Waterbirth Information, FAQ's and MORE.....

[KandyKinz]

Well a pulmonary embolism can be caused by anything really... blood clots, air, amniotic fluid, water..... So I was more specifically referring to pulmonary embolism by water not from amniotic fluid.

And when I was a student midwife I always mentioned the increased risk of AFE with induction and cesarean.... though I have never encountered this idea of a theoretical increased risk with third stage in the water.

 

[starlight2801]

Thanks for this. I am planning a waterbirth at a birthing centre and this thread has answered so many questions x

 

[Tadan]

I've just been told that I can have a water birth in the midwife run birth centre I was worried that they would say that I couldn't due to my BMI so havent thought much about it up until now.

I have a few strappy tops in my bag, I'm assuming these will be okay to wear while in the pool? I have tops too but thought they may be too baggy in the water. Do I need to wear anything underneath for the first stage?
How will I know what to do, i.e. what position to go in, etc. I feel like I'll get in and then wonder what the hell to do, do I just sit? lol

 

[PeanutBean]

I purposely bought a tankini for my Aquanatal class last pregnancy so that I could wear the top in the pool. I didn't wear anything else. I'd spent a lot of labour on my knees resting on the bed at home so when I got in the pool at the hospital it felt natural to do the same. I was also on iv so that limited how freely I could move about the pool. I didn't get to birth there but I do feel that positions will just come naturally, at least while labouring. I've heard others say pouring water on back or bump can be soothing so that also might mean a position change. I'd just go with the flow and move however feels comfortable.

 

[Tadan]

Thank you

 

[onedaybaby]

My husband and I tested the pool today and it was amazing! We did a 1 day hypnobirthing/natural birth antenatal class and I've been practicing relaxation to the music and today I just went straight into it and was so relaxed, but then I didn't have any contractions to cope with yet! My husband came in too after a while and the skin to skin contact with him made me even more relaxed.

I have a couple of quibbles with what the midwife said a week ago when she visited me at home to discuss the birth:

She said that I must not get in the pool without a midwife there and that I must be 4cm before I get in. Now to know this she would have to examine me, which was something else we clashed on as I don't want any internals and she said the attending midwife would want to check dilation to know if she needed to stay or to come back later. I'm pretty sure I'd only call the midwife when it was clear I was fairly progressed!
What do I do? I want to get in the water when I want to and to labour there before the midwife arrives but I would wait until my contractions were regular and 5 mins apart so it wasn't too early.

I asked about staying in the water afterwards and she said that I probably wouldn't want to stay in the water for long as it would be all yucky, well surely it's up to me!
What do you think?

Also have a couple of practical questions:
We bought a standard garden hose and used it today for the practice before reading that you should go for an eco hose as there's a chance that a standard pvc garden hose could leak lead? We haven't been able to find another hose except online and the postage is ridiculous. Should we get an eco hose regardless?

Also for emptying my husband took about an hour to do so with a bucket, chucking it straight out the door into the garden. He said he wouldn't want to do that on the day - but couldn't we leave it til the next day? A pump seems so expensive and it wasn't really that bad a job. We tried to do a siphon but couldn't get it to work.
Would it work better if the hose was shorter as it's currently about double the length we need and folds up a lot, but then he tried it with a short piece and couldn't get that to work either - any tricks?

Thanks!!!

 

[KandyKinz]

My husband and I tested the pool today and it was amazing! We did a 1 day hypnobirthing/natural birth antenatal class and I've been practicing relaxation to the music and today I just went straight into it and was so relaxed, but then I didn't have any contractions to cope with yet! My husband came in too after a while and the skin to skin contact with him made me even more relaxed.

I have a couple of quibbles with what the midwife said a week ago when she visited me at home to discuss the birth:

She said that I must not get in the pool without a midwife there and that I must be 4cm before I get in. Now to know this she would have to examine me, which was something else we clashed on as I don't want any internals and she said the attending midwife would want to check dilation to know if she needed to stay or to come back later. I'm pretty sure I'd only call the midwife when it was clear I was fairly progressed!
What do I do? I want to get in the water when I want to and to labour there before the midwife arrives but I would wait until my contractions were regular and 5 mins apart so it wasn't too early.

I asked about staying in the water afterwards and she said that I probably wouldn't want to stay in the water for long as it would be all yucky, well surely it's up to me!
What do you think?

Also have a couple of practical questions:
We bought a standard garden hose and used it today for the practice before reading that you should go for an eco hose as there's a chance that a standard pvc garden hose could leak lead? We haven't been able to find another hose except online and the postage is ridiculous. Should we get an eco hose regardless?

Also for emptying my husband took about an hour to do so with a bucket, chucking it straight out the door into the garden. He said he wouldn't want to do that on the day - but couldn't we leave it til the next day? A pump seems so expensive and it wasn't really that bad a job. We tried to do a siphon but couldn't get it to work.
Would it work better if the hose was shorter as it's currently about double the length we need and folds up a lot, but then he tried it with a short piece and couldn't get that to work either - any tricks?

Thanks!!!

When you get in the pool is personally up to you! However, with that said I personally recommend waiting as long as possible before getting in the pool in order for the water to have the maximum effect as the perception of pain relief tends to decrease after a few hours.... there's the it could delay progress in the early part of labour thing as well... but for me the most important thing is maximizing it's pain relief capabilities at a time when you need it most.... At the end.... But again when to get in is after you.

And I just wanted to add in that it can be very beneficial especially with first time babies to ignore labour as long as possible. Try to sleep or bake cookies or watch a movie or paint a picture or do something that's not having a baby related. It's very very easy to get caught up in the 'OMG! I'm in labour! I'm gonna have a baby! Oh here's a contraction at 1:15! Gotta breathe slowly and relax all my muscles! Okay it's over! Now I'll sit on my birth ball and wait for the next one! I can't believe I'm in labour! It's finally happening! Okay 1:20 here comes another one, relaxing in the pool would be awesome with these!" excitement.... The early stages can last awhile...... But if you distract yourself with other things and try to push your labour into background (don't worry, when things become intense you won't miss it!) then it becomes very clear when to call the midwife and like you said when it's very clear that you need to call the midwife then an inital vaginal exam is not likely needed. And if you wait to get into the pool until you absolutely NEED to get in because coping outside just ain't working anymore then worrying about getting in too early is likely not necessary.

As for the hose, I'm just using a standard garden one... Perhaps I should be more concerned about contaminates but I'm not I figure the amount of exposure baby has to the water will be quite minimal anyways but that's just me.

And it should be fine to leave the water an extra day as you don't have any other kiddos running around who could potentially drown in it. I don't have any tips in regards to emptying it though. I was fortunate to get a pump from someone I know so I lucked out in regards to emptying

 

[luna28]

very good advice there Kandy re 1st time labours!
I had mw visit today she also said she would prefer I didn't get into the pool without the mw there, (I'm guessing she is concerned that something could happen eg collapse and no HCP there to help) she said she also belives in minimal VE's however I think I may consent to one on her arrival so she knows whether she needs to stay or not as with multips you can think by the contractions and behaviour that not much is happening then all of a sudden they deliver! they do say 'never turn your back on a multip" I've been caught out a few times in practice thinking it would be ages then suddenly trying to get my gloves on as I see the head lol.

 

[PeanutBean]

^ My mum gave birth to her second child in about 5 minutes. The MW kept saying she would go home and come back later and was about to leave, my dad went to put on the kettle or something and my mum started pushing with the baby born about 2 minutes later. Can't remember if my dad actually got to be there in the end!

 

[lousielou]

It's very very easy to get caught up in the 'OMG! I'm in labour! I'm gonna have a baby! Oh here's a contraction at 1:15! Gotta breathe slowly and relax all my muscles! Okay it's over! Now I'll sit on my birth ball and wait for the next one! I can't believe I'm in labour! It's finally happening! Okay 1:20 here comes another one, relaxing in the pool would be awesome with these!" excitement.... The early stages can last awhile......

This really made me grin! I'm already hopping about with excitement, and will keep this in mind I think

 

[KandyKinz]

very good advice there Kandy re 1st time labours!
I had mw visit today she also said she would prefer I didn't get into the pool without the mw there, (I'm guessing she is concerned that something could happen eg collapse and no HCP there to help) she said she also belives in minimal VE's however I think I may consent to one on her arrival so she knows whether she needs to stay or not as with multips you can think by the contractions and behaviour that not much is happening then all of a sudden they deliver! they do say 'never turn your back on a multip" I've been caught out a few times in practice thinking it would be ages then suddenly trying to get my gloves on as I see the head lol.

LOL yep you never know what to expect from a mulip! It didn't take me long to get into the habit of keeping a set of gloves in my pocket so I'd always have a pair handy just in case! First labour rules tend to go out the window with women who have given birth before....

And I'm likely to agree to internals this time around but primarily because this baby's lie is still relatively unstable and I certainly wouldn't mind in addition to palpation some extra reassurance that baby is cephalic.

 

[gizmodo]

My Waterbirth Review

-Did you plan to birth in the water?

Yes, but I was going into hospital with only 1 pool. Lucky for me it was not in use.

-Were you in home, hospital, or birth center?

Hospital.

-What type of pool did you use? (was it good, bad, how long did it take to fill up, did it keep the water warm? etc)

When I arrived at the hospital they did an internal and once they found I was 8cm, therefore immediately ready to get in the pool, they started filling it and I'd estimate I was in the pool within 10 minutes although they were still filling it up when I got in.

-What were you favorite things about being in water?

The feeling of entering the water was pure bliss. It was very relaxing, it was warm, and for me it was a great pain reliever. I got to test this when they asked me to get out for an internal (think they were worried I was too chilled and things weren't progressing). Had 2 contractions on dry land (with gas and air) and they were agony in comparison to the ones in the water.

-What things did you not like?

Having to get out of the pool for the internal!

-If you could do something different next time what would you do?

There's nothing I would do differently.

Some points that I came up with before going in the pool...I wanted to be naked in the pool, but didn't know if I'd have the guts to, so took along a bikini top just in case. But I didn't care and went in naked, I was pretty much in my own zone the whole time I was in the pool, it was only in the pushing stage that I really started talking to the midwife!

I also used some hypnobirthing - but not full on. I remained positive the whole time and believed in my body, used the breathing techniques I had learned.

The lights were dimmed in the room, and I played my own music.

The whole experience was just perfect. I stayed in the pool for about 20 minutes after giving birth having cuddles. Placenta hadn't come out in that time so I got and it eventually came out (29 minutes). Unfortunately I had quite a bit of blood loss (had a transufusion) and then 3 weeks later was back in hospital due to retained products (had an erpc and another transfusion). So maybe in hindsight I should have got out of the pool straight away? Then the blood loss might not have been under estimated. It's hard to say really.

 

[onedaybaby]

Kandykinz, thanks so much for the brilliant advice!

We actually plan to bake a birthday cake for the baby while I'm in early labour, and go for a walk to the park to look at the birds - if it's not the middle of the night! We'll probly wash our sheets, clean the house, prepare a meal to eat after, etc so hope to get to on with things as normal.
I'm also worrying about not being cleanly shaven on my legs and lady bits so will probly do that too so I'm all smooth, hard to shave the old bikini line at the moment tho!

I ordered an 'eco' hose anyway and they now do a free cover for the pool to keep it hot so they're sending me that too even though that wasn't the offer when I bought the pool.

What's your opinion or knowledge on what effect the timing of your own birth has on the timing of the birth of your own children? I was 2 weeks early for my mum so hope mine is early, but trying to shake off this idea or I'll be disappointed if I go over!

 

[KandyKinz]

Kandykinz, thanks so much for the brilliant advice!

We actually plan to bake a birthday cake for the baby while I'm in early labour, and go for a walk to the park to look at the birds - if it's not the middle of the night! We'll probly wash our sheets, clean the house, prepare a meal to eat after, etc so hope to get to on with things as normal.
I'm also worrying about not being cleanly shaven on my legs and lady bits so will probly do that too so I'm all smooth, hard to shave the old bikini line at the moment tho!

I ordered an 'eco' hose anyway and they now do a free cover for the pool to keep it hot so they're sending me that too even though that wasn't the offer when I bought the pool.

What's your opinion or knowledge on what effect the timing of your own birth has on the timing of the birth of your own children? I was 2 weeks early for my mum so hope mine is early, but trying to shake off this idea or I'll be disappointed if I go over!

Sounds like you got it all figured out And that's great you got the bonus pool cover! I think I'll probably just use a tarp with a blanket over it to cover it whenever I get out.

And in terms of the timing of when women go into labour in comparison to their mothers/grandmothers etc statistically there is an association though it is a relatively weak one. My mother went late with her kids and so far I've gone late with both of mine.... I'm hoping Baby Peanut will break that trend! Labour is just so unpredictable though, so I really really try to keep the due month concept in mind as opposed to just the due date (eg from 37 to 42 weeks).

 

[BattyNora]

Just wanted to say thank you. I've decided to look into what type of birth Iwant and found myself rummaging through here look for natural birth discussions. I'm toying with the idea of a water birth (at our hospital's midwifery-led unit) and this information was absolutely great.

Em x

 

[MrsBandEgglet]

Thank you Kandykinz, this thread is absolutely fantastic!!! I'm not having a home birth but I am hoping to be in the birthing pool at hospital, like last time. I wasn't able to give birth in the pool last time because when my waters broke there was meconium and my LO's heartrate dropped dramatically so I had to get out. This time I'm hoping to deliver in the water and so this is brilliant for reading about other people's experiences and I feel very optimistic that this time I will get the labour and birth I want. Thank you xx

 

[SerenityNow]

-Did you plan to birth in the water?
-Were you in home, hospital, or birth center?
-What type of pool did you use? (was it good, bad, how long did it take to fill up, did it keep the water warm? etc)
-What were you favorite things about being in water?
-What things did you not like?
-If you could do something different next time what would you do?
-Waterbirth pics or videos would be lovely as well

-I planned both times to birth in the water. The first time I had to get out to push because the water level wasn't high enough to ensure she'd be born completely submerged. With my second I gave birth in the water.

-I was at home.

-I rented a rigid tub. No complaints! I could really put my weight on the sides of the tub without any trouble-- and I did! There was plenty of room for OH and I. It took a few hours to fill. Much of that time was waiting for our hot water tank to heat back up. THere was a thin foam cover to put on the keep the water warm. With my second birth we started filling the pool as soon as I knew that labor was imminent. I didn't get in the pool for at least 5 hours after it was filled and the water was actually too hot. We had to mix in several huge pots of cold water to get it to the right temp

- I liked EVERYTHING about being in the water. The buoyancy, pain relief, relaxation. My skin was super sensitive and I couldn't handle any sort of fabric touching it, the water felt great!

- I didn't like having the tub sit in my house. We set it up when I was 38 wks and I went into labor at 41 +2. The last week I just felt like it was mocking me!

- I'm pretty sure that I am not going to have a water birth this time. My labors have progressed very quickly. The "care and feeding" of the birth tub seems like a lot of trouble considering that with my last child I was only in the it for about 30 min. I plan to birth at home again and will have the option of getting in the bath or shower. Of course, if I have a prolonged labor with this one you know I'm going to blame it on the fact that I wasn't in a tub!

 

[SerenityNow]

double post

 

[blue_kat]

Just wanted to say I have now had my beautiful baby (girl!) and got my home water birth just like I wanted!

I had a few complications and wasnt sure at a few points whether I would be transfered to hospital - but it all worked out in the end! I actually delivered on land in the end but used no assistance except for a little gas and air right at the end - I am so proud as I had started to wonder if it was even possible without pain relief!

If anyone has any questions...feel free to ask away! I am still in shock and cant believe its only been a couple of days and we are all settled in at home and doing well!

 

[lousielou]

Oh wow - a huge congratulations!