No bath after water breaks?

prothumia

In Lamaze class, our instructor said to not risk taking a bath or even a shower after your water breaks.  She claimed that germs from the bathtub/water could start an infection.  

Has anyone else heard this?  How do water births fit into this?

I want to do as much of my labor at home where I am comfortable and I was counting on using water to help me feel comfortable. 

gymnst1013

You'll get mixed opinions on this from doctors and midwives.  I've heard it both ways - some say it's ok, some say it's not. 

AeL347

Difference about a water birth is that those tubs are well cleaned and disinfected following strict policies after each birth - thus risk of infection decreases.

I'd say that showering after your water breaks carries less of a risk than being in the tub.  And who knows, for many women labor doesn't start with their water breaking - so maybe all the time you labor at home things will stay in-tact and then you can use warm water to help you through the intense contractions. 

Debbie0580

I heard the same thing at our prenatal class.  The instructor said if your water breaks at home they will want you in as soon as possible to check you over etc.  Once that's happened, they may let you shower there, providing all is well.  But definitely no baths.

LauraOTR

In our birthing class, they said we can be in the tub at any time except 1. if you have an epidural or 2. you are actually pushing (this is a hospital thing, obviously wouldn't apply to home water births). They said it was fine to be there after your water breaks.

OctoberCAPA

Debbie0580:

I heard the same thing at our prenatal class.  The instructor said if your water breaks at home they will want you in as soon as possible to check you over etc.  Once that's happened, they may let you shower there, providing all is well.  But definitely no baths.

This is what I was told too.  No bath after water breaks because of infection. 

DuckDuckGoose123

I think the idea is to try to avoid infection unless the baby is on its way out.  Like when my water broke but I wasn't actively laboring, the hospital folks didn't even want to check me too often for dilation to avoid infection because we thought I could hold on for a few days.  But once you're laboring, the baby is coming out so I think they worry less about infection.  I think it's more of a concern if the baby is staying in for a while.

kbel424

I guess it depends on policy of the hospital or birthing center, because we're going to try for a water birth so obviously I'd be in the tub after that happens!

katiefyd84

I took several showers in the hospital when I was in labor with J and my water had already broken.

ashleah83

gymnst1013:

You'll get mixed opinions on this from doctors and midwives.  I've heard it both ways - some say it's ok, some say it's not. 

This.  In our childbirthing class today this is exactly what our instructor said.  She went on to add that at this time *most* practitioners feel that the vagina does not work like a straw sucking in bacteria, and believe it is not that dangerous. Her straw analogy makes me giggle.