more about water birth

Midwives have been aware of the advantages of warm water during labour for centuries. To understand why warm baths have been a traditional aid to labouring women, just think of why most of us love to take a long, hot soak after a hard day's work - for comfort, privacy, relaxation and rejuvenation.

There are tales of women taking to the water, of lakes, rivers and even the sea, for labour or birth, from many cultures around the world. These include the Maoris, some American Indian tribes, and women in Mongolia, Hawaii, Samoa, Greece and Guyana.

The concept of underwater birth was first introduced to Western medicine by the Russian, Igor Tjarkovsy in the 1960s, mainly to support his theories of how water can enhance child development.

Frederick Leboyer, who wrote the ground-breaking 'Birth Without Violence' in 1975, advocated giving babies a warm bath immediately after birth as part of a gentle and sensitive welcome to the world.

Water birth was really pioneered by Michel Odent during the 1970s at his maternity unit at Pithiviers, in France. He noticed how labouring women are often drawn to water - such as wishing to take a bath or shower - and so began to offer a pool for their use, particularly when labour was very long or painful. After one woman unintentionally gave birth while still in the water, he went on develop his water birth practice.

In more recent times, the use of water for labour and birth has continued to gradually gain popularity amongst mothers and midwives, as women are asserting their rights to make decisions about their birth. It has become increasingly common to hire a pool for use at home.

There are now birth pools in around half of the maternity units around the country. But it is difficult for the hospital to guarantee that the pool will be available for you when you need it, which is why many people hire a pool to take into hospital.

Government policy now recommends that all hospitals provide the option of a birthing pool. And the local heads of midwifery units are obliged to provide midwives with the appropriate skills and experience for every woman who would like a water birth, whether in hospital or at home.

There have been few controlled trials looking at water birth, but there is, however, a wealth of empirical evidence from midwives and other health professionals, and from mothers themselves, gathered from the thousands of water labours and births, in dozens of countries around the world.

A woman's experience of her labour and birth will be influenced by many factors. How her body responds to labour, the positions she adopts, her expectations, whether she feels tired or under stress, the environmental factors around her and how she reacts to them - noise, light, privacy, companions, etc. - and by how prepared she is physically, mentally and emotionally. So water should be seen as just one part of this whole picture.

Having a birth pool does not mean that you have to actually deliver your baby in the water. Many women may not wish (or may not be able) to give birth under water, but the benefits of a pool apply just as much to the labour as to the birth itself.

Whether the baby is born in the water or not, using water during labour is relaxing, comforting and 'hormone-friendly'. Water birth is associated with a non-intervention approach to labour and delivery. Instead, water encourages you to find your own strength and your instinctive knowledge of how best to birth your baby. So your birth is much more likely to be a natural one.

Remember! Everyone involved should let go of their worries about living up to that vision of an ideal birth. Every woman and every labour and birth is unique and you can't predict how you will feel until the time comes. You will need to be realistic about both yourself and the situation. It is best to approach labour with an open mind and to allow yourself to 'go with the flow'.

Read more about the benefits of water birth.