Acording to the American Pregnancy Association, water birth is gaining popularity throughout the United States. In fact, major hospitals are regularly offering water births in their birthing suites, making the process more accessible to women and allowing higher-risk women to feel the benefits of of laboring, at least partially, in water. Water birth is also a safe practice for mother and baby. In her article "Waterbirth Basics: From Newborn Breathing to Hospital Protocols," registered nurse and water birth expert Barbara Harper explains that until babies surface, they're still getting all the oxygen they need from their umbilical connection to the mother. Aside from its soothing effects, water births are beneficial to mother and baby in other physical and emotional ways.
Reduced Complications
Water birth helps relieve stress in mothers participating in active labor. Relieved stress is directly correlated with reduced complications, according to the American Pregnancy Association. Because water helps ease pain and and reduce stress, it helps reduce blood pressure associated with stress and anxiety, lessening related fetal distress.
Decreased Pain
When a mother is stressed due to labor, her stress hormones can inhibit natural endorphins. These natural endorphins help ease pain, according to the American Pregnancy Association, and are more freely produced in the water. Water also helps the body feel lighter and buoyant, which allows the mother to adjust her position easier, move more freely and help the baby move by rocking her hips. The buoyancy and range of motion allows more productive contractions. Water also, according to Harper, helps the body to release oxytocin, which can help with pain.
Reduced Need for Episiotomy
Many women who birth in the water do so in a more comfortable, natural birthing position, such as on her knees or in a squatting position, which reduces the strain on the perineum, preventing tearing. Those who do labor on their backs experience less tearing and need for episiotomy as well, according to Harper, both because of buoyancy and because of the natural softening effect water has on the skin.
Soothing for Baby
According to Waterbirth International, the water in the pool or tub should be between 95 and 100 degrees. At this temperature, the baby is released from the fluid filled amniotic sac into the similar environment of the fluid filled pool. This makes the transition from the womb to the world more soothing and natural for the baby. The American Pregnancy Association reports that this type of transition makes the baby feel secure and lessens the shock of exiting the birth canal.
Emotional Benefits
According to Harper, water birth helps women feel more in control of the birth and more free to adjust position and use her instincts to dictate when and in what position to push. This gives women more confidence and the satisfaction of dictating her birth process. According to her study, Harper reports that women felt more connected to their babies and their labor during water birth, and they reported being better able to tell when the baby was moving or when to push.
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