressing and how rapidly the tub fills, you may want to start filling the tub when labour begins.

Water

The water should be clean: if it's pure enough to drink, it's pure enough to give birth in. You don't need additives but a cup of salt per tub will prevent your skin becoming wrinkly & waterlogged. Don't add any essential oils if you are planning to birth in the tub unless you dilute them in 10mls of milk first. The water temperature ought to be within 35C â 38C, depending on your preference. Adjust the temperature to your comfort. If the water is too cold, you will lose body heat trying to keep warm, you will become tense if you're shivering amd it's thought that cold women don't birth their placentas well. If the water is too hot you'll feel drowsy, overheated, become dehydrated and as it dilates all your blood vessels. Your blood pressure will drop which can make you feel faint and you'll have a greater tendency to bleed after the birth. If you just want localised heat, say on your back; use wet, hot nappies or hot packs whilst kneeling in the water. Use a cold washer if needed on your face, have a fan blow on you (turn it off for the birth) and suck ice.

The Birthing Room

The floor should be strong enough to support the weigh of the tub when full. The room should be large enough allow access from all sides. Heat the room to personal comfort, have heated towels and blankets for mother and baby ready.

What to Eat & Drink

Drink to thirst. Ask your partner to remind you to drink at least 300mls of water every couple of hours to avoid dehydration, which can result in fatigue and a poorly functioning uterus.
Eating and drinking during labour has been shown to reduce the total length of labour by as much as 90 minutes. Eat light, easily digested food.

When to Get Into the Tub

Wait until you have a strong desire to be in the water. It's best to wait until your contractions are strongly established. Some recommend waiting until you are at least 5cms dilated, since you want to save the pain relieving effect for the time you need it most â at transition. If labour slows down when you are outside the water, try getting into the tub as this might stimulate labour. If your progress slows down whilst you are in the tub, get out, empty your bladder and move around to stimulate labour. Often it is the CHANGE of environment that gets labour moving again.

What about debris?

Use a sieve to remove any old clots, mucous, faeces or vomit from the water as soon as possible. But don't spend lots of energy worrying about this. Remember that "the solution to pollution is dilutionâ?.

Birth positions

Experiment with a variety of different positions while in the tub. Try kneeling, squatting, leaning, sitting or lying outstretched (face up or down. Use a snorkel if you like your face to be immersed). Some women prefer their partner to be in the tub with them to hold onto and act as an 'anchor', others prefer to be in the tub alone. Put folded towels, waterproof inflatable cushions or a rubber bath mat on the bottom of the tub to cushion your knees.

How long should the baby stay under water?

Discuss with your birth attendants ahead of time. Many people feel comfortable with the time that it takes the mother to reach down and pick the baby up herself (called rapid immersion). Any longer than that is not necessary. Remember that the great benefits of water are achieved as soon as the infant is born into the warm water.

How does the baby breathe?

The baby doesn't breathe until after its face leaves the water and its skin comes into contact with the air or it is stimulated. Until then, the baby receives oxygen through its umbilical cord, as it has done during the 9 months of pregnancy. Sometimes the babies are so calm at birth it can appear that they aren't breathing at all but they just aren't crying. Their heartbeat will be normal and when you gently rub their back, blow on their face or open their mouth with your finger they will gasp.

What about the placenta?

Some people choose to stay in the tub after the birth and bond with the baby. They should birth their placentas out of the water due to the theoretical risk of a water embolism. This ought to be discussed with your birth attendant ahead of time. If the placenta is slow to come, get out of the tub, put a bowl in the toilet and the placenta will likely come out easily into the bowl whilst you are sitting there with a warm blanket or towel around you.

Will the mother get an infection from the water?

Dr Michael Rosenthal reports that there have been no incidences of infection in close to 1000 births that he has attended. I've certainly never seen one in the thousands I've attended. This may be due to the fact that in labour and birth the action is all moving down and out, not up and in. The concentration of bacteria in and around the vagina is well diluted by the water.

Will my birth attendants get any infection I have from the water?

The infectious diseases we mostly concern ourselves with as birth attendants are Hepatitis A, B, C and HIV. The sheer volume of water these viruses are diluted in at a birth would render them negligible; no one has ever caught these from a waterbirth that we know of. It would take a much more highly concentrated volume of blood to seroconvert for the average well person with good skin integrity. Even so, open abrasions or cuts should not be immersed unless well covered with waterproof dressing (for both your sakes) and long veterinary gloves can be worn by accouchers if they feel they need protection.

(Daniels, 1986; Lichy, 1993; Harper, 1994)

The benefits of water for labour and/or birth

Greater comfort and mobility. The mother has much greater ease and freedom to move spontaneously and to change position to aid in descent of the baby.

Reduction of pressure on the abdomen. Buoyancy promotes more efficient uterine contractions and better blood circulation, resulting in better oxygenation of the uterine muscles, less pain for the mother and more oxygen for the baby.

Helps mother to conserve her energy. Immersion reduces opposition to gravity; supporting the mothers weight so that her energy can be used to cope with the contractions

Promotes deeper relaxation. As a woman relaxes deeply in water, her hormones are released and she starts progressing faster with more rhythm: labour becomes more efficient.

Water relaxes the pelvic Floor muscles, as it softens the vagina, vulva and perineum leading to fewer injuries to these tissues.

Water minimises the pain so effectively for most women that it reduces or eliminates the need for analgesia.

If analgesia is required it is in lower doses and is potentiated by the effect of the water.

Immersion is more safe and effective than an epidural.

Water stimulates the touch and temperature nerve fibres in the skin. It blocks impulses from the pain fibres, known as the 'Gate Theory of Pain'.

Facilitates a dysfunctional labour. Water can be an effective way to stimulate dilation of the cervix when the mother has difficulty progressing into the active stage of labour.

Water can reduce the need for drugs to artificially stimulate labour. Often, simply getting into the tub will result in dramatic and rapid progress to full dilation within an hour or two.

Lowering of blood pressure. When anxiety is causing high blood pressure, immersion in water often helps relieve it. The effect is heightened if the room is darkened.

Change of consciousness. Immersion helps relive anxiety and promote relaxation. Water encourages women to let go and focus inward as labour progresses

Easier breathing. Moisture in the air makes it easier to breathe without the mouth becoming dry and is helpful for women with asthma. Also decreases the tendency to hyperventilate.

Facilitates the second stage of labour. Many women are less inhibited in the water.

Many women experience rapid second stages, with the baby emerging minutes after the body begins pushing, also known as the foetus ejection reflex. (see Odent, The Nature of Birth and Breastfeeding)

It reduces the 'ick' factor for some women and encourages both parents to touch the baby whilst birthing

Being in the tub reduces the possibility of intervention by birth attendants. Their visibility is reduced and they cannot touch the perineum or baby as it emerges unless the mother chooses to let them.

The ability for birth attendants to intrude is reduced. They are less likely to interfere with the actual birthing without the womans consent & willingness to move and allow access.

Skin to skin time is facilitated.

Initial breast contact is also easier to initiate as the woman is already naked.

The cord continues to pulse strongly for an extended period resulting in baby receiving his full blood volume.

Birth in water is wholly a somehow softer, more gentle experience.

Resources: Daniels, 1986; Balaskas, 1990; Lichy, 1993: Napierala, 1994

Brenda Manning is an experienced and professional Midwife specialising in wholistic health care for mothers and babies. You can visit her website here.


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## Guppy051708

Another thing too (that works both ways). Some women think they do NOT want a waterbirth, but then when they are in labor they have GREAT desires to birth in the tub. Other women think they would LOVE a waterbirth, but in labor hate the water (personally thats crazy to me :haha:). Then there are folks like me who was dead set for a waterbirth during pregnancy AND labor ;)


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## Kess

moomin_troll said:


> 37 degrees for me is cold lol. i will be having my water 39 degrees as hot as im allowed it and then add cold water when it comes to pushing

Normally, I'd be the same as you, but I think when I'm in labour the effort and adrenaline will make me warmer than normal, plus, it's summer, the weather may well be too hot and I'll welcome a nice cool soak at that point. Is 39 degrees okay for the baby then (in utero, not for the actual birth)?



Guppy051708 said:


> Another thing too (that works both ways). Some women think they do NOT want a waterbirth, but then when they are in labor they have GREAT desires to birth in the tub. Other women think they would LOVE a waterbirth, but in labor hate the water (personally thats crazy to me :haha:). Then there are folks like me who was dead set for a waterbirth during pregnancy AND labor ;)

This is why I'm keeping my options open. My MW actually suggested a birthpool, I've been a bit... "meh"... about it all along, but the idea is growing on me, and MW said we might as well have the pool there since it's better to have it and not want it than want it and not have it.


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## moomin_troll

i have been told 39 is fine for me anyway to have as a water temp, long as its not hotter then that which is fine with me. 

my normal baths tend to be around 40 degrees anyway and its never caused a issue


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## LockandKey

the only thing I can suggest is to get a tub that regulates the water temp, or have someone watch the temp for you. A low water temp can cause problems


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## Kess

LockandKey said:


> the only thing I can suggest is to get a tub that regulates the water temp, or have someone watch the temp for you. A low water temp can cause problems

Water thermometers are cheap and readily available. They just float in the water so you can check every so often.


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## moomin_troll

id love a pool that regulated the water temp it would be so much easier altho alot more expensive lol


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## Mum2b_Claire

I don't know of any cons generally, but I didn't like it. 
Much preferred to pace up and down the room!


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## clarsair

I've only heard good things but what put me off is that I'm not very comfortable in water generally and have an old, very tempermental boiler that would never produce enough hot water to fill a pool.


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## Guppy051708

Not sure if you were planning a hospital, home, or birth center birth, but if you go to the hospital and they offer a water birth, they may have the regular tubs you usually see or they may have an actual water birth suite. Mine did and the water came out of this pipe in the ceiliing, so even though they had to refill it bc it got too cold (we didn't know transition was going to last 9 hrs :dohh:) they just filled it with me in there. The temp needs to be a certain temp for the baby. So even if you think you dont need it as hot, the baby does. Also a great thing was they this big hook type thing on the ceiling and you could drape a long sheet through it. That was perfect counter pressure for when i would squate to push. I was able to hold and bear down like no other. Plus there was a place for your head to go if you wanted to lay down. And it had these two bars if you wanted to do hands and knees you could flip over and hold the bars with yoru hands while you did so. that was really nice. 

My biggest advice is to make sure the water goes to the nipple line. This will accomplish 2 things. First, in order for the water to be the most effective, it needs to cover your bump entirley. So if you do it at home or wherever, make sure you get a deep enough pool. Ive noticed some whater birth pools arn't very deep :dohh: second, the reason why the water going to your nipple line is important, is because when nipples are stimulated in labor it can release oxytocin. Oxytocin is important for the stimulation of contractions. This will help your labor along :thumbup:


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## Kess

Great tip!


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## mum22ttc#3

Havent read the other replies so sorry if im repeating. I had a waterbirth with last Lo and would defiently have one again. TBH I wouldnt say it hurt less etc but the main pro for me was that I could move around freely, something I found harder with my other 2 labours.
Also looking back it felt I had a lot more privacy, once in the pool others cant see too much, unlike my other 2 labours.
:flower:


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## goddess25

I planned a water birth with my son, got to the hospital and the pool was filled and I hated it. For some reason I got really irritated in the water was in about 5 minutes and that was it.


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