Water Birth -
Why Should I Choose Water Birth?
What are the advantages of Water Birth?
The use of water for women in labour has been known to help relieve
discomfort and has been practised in the West for decades, many
from cultures across the globe have enjoyed it soothing benefits.
The water birth pioneer in the West was Dr Michel Odent, his work
followed on from age old global practices:
-
Finnish women laboured in steaming sauna’s
- Japanese women in remote fishing villages gave birth in the sea
- Guatemalan midwives gave women relaxing steam bath massages
- African women squat over hot steaming rocks to soften the perineum
- In New Guinea women often gave birth by the river
However in the West it has only become popular to give birth in
especially designed pools since the early 80’s, before this
women immersed themselves in water in baths for just short periods
during early labour. Those who advocated water birth argue that:
It can help to relieve pain. Pain is a subjective sensation and
many factors will account for the differences in pain perception,
however it is widely accepted that if a Mother feels safe, supported
and in control it will reduce the psychological impact of pain.
In addition the Gate Control Theory of pain (Melzac and Wall 1988)
suggests that stimulus on the superficial nerve endings in the skin
can override the sensation of pain being transmitted by deeper nerves.
Therefore warm water on the lower back, the area that receives the
messages from the lower abdominal region, can reduce labour pain.
Several pieces of research in the 90’s show that labouring
women using a birthing pool needed lass pain relief than those not
using one.
Janet Balaskas, water and active birth pioneer was quoted in Practical
Parenting [UK] ‘’Water does not take all the pain away
but what it does is allow the woman to relax. The buoyancy, warmth
and sensuality of being in the water helps women to tune into their
instinctive conscious and allow birth to happen.’’
Water aids buoyancy. By carrying the weight of
the Mother it affords her greater ease of movement and comfort,
this can lead to more
spontaneous movements that help the baby to descend. Even women
who cannot squat on land find that they can do so in a pool,
bringing the added benefit that this position creates a lot more
space in
the pelvis for baby to move.
Birth pools give a woman a greater sense of privacy and they can
feel more in charge ‘‘ A water pool offers a Mother
an environment where she can behave instinctively and feel in control.
When a woman feels in control during childbirth, she experiences
a higher degree of emotional well-being post-natally. ‘’ (Green
et al)
The water is a sensual element that has a powerful relaxing
effect,
some Mum’s describe it as feeling ‘free,’ ‘spaced
out,’ yet they also feel more in control.
The gentle transition from the birth canal to water enables
the newborn’s to adjust to their new environment at their
pace, when listening to Mothers and Midwives talking of some
water births
we constantly heard very moving stories.
Spending time in a birth pool softens the perineum and
there is a slightly reduced risk of tearing or needing an episiotomy.
When you first enter the water, it can boost oxytocin, which drives
the contractions.
Lowers blood pressure almost immediately so can calm you down.
Sheila Kitzinger and Ethel Burns in Midwifery Guidelines For
Use Of Water in Labour 2000; say ‘’Water immersion during
labour/birth may be beneficial for women with certain
risk factors,
e.g uterine scar and those with pregnancy induced hypertension (Cefalo
et al 1978, Weston et al1987, Brown 1998)
Many hospitals had a knee jerk reaction to the safety aspect of
the use of water for labour and birth so it was placed under huge
scrutiny. The scientific findings are favourable in that studies
show there is no additional negative outcomes for low risk Mothers
giving birth either in or out of water. (The Good Hope Hospital
NHS Trust )
We have many of our Mother’s opt for Water Births at home,
in hospitals or birthing units. The techniques that you will become
adept at by using HypnoBirthing can be used whatever your birthing
circumstances.
If you do want to use a birthing pool, do talk to your Midwife
about the process and find out the units or her protocol for Water
Births. Ask how many they have a year, this should give you an idea
as to how willing the staff are to use water for labour and birth.
If they are not forthcoming, write to the Director of Midwifery
services [UK]. If the response is still unsatisfactory then ask
to be recommended to a hospital that fully supports water births.
If you are a low risk Mum how about hiring your own pool and have
a home birth?
Most hospitals will allow you to bring in your own pool, but check
first.Read up about it too.
Basic guidelines
One of the most important things is not to get in too early,
or if you do, get out for while move around and then go back in.
The reason for this is that prolonged immersion may decrease the
flow of oxytocin. Latest findings from Dr Michel Odent suggest that
there is a correlation between the findings of physiologists on
the effects of water immersion on hormone secretion and the observations
of midwives that labours tend to be longer if a woman enters the
pool and stays there before 5 cm dilation. He suggests that immediately
after entering the pool there is a surge of oxytocin which stimulates
contractions and promotes dilation. However this effect is short
lived and after about 11/2 2 hours it begins to slow down.
Your midwife will be monitoring things such as the:
- Pool temperature, which may vary from 32 c – 37c.
- Water
depth, and how far you are immersed.
- Pool Cleanliness.
- Length of time in pool.
There are many good books and web sites about Water Birth, names
and titles to research are:
If you are having a home birth you will need to hire a birthing
pool, you can source this from parenting magazines, your hospital
unit/doctors
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