Water-birth at 40?

[Concernedkay]

Hi has anyone had a water-birth at 40? I'm not 40 yet but am going to start ttc soon and am thinking ahead if it doesn't happen in the next year. I had a low risk pregnancy with my first but the birth centre wasn't available on the day because of short staff (gutted!) so was wondering if I would get another chance if all is well with my second and if I happen to be 40 at the time.

Thanks

Certainly in the trust I work in, if you are otherwise having a low risk pregnancy then you can have a water birth at any age.

Sorry just editing to say that you would see a consultant in pregnancy and they would need to sign it off but they would without question if everything was going well.

I just turned 40 and having my first soon (36w4d) - given generally straightforward pregnancy, consultant has been perfectly happy for me to use the birthing unit in the hospital, including the birthing pool (providing all available). Well, that was the case until 36w scan showed baby still breech and now looking like a c-section, if the ECV doesn’t work!

But. generally, I don’t think they would recommend against water birth due to age alone - there would need to be other risks involved. In general, consultant and midwives have been largely disinterested in my age - I think a lot more common these days and they tend to take a much wider view of the cumulative risk factors to paint a picture.

I'm 45 and had a water birth 3 months ago - it was wonderful. Good luck!

I was offered one when I had ds at 40. Didn't get it because ds had other plans and we didn't even get the water running 🙄

I am 40 and IVF pregnancy so tick 2 'high risk' boxes but fine to use a birthing pool. The only issue may be if constant monitoring is needed or you want an epidural but that is the same for any age.

Wow that's amazing! Congratulations! X

Thanks for all the responses. I'm very relieved to hear it's doable I was reading that over 40 was considered high risk so needed to be consultant led.

What hospital did you give birth at? X

@Concernedkay I'm consultant led but to be honest it doesn't mean a lot just a couple of extra appointments in between the midwife ones and extra growth scans. We have only seen an actual consultant twice to discuss growth scan results and book an induction so right at the end.