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Natural Birth
FTM and a water birth?
Hi, this my first post to this particular board.
I was curious if anyone here has experienced a water birth and if so could you let me know what you thought? Or if you are a FTM like me thinking about it, can you let me know why?
The good, bad, and the ugly is fine with me!
Thanks!
This discussion has been closed.
Re: FTM and a water birth?
I haven't had a water birth but I'll tell you everything I've heard and how I feel about it.
If my next pregnancy is as smooth as this one, I plan to have a water birth at home. The tub was AMAZING while I was in labor and I was very upset that they made me get out for delivery (hospital policy). I feel that pushing wouldn't have taken as long, that I would have stayed more relaxed, and that it wouldn't have been as difficult for me to release the baby.
I've heard it's a crap shoot in some ways. Some women have lovely clean births and nothing is weird, other women bleed or poop themselves while pushing and that's all in the water. Personally, I'm not worried about the pooping part. In the early hours of labor my body took care of that so it wasn't an issue for pushing. Blood was an issue. I lost a lot of blood but personally I'm not that worried about it. After delivery they move you right out of the pool to tidy things up anyway.
If you're going to have a home water birth instead of at a birth center, I've heard that it's a good idea to hire a setup/clean up service. That so many fathers miss the first few hours with their child because they'll cleaning up the darn pool, not to mention that after going through that it's so much nicer to just have things taken care of.
Those are the things that have really stuck out to me when looking into doing a water birth but I would also like to hear from others with experience.
I did. My midwife has these massive blow-up tubs you can really move around in. It was good. I'm not someone who finds that sitting in water really helps contractions, but it seems to help for many women. However, I do believe it helped with the birth itself. I didn't tear, which was great, and I do believe the water helped with that. I also found it nice to move around a bit- I pushed on my knees, leaning over the side of the tub, but the buoyancy in the water helped me when I felt the need to contort myself a bit. At various points I stuck my butt out more like a hands-and-knees position, or stood upright on my knees, or lifted up one leg and tilted my hips a certain way, and it felt like being in water helped to support my body during these moves so I had to do less work. Between contractions and after the birth especially it felt really nice to stretch out my sore muscles in the water. I sat in the tub for a while after the baby was born and just stretched my legs. It was great. My son also didn't really cry after he was placed on my chest, which freaked me out initially but the midwife said that in her experience, babies don't always really cry after a waterbirth, which tells me that it might be less stressful for baby (my son was very healthy, the lack of crying wasn't a problem- he pinked up great and was clearly breathing well). I'd do it again.
If you get a blow-up tub, make sure to set it up at the first sign of labour. It can take a while to set up, and if you wait until later in labour, your partner might be too busy taking care of you to take a time out to set up the tub.
The ugly: The water didn't really get gross while I was pushing in it, but a little while after the birth it did. I had to get out because the water was turning kind of bloody. What's worse is that the tub didn't come with a pump to actually drain it, and we didn't have any good way to siphon it because we couldn't get the hose lower than the tub itself, so my husband had to drain it bucketful by bucketful. He said it was gross and a lot of work. The tub came with a one-time-use vinyl liner so when enough water was drained that my husband could lift it out, he ended up picking up the liner with all the water trapped inside, held it over the toilet, and stabbed the bottom with scissors and let the rest drain. Try to get a pump if you can. It'd probably be more convenient to use your bathtub, but even a big soaker tub wouldn't be big enough, imho, to use it comfortably and give the midwives ample access to what they need to access. Also, if you experience loose bowels in labour, you'll basically be sitting in it and the tub will have to be drained and cleaned and refilled, which would be a huge PITA.
ETA: I just realized I assumed you're planning a homebirth. If you're planning a birth centre waterbirth, the clean-up won't be an issue for you. Score!
In my experience, it's not a big deal. If you can get the hose lower than the tub, you can siphon it off easily and that would only take a moment or two to set up. Or get a cheap pump and then you can take a minute to set that up and have it pump into the toilet. My husband did have to drain it with buckets, and I don't think it took more than half an hour, not a few hours, and he left it for a couple hours so we could bond as a family first. He could have left it longer, if he wanted- and as gross as that would have been to leave that water there longer, if we had hired a service I imagine we'd have waited a long time as well, since I birthed in the early hours of morning and I doubt they would have been out in the middle of the night to drain it immediately. They also come with vinyl liners so once the water is gone and you throw that out, you don't need to scrub out the tub itself. It would be quick and easy if you had a pump.
I had a hospital water birth. I didn't labor in the tub the whole time, as I didn't find it to be that much of a relief compared to other positions around the room. It was nice to have as another "station" for dealing with contractions. I couldn't imagine giving birth on dry land, though, so she was born in the water.
I would do it again, for sure.
That's kind of how I see it! Plus, what I really wanted to say was I LOVE LUCILLE! That picture made my afternoon!
I'm a FTM so no actual experience, but we're planning a home water birth. Our midwives said that we could use our bathtub, we have a big soaker tub but they said you could use a regular tub. That gets rid of a lot of the clean-up issues and mess factor. In regards to the poop factor, as long as it's solid they just scoop it out of the water with a fish net.
Both of my kids were waterbirths, and I wouldn't do it any other way. So we're definitely planning another. I had no tearing which I think is totally related to the water. It doesn't take the pain away but it helps with relaxation and the buoyancy is nice- I would need a tub bigger than a regular bath though. Plus, I wanted DH in there with me while I pushed. I didn't think I would the second time, but when I transitioned, I HAD to have him in there with me. So a big enough tub is nice IMO. Waterbirth isn't for everyone, but if you think it sounds appealing for labor, it probably will be for you.
My son was born in water and I plan on my daughter being born in water, too. Honestly, it was great and I wouldn't do it out of the water as long as I have the choice. The water didn't give as much pain relief as I had expected (then again I was a FTM last time so what can you really expect?) and it probably did stall my labor, but it was so nice to be in the warm water and have some weightlessness. The water is also great for making everything a little more elastic down there and avoiding tears. I feel like it was a much easier and smoother transition for the baby, too, to go from warm and wet inside to warm and wet outside, rather than cold and dry, which I personally think would make it harder/more painful to push a baby out, but I wouldn't really know, I've never done it that way.
Anyway, I love water birth and I'll do it every time. GL to you on your water birth!