In today's post, we discuss the types of research that has been done to examine the
safety of water birth.
If a birthing tub is not available you might then discuss with your health care provider the possibility
of a water birth at home, or about potentially renting a birthing tub.
In another
comparison of water births to land births by British researchers in 2009, showed a reduction in the use of epidural and spinal pain relief.
The girls were both born in a birthing pool and the star is an advocate
of water births as a way of natural pain management.
If this happened — if there was a difference in the way they selected the women for the groups — the study would be biased in
favor of the water births.
Of course I do wonder if
many of these water birth lovers break the rules and keep it warmer with everyone saying how amazing it is.
So before you decide on giving birth in water in a hospital ask your midwife or a doctor about the
guidelines of water birth for a specific hospital.
I went to the hospital and did a
tour of the water birth area because that was the scenario that I absolutely wanted.
The
benefits of water birth are numerous and include a shorter first stage of labor, reduced need for pharmaceutical pain relief, and increased satisfaction with the birthing experience.
Over the last 30 years, as water birth has grown in popularity, there has been very little research regarding the
risks of water birth.
The aim of this study was to document the
practice of water births and compare their outcome and safety with normal vaginal deliveries.
Some women may be put off by the idea of the midwife having to clean the pool and use a sieve to get rid of any excretions; however, this should not be a reason to go against the
idea of a water birth as midwives are used to this and it is very common.
This new retrospective
study of water birth outcomes in Sweden reports fewer interventions, better experience and no increased risk for the baby.
In this final post
of the water birth series, I highlight the areas we need to continue to research to ensure hydrotherapy and water birth are offered to the most women possible, and that water birth is practiced in the safest way possible.
«For some women, that potential risk of tearing might be worth taking if they feel they will benefit from other
aspects of a water birth, such as improved pain management,» Bovbjerg said.
There are limited numbers of hospital - adjacent birthing centers like the one run by Albini, and the majority
of water births in the United States are at home with a midwife; but things are changing.
Nothing about this post surprises me, except that the
dangers of water birth have been known — and passed over — for some time now.
Instead of the chance of limited exposure from a limited area in an
out of water birth (which could have been mitigated), this baby received an onslaught through his eyes, nose, ears, stomach, and lungs via the contaminated bathwater.
Having a baby born into diarrhea - tainted waters is even more disgusting than the usual toilet
bowl of water birth.
It is important to ask about the
availability of the water birth at the hospital you are planning to go to and to ask any questions about giving birth in water; you may find it useful to find out how many women choose to have water births at the hospital, how many staff are trained to deal with water births and find out about the potential risks of giving birth in the water.
Many people who are in
favour of water births say that giving birth in water helps to support the woman and enables them to change position easily in order to find the most comfortable position to give birth.
A devoted
champion of the water birth; she accompanied women to Eilat, in Israel, to help them deliver their babies in the ocean amongst dolphins.
In my experience in attending thousands of births and
hundreds of water births, women who chose (or were coerced into) a birth using pitocin or epidural frequently express regret for those choices.
Many unassisted births occur in the
form of a water birth, where the mother sits in a pool of warm water and the baby is birthed into the pool, relaxed and without stress.
Water birth origins began in the 1960s when French obstetrician Frederick Leboyer used studies
of water birth done by Soviet researcher Igor Charkovsky to immerse newborn babies in warm water to help them transition from the womb to the world.
However, in my 30 years of experience in a wide variety of hospital, birth center and home settings I have found the benefits
of water birth significantly outweigh the benefits of most methods offered in traditional hospitals.
We offer the
option of water birth at Health Foundations because the best available evidence demonstrates that hydrotherapy offers physiological and psychological benefits in labor and birth.
She found the experience
of a water birth so rewarding that she is quoted as saying: «I'd like to give birth every year if I could, just for that experience.»
According to an article written by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, there might be a theoretical risk of water embolism, which occurs when water enters the mother's bloodstream.2 Though the British Medical Journal is 95 % confident in the
safety of water births, they see a possible risk of water aspiration.
But she wanted to avoid the hospital, and liked the
idea of a water birth, and was determined to do it even if that meant a UC alone on her sail boat (which is her and DHs home).