By Supernanny Team 24/06/2007 If you feel strongly that you want to avoid using pain-relieving drugs and medical intervention during your labour, it’s worth considering a water birth. The relaxing effects of warm water can help ease pain and water also supports your body, making it much easier to move about freely. Many women labour in a birthing pool but get out just before the delivery; others give birth in the water. The choice is yours and if you find you don’t like it when B-day comes, the solution is simple: just get out!
What are the benefits of water?
- It relieves pain women who labour in water are far less likely to use medical pain relief – in one study, only 24% of first-time mothers who had water births needed pain-relieving drugs compared to 50% of those who didn’t use water.
- It reduces stress and anxiety which in turn lessens your perception of pain and gives you confidence in your ability to give birth.
- It supports your weight and makes it easier for you to stay upright, helping your pelvis to open up so your baby can pass through. The buoyancy of the water also makes it easier to change positions to help you cope with your contractions.
- It reduces the risk of tearing The water softens the tissues of your perineum (the area between the vagina and anus) making them more supple and able to stretch to accommodate your baby’s head as it passes through. This also means you’re less likely to need an episiotomy.
- It frees feel-good hormones Relaxing in warm water stimulates your body to produce pain-relieving endorphins.
- You can combine it with other forms of pain relief including gas and air, massage, acupressure and aromatherapy. You won’t be able to use a TENS machine in the water; neither can you pethidine, since this makes you drowsy, or an epidural, as it limits your mobility. However, you can choose to get out of the pool to have these at any time.
- It’s peaceful The pool itself is a quiet, private environment which helps you feel safe and secure while you labour.
Most research indicates that water birth is just as safe as giving birth on dry land for healthy women with straightforward low-risk pregnancies, and many experts believe that being born into warm water eases your baby’s transition to the outside world
Is it safe for you?
Most research indicates that water birth is just as safe as giving birth on dry land for healthy women with straightforward low-risk pregnancies. One point to note about water birth is that the law requires that a midwife be with you at all times if you labour in water – something which may not happen with other birth options, given the current well-reported midwife shortages. If you give birth in the water you will probably be asked to get out after the third stage (delivery of the placenta) as there’s a risk you could bleed heavily and it’ll be easier for the midwife to keep an eye on your blood loss out of the water.
Is it safe for your baby?
Your mid...
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