We Bet You Didn’t Know These 6 Things About Water Birth

If you are planning an unmedicated birth in Sacramento, you may be thinking about water birth. After all, research has shown that water immersion during labor is an effective form of natural pain relief.

According to the American College of Nurse-Midwives, “Warm water immersion hydrotherapy during labor provides comfort, supports relaxation, and is a safe and effective non-pharmacologic pain relief strategy that promotes physiologic childbirth.”

At The Birth Center in Sacramento, we regularly see and hear changes in laboring women when they enter one of our birthing tubs. The buoyancy of the water allows them to relax, sometimes speeding up cervical dilation.

Research also indicates that hydrotherapy may help resolve labor dystocia — a fancy way of saying a difficult or slow-progressing labor — and contribute to postpartum maternal satisfaction with childbirth.

While water birth has become quite a popular option among many women who desire an unmedicated birth in Sacramento, there are likely some details you haven’t heard.

Here are 6 eye-opening things you might not know about water birth.

1) The temperature of the water is extremely important.

At The Birth Center, we keep the temperature of the water at 99 degrees, which is about the same as mother’s body temperature during labor. Maintaining the water temperature is important because we don’t want the mother or her baby to get too cold or too hot.

In addition, the change in temperature after birth is one of the cues for the baby to take his or her first breath. This is true in land and water birth, but it’s especially noteworthy when a baby is born in water.

Keeping the temperature at about 99 degrees is one of the ways we ensure that a baby does not try to breathe under water. However, this would be extremely rare because babies live in fluid in the womb and have a dive reflex that prevents premature respiration.

2) It’s best to bring babies out of the water face down.

When a baby is born via water birth at The Birth Center, we like to bring him or her out of the water in a face-down position. This allows any fluid to drain from the nose and mouth.

We promptly place the baby in the mother’s arms, keeping the baby’s head to the side. Again, this continues to promote fluid drainage.

Babies who are born in the water often take a little while for their respiratory rate to come down. They have been in the water, so they might have a little more fluid than if they were born on dry land. It’s not a lot of fluid, and we know how to get rid of what’s there.

3. The baby’s body can be kept in the water, but the head should be above water.

While the mother and her baby are resting together in the first few minutes following birth, most of the baby’s body can remain in the water. As mentioned above, the head should obviously be above water.

Since babies have been living in fluid in utero, allowing them to stay in the water — an environment they’re used to — provides a gentle transition to life outside the womb.

4. Some water birth babies don’t ‘pink up’ right away.

It’s not uncommon for babies born in the water to look slightly blue for a few minutes after birth. Usually they’re alert and looking around, but there might be a delay in seeing that pink color.

This happens because the cord is not exposed to the air. Remaining submerged in the water keeps the cord at the mother’s body temperature. It’s still connected and providing oxygen to the baby.

Even during land births, we like to keep the baby and the cord covered by a warm blanket — again, to help with that gentle transition.

5. Birthing the placenta out of the water allows for the best estimation of blood loss.

A few minutes after the baby is born, The Birth Center team helps the mother out of the tub and onto the bed in the birthing suite. We provide dry, warm blankets for mom and baby.

It’s important to deliver the placenta out of the water, so we can get a good look at the amount of blood loss. It’s very difficult to estimate blood loss in the water. When blood comes in contact with water, it disperses and looks like a lot more than it really is.

6.     You can still have a water birth even if you’re Group B Strep positive.

If you test positive for Group B Strep (GBS) during pregnancy, you can still labor in the tub at The Birth Center.

Birthing women can still get the IV antibiotics they need. We don’t change that or do anything differently because someone’s in the water.

Takeaways About Water Birth

While water birth is attractive to many women, we realize it’s not for everyone. Some births need the help of gravity more than others. That might mean walking, squatting, or lunging —types of movement that are not conducive to being in the water.

Many first-time moms find gravity on land, rather than the buoyancy of the water, to be very helpful, especially during the pushing phase. Oftentimes, after a lot of pushing with little progress, moms are ready to be done. As soon as they stand, that’s enough to get things moving.

In addition, if there are concerns with the mother’s or baby’s well-being, we will recommend getting out of the tub. As birth attendants, it’s our job to keep mothers and babies safe.

Are you ready to learn more about water birth at The Birth Center? Request an on-site tour of our center!