Giving Birth in Water - Q&A
Before giving birth in water, or planning a waterbirth, you may have many questions about what it entails. This is especially true if waterbirth isn't widely practiced in your area. Below is a Q&A of some of the most common questions you may have when considering a birth in water.
How much does it cost to have a waterbirth?
Why doesn't the baby breathe under water?
How long is the baby underneath the water?
Why is waterbirth not available in more hospitals?
Can I have a waterbirth at my hospital or birth center?
What supplies do I need for giving birth in water?
For a home waterbirth, you will need a birth pool, which can either be purchased or rented, a hose to fill the pool, a liner for the pool if it is rented, and blankets, towels or chux pads to protect the floor. If your hospital has birthing pools, then all supplies should be readily available. If not, then you should talk to your care provider about bringing your own.
How much does it cost to have a waterbirth?
That
will depend on whether you plan to purchase or rent a birth pool.
The cost to purchase or rent a birthing pool runs between
$118-375 plus shipping. However, it's possible that your
insurance company may reimburse the pool rental or purchase
fee. If you are self-employed or itemize deductions, you may
be able to deduct the cost as a medical expense.
If you choose a birth center or hospital that has their own equipment, there is no need to contact your insurance company.
A combination of 4 different factors stop the baby from taking a first breath while still underneath the water:
- A hormone secreted by the placenta, Prostaglandin E2, causes the baby's breathing movements to slow before, during, and right after labor. While these levels stay high, the baby is prevented from breathing. All the baby's oxygen will continue to be supplied by the placenta, not the lungs.
- Babies will not gasp or try to breathe as long as the umbilical cord is not clamped nor cut and is still pulsing regularly. All babies are born with slightly low levels of oxygen which causes them to swallow, not inhale.
- The baby's lungs contain a hypertonic solution which is dense while water is a hypotonic solution. If water were to move past the protective larynx, the lung fluids would not allow it to pass since they prevent hypotonic solutions like water from mixing or pushing past them.
- The larynx, or voice box, provides an important protective function called the Dive Reflex. The surfaces of the larynx in the throat are layered with taste buds (chemoreceptors). In fact, it has five times as many as the entire tongue surface. all over with chemoreceptors or taste buds. When a substance enters the mouth and passes the level of the larynx, the body determines what path it should follow and the glottis, or airway, is covered to prevent foreign particles from entering the lungs. So, if water were to enter the baby's mouth, it would then reflexively swallow rather than inhaling it.
How long is baby in the water after giving birth?
This
will depend on a few factors. After giving birth in water,
sometimes the baby's body is
wrapped in the umbilical cord and it will take a few seconds to bring
the baby to a good position to take it from the water. In the
majority of waterbirths, the baby is caught by the mother and
immediately pulled to her chest. In the
US, care providers usually take the baby from the water in less than 10
seconds. The baby does not need to stay underneath the water for any
period of time nor is there a great need to rush to get the baby out.
The best practice is to safely remove the baby from the water and place it skin-to-skin with the mother's chest quickly but without rushing to do so.
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Why
is water birth not
available in more hospitals?
That
is an excellent question! Recently the National Institute for
Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) in the United Kingdom issued
guidelines that giving birth in water is the most effective
non-pharmaceutical form of
pain relief for childbirth which has no negative side effects and
should be offered to all women giving
birth.
However, despite the overwhelming evidence of the benefits of giving birth in water, few hospitals offer birth pools, citing liability, financial constraints and staffing issues as barriers. However, widespread use of giving birth in water would stand to cut maternity care costs considerably for mothers and insurance companies in that it reduces the number of mothers who request epidural anesthesia, which runs upwards of $1500 in the United States.
Another reason for lack of access to waterbirth is that in modern maternity care, doctors and obstetricians receive no training in the use of water for birth. Although slow in coming more hospitals are seeing the benefits of waterbirth and recognize the benefits of allowing women to make their own choices for birthing. Also, the increase in the number of birthing centers, which usually offer greater access to birth pools, is allowing more women the benefit of water for birth.
Can I have a waterbirth at my hospital or birth center?
This
will depend on your care provider, pregnancy, and hospital or birth
center policy. Hospitals are becoming more
waterbirth-friendly but some still have archaic policies in place that
restrict waterbirth or so many limits on duration, supervision and
other restrictions that make it nearly impossible to have a waterbirth,
even if they are fully equipped with birthing pools and equipment.
Still others will allow labouring in the tub but require you
to push in a bed. Birth centers tend to be much more
supportive of waterbirth and have more lenient policies that make it
easier to bring your own tub if one is not available.
The
best course of action is to discuss waterbirth with your care provider
well in advance of your anticipated birth. Discuss your
specific situation and desire for waterbirth. Be sure to ask
if you can bring your own tub should one not be available.
You may need to be persistent in that some care providers are
unaware of the benefits of giving birth in water. Once they
become aware of the benefits, they may be much more open to the idea.
