When I
encounter a woman who expresses a desire to have a natural childbirth my first
goal is to help her formulate a plan that will help her relax. One of the most
effective methods of child birth relaxation involves hydrotherapy.
Hydrotherapy,
better known as water birth or using water to provide pain relief and
relaxation, has been used by laboring women for years.
In 1805, an
account of the first water birth research was published in a French journal but
it wasn’t until 1967 that the first U.S. water birth was documented and water
immersion during labor became popular. The water birth movement in the U.S.
continued to increase between 1983 and 1995 with France leading out in the pain
reducing movement. However, in 2004 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
notified Water Birth International that they needed to file a request for
portable birth pools to be classified as medical devices. Eventually,
controversy over the safety of water birth lead to clinical trials. In the late
2000’s and early 2010’s researchers began recording thousands of water births
reporting zero drownings or near drownings of newborns. These studies concluded
some benefits for mothers and even some benefits for the newborns. However,
these trials eventually were recorded to be inconclusive due to miss conducted trials
reporting. Hang with me, I know that is a lot of statistical junk!
For many women the use of water during labor
is a technique and tool that not only minimizes their exposure to I.V. drugs
and epidural in labor, but can act as a non-pharma-cologic pain relief. The
researchers found that in women giving birth for the first time:
+During
early labor (1-3 cm), women choosing land births in bed reported more pain than
those choosing water births.
+During
pushing, women choosing water births reported higher levels of pain compared to
women who had land births in bed.
+After the
birth, women who had water births recalled a lower level of pain than those who
had land births in bed.
+There were
no other differences between groups with expected levels of pain, late first
stage pain levels, or levels of pain in the second stage before pushing began.
It has also
been found that women whom where immersed into water had higher rates of
spontaneous vaginal births compared to women who gave birth on land. There has
also been evidence sighting a 20% decrease in C-section through water
immersion. Researchers found a decrease in episiotomies performed on immersed
women thus finding more intact perineum rates.
Hydrotherapy
can be used in the form of a warm spray from a shower head directed to the pelvic
front or lower back, relieving the stretching sensation of the ligaments before
and during labor. When choosing immersion the water temperature should maintain
an 88*F- 100*F to be safest for mother and baby and to alleviate pain.
My Water Birth Story
My Water Birth Story
In 2008, I
had an opportunity to do a little study of my own regarding water birth. I was
pregnant for the twelfth time and had never given birth in water. I had given
birth in many different settings from a Naval Hospital in HI. to standing in my
own bedroom. All of my babies had been born naturally and I planned to have
this one naturally as well. Over the
years I had heard of water birth and had stood in the shower during labor. Many
of the stories I had read on water birth planted fear in me; after all, babies
could drown in a pool of water, right? I had used the tub during every stage of my
pregnancy to relieve morning sickness chills and aches and pains but, the idea
of my newborn emerging into a tub full of water kind of terrified me. A good
friend of mine shared her experience with water birth and my midwife educated
me further in the safety of a birth in water. During this pregnancy I learned that when the water
temperature is kept at about 100*F a baby will not take a breath until pulled
to the water surface. So, after
researching away my fears, I decided to give birth in my bedroom in a large
horse trough intended for birth that my midwife loaned me. I found the entire
experience to be such a peaceful one. I had a large 9 lb. 3 oz boy who was 23 3/4
Inches with minimal pain. I did not tear a bit and felt so calm and relaxed
through the whole labor. My little boy was born alert, looking me straight in
the eyes from his warm tub of water without a cry. The first thing I said to
everyone in the room was, “Why didn’t I do that sooner!
Based on history, clinical studies and my own
awe inspiring experience with water birth, I highly recommend this option for
birth relaxation and pain reliefHappy Birthing! Lesley
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