Is water birth safe and worth trying?

[Anonymous]

Recently I've heard of giving birth in water. They say it's a more relaxed and less painful experiance. I might try this methode if I ever get pregnant, but if it has too many disadvantages I probably won't.

[mistninja314]

In the U. S., some birthing centers and hospitals offer water births. Birthing centers are medical facilities that offer a more homelike setting than a hospital and more natural options for women having babies. The use of a birthing pool during the first stage of labor might:

Help ease pain
Keep you from needing anesthesia
Speed up your labor
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), which sets guidelines for pregnancy and childbirth care in the U. S., says a water birth during the first stage of labor may have some benefits but delivering your baby underwater should be considered an experimental procedure with risks. The first stage is from when contractions start until your cervix is fully dilated.

Studies show water birth during stage one doesn’t improve your or your baby’s medical outcome.

A warm bath might help you relax and help you feel more in control. Floating in water helps you move around more easily than in bed, too.

Some science suggests that the water may lower chances of severe vaginal tearing. And it may improve blood flow to the uterus. But study results about these points aren’t clear.

Stage Two of Labor: Time to Exit the Tub

Things change during the second part of labor. That’s when your cervix is completely dilated and open and you start pushing until the baby is born.

Many doctors say there isn’t enough information to decide how safe or useful water birth is during this period.

Being out of the water for the second part of your labor makes it easier to move fast in case something goes wrong, ACOG spokesman Aaron Caughey, MD, says.

“If you have to do an emergency C-section, it would be foolhardy to risk an extra 4 or 5 minutes to move you out of the water,” says Caughey, chairman of the obstetrics and gynecology department at Oregon Health and Science University

i1127.photobucket.com/.../...f.com-add-text_14.gif

[mistninja314]

copy pasted

[Asker]

Thanks, I learned a lot :-)

[thewanderingme]

whoa! no way! I never knew about birthing centers.. I now know what I want to do.

[mistninja314]

@thewanderingme I didn't either LOL well until now ^_^

[SuperMommie13]

Every method has it's downfalls I'm sure. I didn't have a water birth, I delivered vaginally with and epidural in the hospital. I whimped out after being in labor for two days.

But before I went to the hospital I did find that laying in the tub with the water as hot as I could stand (with it covering my bellie) helped ease the contractions a lot. So I say that would be a great plus to a water birth.

[523206720]

I have never been pregnant either but I would imagine that a water birth would be equally painful as the water is external to you and not internal. I might make a slight difference but probably nothing to get excited over. Get the epidural if you want kids.

[SuklaaTryffeli]

Giving birth at home is more risky for both the mother and baby.

But if hospital offers it, why not.

[thewanderingme]

I'm pretty sure it's easier on both the mother and baby. for the baby it's similar to the womb it's been in for the past 9 months.