What is water birth?

Water birth is the process of giving birth in a birth pool filled with warm water.

Some women choose to labour in water and then deliver on land. Other women decide to both labour and deliver in the birth pool. During the first stage of labour you can enter the pool. The warm water of the birth pool has an analgesic effect and allows for a more relaxing and soothing birth experience. Your body will produce pain inhibitors – endorphins – that complement labour and decrease pain.

In addition to these benefits, a water birth in our birth pool also allows optimal mobility and the feeling of being weightless. Read more about the advantages of water birth here.

Can you have a water birth in a bathtub?

In the past, some water births were done in people’s bathtubs in their bathroom. This practice is not safe because of the limited depth of the bathtub, the constrained mobility for the mother, and the midwife’s restricted access to the mother, as well as concerns about hygiene.

This is why the birth pool was developed: to ensure a safe and gentle water birth both for the baby and mother. Read more about our birth pool here.