Waterbirth Articles2022-05-26T08:49:40+10:00

Waterbirth Articles

Waterbirth ArticlesIn this section, you will find articles on lots of issues surrounding water submersion during labour and waterbirth. Read about using water during labour, setting up a birth pool, cleaning a birth pool, different types of waterbirth products available, where to have a waterbirth and lots, lots more.

We would love to receive your articles or stories on using water in labour and water birth. Email articles or stories to Jane.

Articles on Using Water During Labour and Birth

Waterbirth provide “clear benefits” for healthy mums and their newborn

Waterbirth provides “clear benefits” for healthy mums and their newborns, with less intervention and complications during and after the birth than standard care, as well as higher levels of maternal satisfaction. It finds a synthesis of the available evidence, published in the open-access journal BMJ Open. Water birth is when a woman is in labour and gives birth in a birthing pool. In this scenario, the newborn starts to breathe at the point when their head emerges from the

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Guidelines for Portable Water Birth Pools

Portable water birth pool equipment is widely available internationally for sale or hire. However, there are many types of pools and systems on the market with little or no regulation controls in place. They formulated the guidelines to help suppliers develop codes of safe practice and give consumers the information they need to make an informed choice. The fundamental rule that must be strictly complied with to ensure safety and prevent infection is that any equipment that has been

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Pros and Cons of Waterbirth

We explore the pros and cons of waterbirth in this article. A calmer, gentler transition for both mother and baby sounds like the dream birth. Some women choose a water birth for this reason. From the baby’s perspective, it’s thought to create a seamless entry into the world. They go from the “water” inside your womb to the water outside. As a mother, you can imagine how the support of soothing, warm water would help you relax into the

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Estimating Blood Loss in an Inflatable Birth Pool

An essential core skill of a midwife or any health professional attending women in labour is estimating blood loss at birth. Postpartum haemorrhage (PPH) is as one of the leading causes of death of women giving birth, particularly in low-income countries. While traditionally a PPH is defined as a blood loss greater than 500mls or any amount of blood loss that causes a new mother's condition to deteriorate. The World Health Organisation (WHO) suggests that a blood loss below

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The History of Waterbirth

To the untrained eye, those offering opinions on the safety and value of waterbirth might be seen to be debating a relatively new and radical practice. It is perhaps easy to assume that as land bound mammals that land is where we are intended to birth. However, this simplistic notion overlooks a number of key biological facts. Our Biological Link to Water 70% of our planet’s surface is covered in water. Interestingly, after some 40 weeks spent in a

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Waterbirth with my tenth baby

After nine active and drug-free hospital births with deliveries by midwives, I found myself having a water birth with my 10th baby. This was, I would say, an accident as it hadn’t even entered my mind to have a waterbirth. Well 4 days past my due date I went and had a massage and Michael the masseuse did my pressure points and I nearly hit the roof, I had had 2 previous acupuncture appointments with no luck and as

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Water Birth Photo Gallery

Waterbirth facilitates gentle, safe and empowering birth. This waterbirth photo gallery celebrates the wonderful option of waterbirth. Photos can say far more than words. Click on the image to see it at full size. We'd love to recieve your photos to add to this page. If you would like to submit your waterbirth photos, please email them to Jane Image Gallery

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Labouring and Birthing in Water

‘I’ve always loved the water’ Christina tells me. Her voice is gentle and contemplative. ‘I have a long candlelit bath every night. I feel really at home in the water, so it just seemed perfect for birthing.’ Birthing in water When Christina was pregnant with her second child, Aluca, she began exploring the possibility of having a water birth. With Paolo, her first baby, she had given birth in a birth centre. While Christina had used water for much

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FAQ – Aquaborn Eco Birth Pool

Is the Aquaborn Eco Birth Pool right for me? If you and your baby are healthy, and your midwife has not raised any concerns about the suitability of using warm water during labour or birth, then an Eco Birth Pool can provide you with the perfect solution for comfort in labour and the option of having a waterbirth. If you want a partner to join you in the pool, they can with the larger size pool. What is the

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Ergonomic Use and Handling of the Aquaborn Eco Birth Pools

Aquaborn Eco Birth Pools are ergonomically designed to be used in width ways and length ways and support improved manual handling for midwives and doulas. Midwifery: Health and Safety & Ergonomics They designed Aquaborn Pools so that a midwife is able to more easily assess a mother in the water without putting themselves at risk of back and shoulder injury. Although in many cases the use of water in labour and birth facilitates a hands-off approach, it is essential

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Birth Pools FAQs

PBB has put together a list of frequently asked questions, and answers, to help you as you make decisions about purchasing and using a birth pool for labour and birth. Researching your options in pregnancy helps you decide whether or not a pool is right for you, which pool suits you best, and how to set up and pack up your birth pool If you have questions we have not answered here, please contact us directly by either email

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How to Pack Up a Birth Pool

You’ve had your baby – Congratulations! And whether or not you used your birth pool in labour you will need to pack it away. So you may be asking how to pack up a birth pool! This article is designed to assist you in navigating your way through emptying, cleaning, deflating and storing your birth pool. What You’ll Need Siphon or submersible electric water pump Debris scoop Bucket Sterilising solution Emptying Your Pool Your pool can be drained in

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Water for labour and birth

I have attended women for over 18 years, many of whom have chosen to birth in the water. It is my intention to help you understand how useful water can be to birthing families. I wish to acknowledge Joy Argent whose lecture on this subject has given me much of my information. In case you’ve forgotten, before birth we all spent close to nine months totally surrounded by water. It is certainly no stranger to any of us: most

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Are Birth Pools Beneficial in Labour

The use of water in labour is a centuries-old practice for the human race. However today, many people are either unaware or sceptical of whether birth pools are beneficial in labour. The concept of using water in labour is a fairly simple one. If you are a bath person you will understand. This is because it is as simple as hopping into a warm bath after a long, hard day. As your body slips beneath the surface of the

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Birthing in Water

Optimising Physiologic Childbirth and the Humanisation of Birth. Birth in water is sometimes portrayed as a new-age hippy fad promoted by modern childbirth fundamentalists. This is to push the boundaries of normal birth. But, I see it as a small part of a much bigger and more sophisticated idea. Birth in water is connected to the movement to humanise birth. A movement with the potential to profoundly affect the evolution of a more conscious human culture. This will encompass

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Waterbirth – Twisting the research evidence

This morning I woke to read the Google newsfeed on Waterbirth and waterbirth evidence. What I found were headlines like “Study: Water Birth Offers No Special Benefits”, “Water Babies: Docs Challenge Growing Trend — Childbirth In A Tub” and my favourite “Water Births May Be Risky For Mother And Newborn”. Had there been a new study to show that waterbirth had no benefits or even poor outcomes? I wanted to know if this was the case as at least

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