water birth

[jschoch8]

anyone have a waterbirth or any thoughts on it? my hospital does offer it, and it sounds very interesting to me...

[diva1957]

Please read, all of you considering water birth: (I have been a NICU nurse for 30 years)

Waterbirth has become a central component of “natural” childbirth dogma, despite the fact that for primates giving birth underwater is entirely unnatural. You don’t need a medical degree to appreciate the idiocy of birth in water. The most critical task for the newborn is to take its first breath.

Inhaling a mouthful of fecally contaminated water instead of air is profoundly dangerous. Not surprisingly, as the popularity of waterbirth has grown, the number of neonatal deaths directly attributable to it has grown as well.

A new paper in the American Journal of Forensic Medical Pathology discusses the tragic case of a term newborn who died of Pseudomonas pneumonia and sepsis as a result of waterbirth. The authors review the existing literature on fatalities associated with waterbirth and the underlying processes leading to neonatal death.

[julianovak]

I wud definatly do waterbirth.... Unfortunatly i dont know of any hospital that offers this choice .... ur lucky!

[mom2ariana]

theres not many risks that are concerning..just lots of benefits! they say there hasn't been enough big studies to say for sure whether or not it is risky or beneficial officially...but like losing said many women have good experiences with it.
there have been rare cases of the baby's umbilical cord snapping in the water and the baby needing a blood transfusion, as well as infection to the baby from water (obviously the water should be very VERY clean, including the whole entire tub area) but like i said these are RARE.
personally i wouldn't do it just because i'm afraid of my baby breathing in the water, which is thought to be a possbility and even though i know that is very rare and unlikely, im a worrier none the less. BUT laboring in the water sounds like it would feel SO much better than being in a bed...and i might try that and then deliver her on a bed.. since there is a bathtub in the rooms at my hospital. only if they can continue to monitor my baby's heartbeat though...i do not want her taken off of the monitors for any reason.

[LosingMyMindInGA]

I think they can be very beneficial.  I myself have never had one, I've never been anywhere they offered it but I'm not sure I would even if it were offered. I'm not a very big fan of water.  Not scared of it just not part fish like some people LOL.  But I've heard nothing but good stories from women who have done it.  

[cherylsangel]

I wanted a water birth soooo bad unfortunatley my hospital does not offer them. They do have a whirlpool tub so I just plan to labour as much as possible in it. I think a water birth would be such a wonderful way to bring your child into this world, if you can do it I say go for it!

[JoyRenee]

I have thoughts on it but never did it. I would do it. At first when I heard of water birth it really intimidated me. After giving birth three times and watching how serene a water birth is for the entire family including the new baby I would do it in a heartbeat.

My last birth was at a hospital that used to allow water births but no longer. My midwife told me, though, that sometimes if a mom is in the whirlpool and she can't get out in time the baby just has to be born in the big tub. So what I was GOING to do was just stay in the tub. I doubt I could've gotten out if I wanted when it was time to push. But alas the rooms with the big whirlpool tubs were occupied when I arrived.

I ended up giving birth in the bed, on my side. I wanted to get up to push but there was just no time. I pushed baby out in under 60 seconds according to my husband though it felt like longer to me because of the pain.

I would go for it! There are SO many benefits. I like watching the YouTube videos of water births as well.