Birthing in water v dry land

[beanni #1]

Hi ladies,

For those of you who have given birth in water and on dry land are you able to please explain the difference and which you preferred?

I am just short of 36 weeks pregnant, have had 3 low risk pregnancies (inclusive of this one) and 2 straightforward water births with no pain relief at birth centres. I would therefore like to have number 3 at home. Whilst I loved birthing in water I really cannot be bothered with the hassle of renting a birth pool, setting up and the cleaning up after.

The only snag to this lackadaisical attitude is I am scared of the prospect of not birthing in water (contradictory I know). I have managed without any pain relief for the previous 2 I think because of the water (plus they were both short labours at 6hrs and 4hrs respectively from start to finish) so I guess I am trying to gauge how big a difference people found being out of water to give birth and if I'm just panicking for no reason.

Thanks in advance

 

[MrsC10]

Can I jump in on this thread? I have no advice as I'm currently expecting my first. I just wanted to hear other's opinions on both though as I have always liked the sound of a water birth, but wondered what the for and against arguments were like.

Stalking to see your replies

 

[Button#]

I'm also going for a dry land home birth this time. I didn't give birth in the pool for my first but I did love the pain relief it provided while in labour. I'm guessing at home I can always jump in the shower for some pain relief, I've also got a birthing ball on hand this time. The three other ladies I know in real life that have had home births have all had dry land births. One of them recommended hypnobirthing so I'm reading a book on that at the moment.

 

[flump1]

my first was dry land my second was water birth! giving birth in water was amazing and I have to say a LOT less painful for me. but im not sure how much of that was down to it being my second baby plus my first I was pushing for 4 hours and needed a little helping hand with ventouse so that obviously added to the pain, my second came a lot quicker so im not sure how much I can put it down to being in the water that I found it a less painful experience. she came so quickly though that I actually had started pushing before I managed to get into the water and yup the pushes I did on dry land were more painful than the pushes in the water!

 

[MommyJogger]

I partly labored in the water, but I just wanted to jump in and say that with the right pool, set up and clean up are a breeze? It took just a few minutes to inflate, there's a disposable liner on the home birth pools so you just take enough water out so you can carry it outside, dump it, then put it in the trash, filling and draining was time, but not effort, and it folded right back down in as few minutes as it inflated.
That said, it might be easier for you at this point to instead get a detachable shower head so you can just have someone hold it on your back if you get to that point. And then, you'll always have a super nifty detachable shower head!
I actually felt a serious need to be on dry land. On a toilet, specifically. I was in love with that toilet for at least a few minutes. I think if you're at home in a familiar environment, even without the pain relief you're used to, you'll find a spot in the house where you can cope and a position where your body feels effective. You'll be great! I'm far enough now from labor and delivery that I can envy women about to go through it again. It will be so special for you. :')

 

[beanni #1]

giving birth in water was amazing and I have to say a LOT less painful for me. and yup the pushes I did on dry land were more painful than the pushes in the water!

This is what scares me

 

[Eleanor ace]

I've had both and honestly being in the water made things a lot less painful and being able to move more freely (with the water taking a lot of my weight) felt really good. When I had to get out to have my water broken and to get checked the contractions were more painful and I was desperate to jump back in! I imagine though that if you don't have the option on a pool at all it will be easier than if you have one and have to get out- having the direct comparison made me realise how much I loved the pool but if I hadn't been in the pool dry land wouldn't have seemed so bad maybe!

 

[kaths101]

I've had both, I loved the water but it did slow my contractions down a bit. If I had the choice I think I would go with water again as I birthed a 10lb 11 baby in water with pretty much no problems, I think the water definitely helped! My dry land baby was ok too and I think the fact you will be at home will relax you more too! Do you have a bath?
With baby 3 I'm hoping for water but won't be upset if I don't get it!

 

[beanni #1]

I've had both, I loved the water but it did slow my contractions down a bit. If I had the choice I think I would go with water again as I birthed a 10lb 11 baby in water with pretty much no problems, I think the water definitely helped! My dry land baby was ok too and I think the fact you will be at home will relax you more too! Do you have a bath?
With baby 3 I'm hoping for water but won't be upset if I don't get it!

Yes I have a bath but I don't think it is big enough. When filled it doesn't cover my bump so doesn't provide the pain relief I need / want.

I think just from the few replies here I am going to order a home birth pool. Fingers crossed this baby hangs on long enough for it to be filled!

 

[NDH]

I've not had a waterbirth yet but I have been dreaming of one. I didn't find my land births particulaly painful though. If you are able to move freely you will find a pace/position that is comfortable.
I plan to buy an inflatable kiddie pool instead of renting a birth pool, and then getting a liner for it. Not just any kiddie pool will do of course, but there are several very inexpensive options lots of moms use for waterbirths.

 

[Feronia]

I've given birth in the water twice, but not on dry land. Why not just keep both options open? I felt an inclination to be in the water for my births and to stay there, so I think it would be great to have the option and decide in the moment.

 

[SarahBear]

I haven't done a water-birth, but for pain relief, you can always have a regular bath or a shower. Personally, nothing about a water-birth appeals to me. My first was born in my bed and my second one will probably at least be born in the bedroom and not in water.

 

[MindUtopia]

I don't have the experience of both, but I had planned a home water birth for my first but ended up on dry land. I was also really scared of not having a pool because I didn't think I would cope as well without the pool, so much so that I considered going into hospital (something I did NOT want to do!) to use their pool if anything was to fall through and my hired pool wasn't available when I needed it or we couldn't fill it up or whatever. This is all pretty funny because actually I don't really like being in water - don't like baths or swimming at all.

When it came down to it, I did get in the pool for about 20 minutes, but I didn't like it, so I got out. For me personally, I much preferred to be on dry land. It was a lot of faff to get the pool filled (very old house with a very old boiler) and we never really got it quite hot enough. It didn't really feel relaxing and I didn't feel like it relieved any discomfort compared to what I was doing before, which was rocking on my birth ball and using my TENS. After 20 minutes, I got out and walked around my house (at this point I was pushing, had a 4 hour 2nd stage, so there was a lot of walking around my house!). This was much more comfortable for me and just worked better. I liked being mobile and being able to get into different sorts of positions than would have been possible in the pool.

Next time I don't even plan to get a pool. It was a hassle the first time around and I know I don't need it. Actually, TENS and moving around worked better for pain relief. I also did natal hypnotherapy, which I highly recommend. Also, as it was such a faff, I don't want my husband wasting his time doing that when he could be with our daughter as I want her to be there as well. That's a more important task than dealing with the pool. So I think have no fear. You can have a really great natural (home) birth without a pool. Particularly as you have had such short births, I can see how a pool would be more of a hindrance than anything at home as they can take 2 hours to set up and fill and you just may not want to be doing that if you'll barely make it in in time anyway!

 

[MummyToAmberx]

Water birth didnt ease pain for me, pushing in water i found to 'sting' more but i would opt for water birth again over dry land.

 

[SarahBear]

Had my second and must say water would have been VERY unappealing. I didn't even want to shower afterward as I did with my first.