Water births are a very pleasant way to give birth. Being in water when your in labor takes away some on the intensity of the pain. Warm water soothes you as well as buoys you. During one of my births, while I was in the water, my contractions went from a pain level of 5 to a pain level of 2 because I was more fully able to relax through the pain.

Water is a very natural environment for a baby to come into. The transition from womb to water is less harsh than womb to air because the baby is in waters inside of you. Being born into water is a very mild transition for the baby. Babies born into water seem to be calmer than those not born in a water birth.

Another advantage to water births is that any mess made is all contained. Making a mess should not be a worry, but it was something I always worried about in my home births. However when I did a water birth, I no longer worried about the mess. It is necessary when giving birth naturally that you release all your fears in order to focus on the labor & pain at hand. However, before I chose water births, I focused so much on the problem of making a mess that I actually delayed my labor (I was in labor but my contractions weren’t progressing as they otherwise could have) and I made it harder.

One thing that may worry you in water births is the possibility of your baby drowning. However with a practiced midwife you shouldn’t have any problems. Babies don’t take their first breath until they are completely out. And even then they wait just a few seconds. When you give birth in water, your midwife will keep your baby under the water until it is completely out. Then she will bring the baby up out of the water immediately & your baby will take their first breath. There are no chances of the baby accidentally drowning in a water birth

People have given birth in everything from horse troughs to kiddy pools. What you give birth in is up to you, but you want to take into account your comfort as you give birth. There are a few main things you want to look for:

*Make sure your birth pool is big enough for at least 3 people to fit comfortably. This will ensure enough room for you, your midwife, & plenty of room for you to birth. If you want your supporter in the pool with you, you will want to get a larger pool, but don’t go with anything larger than a 4 or 5 person pool as that will get too big & you won’t have any resistance from the sides to use during labor.

*Take into consideration your comfort. A horse trough may not be the most comfortable thing to labor in. However, many kiddy pools, and birth pools have padded bottoms which are nice to sit in.

*Use a birth pool that is tall enough to cover your entire belly when it is 2/3full with water. To get all the benefits from water births you need enough water to cover you. With less water you will find little benefits to laboring in water.

*Make sure the birth pool you choose has enough support for your back. Some pools that you buy have somewhat flimsy sides. You need to make sure that you will be able to put as much pressure as you can (which you will be doing while in labor & delivery) without any negative effect on the pool.

*Having a pool with support handles that you can hold onto during a contraction can be a very nice bonus.

You will find birth pools to have these nice amenities. Whatever you choose, make sure it fits your priorities and you will have a wonderful water birth experience.