Water Birth Option
Relax & Get Some Pain Relief

A water birth can be very relaxing and a real pain relief with the added benefit of allowing your cervix to dilate quickly. I was relaxing in a birthing pool when my second child decided to start coming out. His shoulders got stuck and I had to be rushed into a "traditional" delivery room down the hall while in the middle of giving birth. It was not a lot of fun.

Here are some benefits and safety considerations of using a delivery pool:

Water-Birth Benefits

• Water immersion can speed up a slow labor
• Helps to provide some pain relief
• Helps you relax and can reduce the pain of labor contractions
• Gives your tissues and muscles some time to relax, open & stretch
• Reduces tearing--muscles & tissues relax and stretch more easily
• Primary use as a pre-delivery pain relief

Safety Considerations

• Originally intended for pain relief during your 1st stage of labor
• A birthing pool--never intended for the actual labor and delivery
• Births taking place in water are not generally safe
• Complications/emergencies during a water birth are compounded
• Some danger to underwater delivered baby--time to take head out
• Safe as long as baby is not underwater more than a few moments

I really wanted to have a water birth after our beautiful daughter was delivered at the hospital. My husband and I decided to check into the possibility of a water delivery at the hospital we had our first baby at and we could. I was very excited about it but met with some uncomfortable complications with the birthing pool. I think the birthing pool was designed for a typical central European woman(much taller than me) and during the delivery the baby's head crowned and came out but then the cervical dilation restricted up a bit and the baby's shoulder got stuck. Thus followed rushing to another delivery room where the birth became a bit of an emergency. Even though the water was nice and relaxing the complications that developed from labor while in the birthing pool were anything but pleasant or enjoyable. Our second child, our firstborn son is healthy and a handsome blessing. God still works wonderful miracles.

If your delivery is smooth and problem free, I really think that this is a nice 'water-baby' option, and I love everything that has to do with water.

Congratulations on your upcoming family addition, I wish you all the best.

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