Water birth

A water birth is a birth that takes place partly or entirely in water. Often a specially designed pool, such as the Birth Pool in a Box, or a bathtub filled with hot water is used.

Water as pain relief

It is very common for bets to be used as a pain relief tool during childbirth, both at home and in hospitals. The warm water together with the resulting pressure releases endogenous hormones with a painrelieving effect, which also helps you to relax during labour. A water birth in our Birth pool in a Box provides optimal mobility and the feeling of being weightless, which further facilitates the birthing process.

Top of pain relief

After 90 minutes in the hot water, your body will have experienced a hormonal peak of pain relief. That’s why you may want to step out of the pool, replenish your drink and nutrition, and empty your bladder to come back to the bath after a while.

Freedom

Being weightless in the warm water makes it easier to move your body, increasing your freedom to adopt different positions according to what feels most comfortable.“Women report feeling safe, undisturbed and private, and birth in positions they feel instinctively drawn to.” (Pilley Edwards, 2019)

Private sphere

A birthing pool can be experienced as a kind of universe of its own – a room within a room – where the birthing woman is given a private sphere in which the conditions for feelings of security, privacy and self-determination are strengthened.

Security

Research shows that it is just as safe for a healthy mother with an expected healthy baby to give birth in water as on land. Read “TO GIVE BIRTH IN WATER”, Swedish midwife Hanna Ulfsdottir’s 2019 thesis here.

Monitoring of midwives in the water

Your midwife can monitor you and your baby while you are in the water by using her doppler to check your baby’s heartbeat. Vaginal examinations can also be performed in the water.

Baby under water

Once out of the water, the baby cannot dive back in because it has taken its first breath. The mother can use the Birth Pool in a Box seat to ensure that the baby stays above the water surface. The baby should be kept warm after birth, for example with towels.

After water feeding

The midwife will determine how much blood is being lost by the mother and regularly check the position of the placenta. Depending on the wishes of the mother and midwife and the amount of blood loss, the placenta can be delivered in the birthing pool or on land.

Recovery in bed

After the baby is born, the mother is guided out of the pool and wiped clean. She can then recover in  bed or sofa with the baby on her chest skin to skin. It is important that both mother and child are provided with sufficient warmth and comfort.

Management of the birthing pool

After the baby is born, while the mother and baby rest and recover, the birth attendant or partner can clean the birthing pool, pack it up and store it in anticipation of its return (at a rental) or next birth (in hospital).