Water birth?

[KKx]

Hi, Anyone had a water birth and would they recommend it?

Don't be scared mybumpsaboy! If it makes you feel any better the actual delivery part wasn't a problem, it was the effing painful contractions that I remember!

DS1 - planned hb, but ended up with a cs. I did labour in the pool though and the pain relief I got from it was immense.

DS2 - a home waterbirth and the most amazing experience. I wasn't in the pool for very long as the labour progressed very quickly. I got in probably during transition and again the pain relief was fantastic as the TENS was doing fark all (I don't think it had time to work). As soon as I stepped into the pool the contractions changed to the urge to push (it was probably the stepping over the side of the pool which brough ds's head down).

For me the pro's are pain relief, sense of privacy, the ability to move around and change position easily.

And for me there were no con's.

ILT, you had a hbac, yes? How easy did you find it to get them to 'agree' to it? And how long between ds1 and 2? If you don't mind me asking...

it's not the same sort of pain as cutting your finger (well it hurts more to start with) but i found the pain helpful in a weird way. i knew that it was going to end and my baby was going to come out so that made it worthwhile.

you can still have G&A in water and i would have killed anyone who tried to take it away from me. i did get a bit too attached at one point when i was still breathing G&A when i wasn't having contractions and i couldn't feel my arms properly but a few lung fulls of regular air sorted that out.

Another big thumbs up for water. It's so comforting and supportive, plus I could move very fluidly to find a comfortable spot (for me, left side, elbow over the edge!). My contractions on dry land were very heavy, sore and I could never find the right position before they hit, in comparison.

I didn't poo either, but probably weed lots! My husband fed me water through a straw which helped. Lights were low in the birthing pool room too which was nice and we has chillout music that reminded us of our hols...

I have a pretty low pain threshold but got fully dilated without once being rude or screamy before having to get out for a spinal and forceps - (his conk was too big and the wrong way around for me to push him out) but it was nice while it lasted and definately worked for me!

Ooh, I so love g&a!

I've pushed two DDs with nothing but TENS and g&a, and while it was rather painful, it wasn't unbearable and you just get on with it, iyswim.

With DD1 I had been hoping for a water birth in the hospital, but for various reasons (all of which I was later to find out were lies and idiocy on their part ) they wouldn't let me. But because I was geared up mentally for a water birth, I was expecting to only have g&a, so it never occurred to me that I could have anything stronger!

With DD2 I was at home and in the pool, so not only could I not have anything else, there wasn't anything else around to be had! I could have got pethidine in advance but I've never heard anything good about it so I chose not to.

If you get it in your head that g&a is all you can have, then you just get on with it.

I had a water birth with ds3 and it was fantastic. The water gave so much relief to my contractions and being able to move about to get comfy was a God send. Yes the feeling of privacy was great too. Our little torpedo baby was born safely and calmly in the water too. A very good experiance.
ds5 was supposed to be a water birth too but he had other ideas and decided to be a home birth in our bathroom

Have had four waterbirths and can't imagine doing it on dry land! The bliss when you get in the water after the first hours of labour - you can suddenly move easily again and rest and the contractions are easier to deal with. I had gas and air for three births and none for one of them - I'd also always have g&a based on my experience not having it Lovely stuff!

It didnt help with my pain but gas & air sorted that

It was all fun & games.

Midwifes at hospital said my dd was the first to be born in the water in a long time coz most mother's got out just before baby was born. ( not sure why)

Yeh the floating poos wasnt very pleasent but like someone said they got scooped out.
I didnt deliver my pacenter in water. Got out for that.

dd was very very clean i must say lol.

You can always give it a try and if you dont like it you can always get out.

mybumpsaboy, is the pain bearable...? not really. It is very very painful but as someone else says, it's not like ordinary pain. Kind of difficult to explain really. I only had G&A for all 3 SmallDragons though so it clearly wasn't unbearable although everyone experiences pain differently.

One thing to bear in mind which isn't clear when you're in the middle of it with your first: The pain stops immediately the baby is born. It's quite incredible - one second it's there, then next it isn't but your baby is . Well worth hanging onto that thought.

I wouldn't give birth any other way.

Things to bear in mind though are; if it's your first baby your 1st stage is likely to be longer than subsequent births. Do not get into the pool before 7cm as it will slow the labour down.

However, if the labour is progressing very fast then get in as soon as it starts to get really shocking, as it can slow a fast shocking birth a little.

You cannot have Pethidine with a water birth. Get used to the idea that G&A are the only other options available and get the m/w to show you clearly how to use it because there is a knack.

When I get to 7cm I get in the pool and the pain relief is immense to the point that from 7-transition I don't feel anything (maybe something akin to BH), I can joke with the m/w's!

I have needed G&A for the second stages but that's because they never seem to have lasted longer than 18 minutes!

I'm wondering whether delivering the placenta in the water is what makes it murky and minging?
If it is the 3rd stage, I might get out for that this time around, make the clean-up job a bit easier for Dh.

With what DoesntChristmasDragOn said to mybumpsaboy about the water not necessarily making the pain go away...

Thinking about it I reckon that although you're right DGDO, it did help me loads with the pain but I think it wasn't because it made the pain go away, but because on dry land with feeling so uncomfortable and heavy, the contractions felt like they were "bearing down" on me mentally and physically and I felt overwhelmed - whereas in the water, yes it hurt, but I didn't feel so overwhelmed by them because in other respects I felt light, and warm from the water. It calm me enough to cope well, whereas out of it I was panicky.

On dry land everything I tried to lean on /sit on felt hard and cold in comparison. Does that make sense to any of you who've done water? I don't know if it was extra helpful to me with having a back-to-back babe... Really felt like the water was like a big hug.

Def agree that G&A can get you there, never thought I'd go through transition without it but there you go. The key, for those yet to try it, is to take three of the hugest breaths of it you can, before the contraction hits, and then you (or certainly I) just look like Homer when he thinks of donuts... head on one side and tongue lolling out without feeling it so much!! Lasts for the amount of time you need then you're normal-ish again.

I had one, it was about as much fun as you can expect with a fat baby exploding from your nether regions

The one thing I regret is not having a proper understanding of my pain relief options AFTER the birth - I was not offered any pain relief to be stitched up and had a lot of tearing. Because they didn't offer me any pain relief, I refused the stitches. BIG mistake. So give some thought to what you want and DEMAND that they give it to you.

Following with interest as I'm 26 weeks with DC 2 and planning a homebirth Dutch-style (it's the norm here in the Netherlands), after typical long medicalised birth first time. Wasn't that into the idea of water birth but so many people have said it helps, so starting to listen! The only thing I worry about is that the water gets cold, then how do you keep it warm? I have a horror of sitting in cold water..

it's either the pool or the traditional Dutch birthing stool (which actually sounds quite nice, like a chair with a hole basically!)

I had a home waterbirth with my second dc. It was wonderful.

Wrt the pain; it doesn't take the pain away, but I'm sure it does reduce it. I didn't have any g&a and I wouldn't say I've got a high pain threshold. One thing to remember is that if you get in the pool at the right time it can massively intensify the contractions. I got in and stupidly expected not to feel any more pain. Then I had an almighty contraction and shouted at my doula 'you said it would take the pain away but it's worse!' She just told me that it was ok and meant that I'd got in at the right time. The contractions became a lot more manageable after that initial one in the water. Had I not had my doula to reassure me I can imagine that I would have got straight out of the pool and missed the wonderful experience.

I loved the feeling of the water, I loved the sound of it and I loved the stillness of it during the quiet times in between contractions. Most of all I loved watching my little girl 'swimming' into the world.

Btw, I didn't need any stitches and only had a small graze to show for the birth

Sorry if my post is a bit gushing; my dd is nearly 6 months old and the happy place that I go to in my head when daydreaming is still the birthpool in my living room!

Gemzooks - my dh's 'job' was to maintain the water temperature. We had a floating thermometer and he kept adding hot water to keep it around 37 degrees. I was never aware of being cold.

It kept him quite occupied though (which is what we wanted as he doesn't like being a birth partner, nor is he any good at it!) and I had a doula for support.

Not sure what others do?

Gemzooks - it's vital to maintain the temperature of the water, and your midwife will monitor this. If the water is too cold when the baby is born, it could potentially stimulate the baby is breathe while it is still in the water, which obviously isn't a good thing.

I also found that the birthing pool contained all the mess of the birth, this is great if you have a home birth. Unfortuatnely I had a huge bleed two hours after the birth and ruined my mattress anyway, even though it had a plastic sheet on it, it wasn't enough to protect the mattress.

plucky- my dh also liked having the distraction of setting up the birthing pool.

I used a 'Birth Pool in a Box', which is the best birthing pool out of the three that I tried.

am going to have a doula too... but thinking of hiring a pool, hope they're clean!

Gemzooks - I hired the pool and it was very clean - and you use a disposible plastic liner for inside the pool anyway.

snowofhands - I hired an Independant MW as I knew I would have a fight on my hands to have a HWBAC. The community MW's in my area would probably agree to it, however I know they would be pressured by the Obs Cons to change my mind. A fight I really didn't want to have.

There was 2 years between the births and no scar problems whatsoever. Infact the birth went a lot quicker than we all predicted.

Agreed Belgo. Birth Pool In A Box was great. I bought it and recently sold it to a friend who also had her little girl in it

Dh also liked setting the pool up. Men seem to like it if they've got something practical to do.