water birth

[kangaroo]

hello:) i am 10 weeks pregnant with my first child and i am extremely interested in having our child via water birth. does anyone have any personal stories they wish to share on their experience? any info would be greatly appreciated!
thanks
j

[JWills]

OH I am so glad you posted this!!!! I am really interested too, and was curious to know if anyone here had done it before. I cant wait to see what answers you get!


BTW- Congrats on your pregnancy!!

[wlbowers]

I am 38 weeks and am getting ready to deliver in Davis, CA where they have a great alternative birthing center. I have chosen a water birth I will be able to let you all know shortly how it goes. Even if you do not have a hospital in your area that offers it I know there are companies that provide the tubs for home water birthing. If you would be comfortable with that. Most of what I know about water birthing I have just found on line there are lots of web sites. Hope your pregancies go smoothly first trimester was the worst for me 2nd and 3rd have been great.

[carola716]

Hi! I actually had a water birth a year ago, April 2007. I have mixed feelings about it because of my experience. I highly reccomend it because you make that day yours. You're not injected with medicine, you can have as many people as you want with you, you listen to your body, you can eat and use those calories toward the labor, lastly, you are in a setting that you create, not one that is created for you. You do have to remember that this is MEDICINE FREE so you won't have pain medications available to you. Be ready to handle some pain. I would definitely reccomend that you have a doula with you if it's your first time. Doulas are there for YOU, to make you happy, comfortable, and focused. The midwife is there for the birth. I know someone who had two water births and she LOVED IT! The problem arises if you have a complication.

My experience was unique in that I had to be transported to the hospital after I gave birth to my daughter. Mind you, I was 100% healthy or I wouldn't have been able to register at the Birth Center. That's a pre-requisite. My pregnancy was perfect as well.

My complication is not common as I later learned, but I definitely felt that the disconnect between hospitals and birth centers are HUGE! This made my first experience terrible. My midwife was hesitant to call an ambulance when my problem came up. My husband is actually the person who called and took over because he couldn't bare to see me bleed so much. At the hospital, the arrival was not too comforting. They looked at me like "yeah, another birth center patient" ... I was in agonizing pain, worst than labor, and bleeding to death. My baby was sent home with my sisters and I was at the hospital. Not the way I wanted it to be! Finally, I was operated and sent to recovery.

I was checked into the emergency area and was taken to the maternity traige section only after BEGGING the doctor to do so. If not, I would have been with everyone else. Because I was the emergency patient, my daughter was not admitted with me. She was there as my visitor. No one checked her for vitals, or gave her much attention. My husband got our pediatrician involved and was able to get some attention for the baby two days, and a blood transfussion (for me) later. Luckily the baby was born in excellent health. She had nooooo complications, not even jaundace (spelling).

After this whole experience I think I fell into a small post-partum depression. I punished myself for making the decision to take this risk. My husband and I later spoke about it and felt that Birth Centers hate Hospitals and Hospitals hate Birth Centers. They are here for the same purpose, yet they don't see eye-to-eye.

You may be wondering what the complication was...sorry....I had a blood vessel burst in my vagina and since my skin didn't tear, the blood just flowed inside of my skin (a hematoma). My right labia grew to be the size of an orange and it was PAINFUL! You can google vaginal hematomas and read more about this...Like I said, it's not common and not directly related to water births. This could have happened to me at the hospital, but the fact that the care wasn't available immediately was scary and not to mention risky. I don't know what would have happened to me if my husband wouldn't have called the ambulance when he did.

Next time around I'm planning on looking into a hospital that allows water births, birth balls, everything natural. Yes, I plan on going all-naturale again. I feel that it's the way that it was intended to be and I can handle a couple of hours of pain rather than days of it if you have a c-section or epidural.

I'm not trying to sway you one way or another, it's just something to consider.

[waterbirthMama]

I have had two waterbirths. My first was at home and I also had a vaginal vein burst during labor but I was ok. My midwife stitched me up and I healed quickly. My second waterbirth was at a birthcenter and was faster than the first with no problems.

One 8lb baby and a 9lb baby. I am currently 9 weeks pregnant with my third child. I plan to have another waterbirth. I am extremely happy with both of my previous experiences. I decided to choose waterbirth because I have always had immense menstrual cramps and I would always seek out a warm bath for relief. I knew innately that I would do the same with birth pain.

Once I submerge myself in the waterbirth tub, the labor pain decreases significantly. I feel relaxed and safe. Both of my children's births were calm and with the absence of the bright lights of the hospital.

I have to say that it is not for everyone and I do not force my choice on anyone. The best method for you is what you feel most comfortable with. I am not comfortable in hospitals, and in my area the hospitals do not allow waterbirths, so a birthcenter and homebirth was the best choice for me.

I recommend research and more research. A wonderful place to start is my favorite pregnancy book: The complete Book of Pregnancy & Childbirth by Sheila Kitzinger.

I am happy to answer any other questions. I hope this helps.