Anyone ever do a water birth? How was the experience?

JMarie1291 · December 2015

Wasn't sure were to post this. The hospital im delivering at is offering water births now. They have really nice big tubs and its a very clean hospital. (im a nurse I wouldn't consider doing this if it wasn't a clean place) None of my friends or family have done this before so thought I see if any of you ladies done a water birth. I was planning on an epidural but now rethinking it. Im 31 weeks pregnant now so I have some time to think about it and decide. Just hoping some of you have done a water birth and feel like sharing your experience (:

JMarie1291 · December 2015

Sorry if I should if I should of posted this else where. I didn't see a good category for it and thought since im in my 3rd tri I put it here.

lemomof5 · December 2015

I've never had one but where I'm going offers them too. I have serious issues with germs and a little worried about it. I and a friend have one at the same hospital I'm going to and she said the water birth was amazing. She said the warm water was so wonderful. I'm debating but not sure I can.

JMarie1291 · December 2015

My doctor said I can always try sitting in it see if it helps the contractions ....then decide if I want to get in the hospital bed and do an epidural. ( she did talk to me about the time frame during labor for an epidural. Also the fact that I could be comfortable in the beginning sitting in the tub but as labor goes on I may want to not do it and it would be to late for an epidural) Each room has a spa bath for it which is very nice. I just want to hear some real stories so I'd know what to expect...

skruhmin · December 2015

DS1 I labored in one but didn't deliver (hospital policy). It was amazing how much it helped with contraction pain. If I would have been allowed to delivery in it, I would have.

SarahFoley725 · December 2015

skruhmin said:
DS1 I labored in one but didn't deliver (hospital policy). It was amazing how much it helped with contraction pain. If I would have been allowed to delivery in it, I would have.

Do all hospitals have tubs?

OP my best friend had a tub delivery and she swears it was the best thing ever and won't be doing it any other way.

blueeyedrose86 · December 2015

Two of my sisters had 3 water births between them and 2 hospital bed births, all med free. They said the water labors/births were much easier to handle than the others. I'm so excited my hospital this time has labor tubs. I can't wait to try them out.

skruhmin · December 2015

SarahFoley725 said:

DS1 I labored in one but didn't deliver (hospital policy). It was amazing how much it helped with contraction pain. If I would have been allowed to delivery in it, I would have.
Do all hospitals have tubs? OP my best friend had a tub delivery and she swears it was the best thing ever and won't be doing it any other way.

Not necessarily - many do though. Definitely a good question to ask on a tour.

JMarie1291 · December 2015

@skruhmin when you say you labored in but didn't deliver. Did you get out and deliver with out pain meds or did you decide to use something for pain? just wondering how it goes when you get out?

JMarie1291 · December 2015

Not all hospitals offer it and its good idea to tour the hospital if they do and make sure they are a clean and working! I toured 3 hospitals with them in my area 2 were disguesting and smelt like old moldy cheese#

MississippiCatfish · December 2015

skruhmin said:
DS1 I labored in one but didn't deliver (hospital policy). It was amazing how much it helped with contraction pain. If I would have been allowed to delivery in it, I would have.

Pretty much this. My first birth was an induction with epidurals that didn't work. With my second, I labored in the tub until it was so intense I wanted a cervical check and I was pushing within 10 minutes. This time, I'm planning a waterbirth so I can stay in the water. It was extremely helpful for me!

Kiek · December 2015

A lot of my friends have had water births. Most of them at home. Also no hospital in our area offers that option. But they all rave about it. They all say it helped so much with the pain and they genuinely loved their birthing experiences. I had a regular hospital birth with my first and for me, I hated the way my body reacted to the epidural, I hated being stuck in a bed and I hated being hooked up to the IV and all those monitors. I wanted to move around like I was I home before I got there but they really discouraged me from doing that and I was too weak to argue. Of course that's just my experience at this particular hospital. So I'm super stoked about having a water birth this time!

sarahsnowball · December 2015

I had an epidural and forceps delivery 2 years ago resulting in 3rd degree tear. Yesterday I gave birth to DS2 in the birthing pool and it was amazing. The worst contractions for me were at 6cm, just before I got into the water. Then I was able to relax and go with what my body was doing. I got through transition without noticing, and my body started pushing involuntarily during contractions when I became fully dilated.
Unfortunately I actually had a repeat 3rd degree tear but I had no idea it happened - I would have imagined that to be excruciating but it wasn't.
For me, the water birth was a calm, positive experience. It was really intense but I wasn't afraid and I would absolutely recommend it.
Also, I don't know if essential oils are an option for you but my midwife used some, including frankincense, which she said helped with anxiety.

skruhmin · December 2015

JMarie1291 said:

@skruhmin when you say you labored in but didn't deliver. Did you get out and deliver with out pain meds or did you decide to use something for pain? just wondering how it goes when you get out?

DS1 no pain meds - and don't get me wrong it was the most pain I've ever felt even in the tub, but I'm allergic to most big pain meds and didn't really have an option. Thankfully he came quickly (like 17 minutes of pushing). I labored between the tub and on the toilet (which is weird, the toilet is a great position). DS2 I didn't really labor in the tub for whatever reason - just didn't appeal to me. And with him they did find an epidural combination that I could handle and I'm very thankful for that.

JMarie1291 · December 2015

@sarahsnowball thank you for sharing! Ill keep the essential oils in mind if I do a water birth.

kitteh81 · December 2015

I had my second in a water birth and I will definitely be doing one again this time. She was over 9.5 lbs and I think the water birth made it much easier than it would have been otherwise, and I didn't tear at all which I also think had something to do with the water. (I didn't tear with my first either, though. She was 7lbs 12oz and I had her on my back with 3 hours of pushing, so maybe I'm just generally stretchy.)

Pro Tip, though--if you can I recommend that you birth the baby in the tub but then get out to pass the placenta. I was just sick of being in the water, and wanted to do delayed cord clamping, so they actually helped me and baby out of the tub and onto the bed still attached to each other. Then when we got situated they cut her loose and I passed the placenta. Doing so outside of the tub made for a much cleaner tub cleanup than it would have been otherwise.

katy0990 · December 2015

I am hoping for a water birth. However, as pp mentioned, my hospital will not allow the placenta to be delivered in the water since they cannot tell how much blood has been lost.

Ceridwen77 · December 2015

I did not have a water birth but I labored in the tub and went from 3cm station -2 to fully dilated station +3 in an hour. I/the hospital staff were shocked considering I am a FTM. I hopped out of the tub and onto the bed and was pushing right away. She was out 1/2hr later.

I do feel like the tub helped a lot considering I had an unmedicated birth. My doula took cups of water and poured them over my belly, which helped a lot with the pain. The one thing I will say is I hated the jets in the tub. It was like sensory overload for me and I had them turned off immediately!

dramaphile · December 2015

I labored in a tub with jets, and It definitely helped during transition. The hardest part was when the midwife turned off the jets so she could check baby's heartbeat! My birth center does not allow pushing in the tub because their tubs are not big enough for birthing. I did go unmedicated for the remainder of my labor and birth. It was still painful, but being in the tub helped me to relax some between contractions.

One thing- my water was still intact when I went into the tub, and it broke while I was in there. Baby had passed meconium, so I ended up in a tub full of poo-water! I was beyond caring at that point, but I definitely appreciated the shower a couple of hours after birth!

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