Hey sue,
I recently heard of this water birth thing. What is it, why do people do it? IS it good for the baby/mother? Does it hurt? I was wondering if anybody on this site had some info for me.
Thanks Catlin

People having been giving birth in water for centuries. Only in America do we strap women down on their backs. could be part ofthe reason laborisso hard. Babies seem to be born more relaxed. Mothers seem to recover more quickly. You should be able to find tons of info sbout it on the net.

The "birthing chair" is also a better option (my own opinion!)because it allows gravity to do it's job. The laying on your back can prolong the event. There are many traditional positions for giving birth, hospital births are pretty much a "tradition" of our most recent century.

No matter what position you are in when giving birth remember to push real hard. Labor goes so much faster if you do.

Belinda

Actually because water births are performed at home I, personally, wouldn't recommend them becuase I would feel much safer in a hospital with a obgyn and nurses and staff available to take care of you in the event of an emergency. I dont think it's true that the recovery rate is actually better for water births. Water births are common though and there are plently of websites on water births I would look into if you are planning on making a decision.

There are hospitals and birthing centers who have the ability to allow you to choose water birth - and some even have water birth rooms.


This is an except from a blog I found------

We also looked into Woodwinds Hospital in Woodbury and St Joseph’s in St Paul. Both have many certified nurse midwives that serve there and have the water birth option. The charge nurse at Woodwinds said they have 1 tub and “don’t do too many waterbirths”. She also said women can eat and drink during labor unless they are planning on having an epidural. The charge nurse at St Joseph’s said they also have 1 room with a water tub (you and baby move to another room after birth). She estimated they have 8-10 waterbirths a month. They only restrict fluids/eating if you are planning on an epidural. There is no routine IV. They offer tours- just call ahead 1 hr to make sure they are not too busy.

I called many midwives off the Minnesota Birth Network website. We came down to a choice of two. One was Janet Schwab at To Each Her Own Women’s Health Center in Minnetonka. She is a certified nurse midwife (since 1980) and has worked mostly in hospitals but has been a changing force in procedures whereever she went. She has just started doing homebirths. Because she is a CNM, her license requires her to have a doctor in place as back up. She has a doctor in the Cities who regularily serves as her back up for patients but not down in Mankato. If we used her, it would be dependent on her being able to establish a relationship with a doctor down here (not easy to do).