Im going to give another side to this... i didnt book to go in the birthing pool but it was free when I was in labour. I had a long hard labour (3 days although wouldnt be classed as 3 days of labour as they dont class u as being in labour till ur so many cm dialated even though ur having contractions) due to my daughter going into OP position and not progressing due to this which resulted in an section eventually....
I wasn put in a hot bath on my 2nd night (spend the 1st night at home) to try relax and forget about the pain for a while - omg DID IT HURT !!! The water just brought my contractions on even further so I was given an injection for a little pain relief and to try get a sleep as hadnt slept for more than 24hrs.... ANYWAY... Next morning I had my waters broke, to see if things would progress ... no luck... so I got put in the birthing pool.................... PAIN PAIN PAIN - For some reason the water just made my contractions even stronger I dont know why... then MW was in saying OKAY THIS IS IT so I was like - YEHHHHH - its gonna be over soon... Turned out it wasnt it, baby was 'bearing down' but unable to get out in her position... so I was sent for an epidural as is was in so much pain by this point.
I remember the water was soothing in between contractions, but the water has to be at the perfect temp for it to work, u could feel when it was cooling down. Would I try it again ? Maybe - but id want to find out why it made my contractions more painful first.
Hope I havent put anyone off the idea of water birth as so many people swear by them but i just wanted to put another side to it from experience as its good to know the pros and cons and gives u things to discuss with ur MW. xx