Filed under: waterbirth | Tags: catching baby, midwife, peaceful birth, waterbirth
Filed under: waterbirth | Tags: birth in water, birth story, natural childbirth blog, waterbirth, waterbirth story
“Raiden Gregory was born at home on September 11, 2006.
It was the day before the 5-year anniversary of the 9-11 terrorist attacks. I was only one day past my due date but very uncomfortable with the summer heat. I was lying in bed getting very emotional watching all the TV movies of the attacks. I started feeling uncomfortable and kinda crampy and realized that I was probably going to have a Sept. 11Th baby. I made myself see it as though I was bringing new life in on day when it needed it most.
Sure enough I went into labor at about 4am, just as i had done with my daughter 3 years before. I spent my entire labor with my daughter in the tub but with this one I waited til much labor. That is the nice thing about the tub. It is there whenever you decide to get it and ready and warm. My labor had stalled out for a while due to stress and my midwife asked everyone to leave. within the hour my contractions picked back up again and I told my husband to call the midwife. He looked at me with such calmness and said we could handle it for a while longer. He was so calm. He was so intuitive. He knew when my contractions were coming even when I was too zoned out to pick up on the signs. he would pull me into a standing position and we would just rock back and forth. He added some nice counter pressure on my lower back as the contraction built. He was so great.
Finally they got close enough together that I knew it was time to call her. She came right over and checked me and I was 7cm. I got in the tub, and just as I had done with my daughter, I went from 7cm to 10cm and pushing within minutes. Not that we had checked again, but my contractions turned into pushing without me even trying to. I had straddled over my husband in the tub and he continued to push on my back as I pushed out our baby boy. He was hoping to catch this time as well, but reducing his wife’s pain was more important. our midwife gentle caught our baby and handed him to my husband underwater and let my husband bring him to surface. We soaked in that tub for nearly 20 minutes comfortably before we cut the cord and moved to the bed. How nice to be at home in your own family bed only minutes after giving birth.
Filed under: birthstories, waterbirth | Tags: birth in water, gentle birth, homebirth, labor, labour, relaxed labor, waterbirth
When I became pregnant with my first child at the age of 19, I knew I wanted to have a natural birth. Nothing else made sense to me. Birth is such a sacred, holy event, with the coming in of a new soul, I couldn’t imagine exposing myself or my baby to the medical, very public birth experience found in the hospitals at the time. Because of this, our choice to have a waterbirth was easy to make and came solely from the determination to create a birth experience that was as gentle and easy as possible.
When we first heard about water labor and delivery, one week before our first baby was due, we were enchanted by the prospect of such a gentle birth for the baby, and I was entranced by the idea of a natural birth with less pain. Home birth always made sense; waterbirth just became a positive extension of that ideal and after that first birth, I knew I would never do it any other way. Now, eleven years later, all five of our children have been born in water. Whenever I say that, I always have to pause for a moment to recognize how very, very fortunate we have been. It is amazing in itself to have five children, but to have been able to give birth to them all in a way that was empowering, peaceful, and infinitely kind, makes the miracle greater, still. All five of their births are memories I treasure as some of the most joyous, wonderful, and fulfilling experiences of my life.
The reduction of pain I felt during the contractions while in water cannot be stressed enough. There is no comparison between a contraction felt out of the water and one felt in it. Relaxation, which is a wonderful ideal when you are lying on a bed, trying not to hurt, becomes a natural reaction when you are floating weightlessly in a warm tub of water. I believe that’s a big part of the reason why the length of labor can be reduced. A relaxed body functions better in all situations. With the pushing stage, and the consequent stretching of the perineum, the warmth and moisture of the water allows the tissues to expand much more easily. With babies weighing 8 lbs 14 oz, 9 lbs, 8 lbs 4 oz, 8l bs 11 oz, and another 8 lbs 11 oz, I had two small tears. One with the first baby from pushing both his shoulders out at once and one with the fifth baby, due to one shoulder getting briefly stuck on her way out. The tears were small enough not to require stitching and have healed nicely without residual discomfort.
And, of course, there’s the benefit felt by the babies, all five of whom were born into warmth and familiarity, gentleness and kindness, surrounded by love and welcomed sweetly into the world. What greater beginning to life could be imagined than this? In 1998 the midwife who attended my first four births moved away. When I became pregnant again with baby #5, I was faced with the task of finding someone new. I soon discovered no one in my area would attend a home birth. But, even in this, I was fortunate. There was a birth center in a town 45 miles away, run by midwives, who had birthing tubs and fully supported water labor and waterbirth. It seemed I was to have a new experience of waterbirth - a birth center waterbirth rather than a home waterbirth.
There’s a difference between birthing at home and birthing in a center. After giving birth four times at home, I found it really difficult to relax in a place that was not my own home. I spent an entire night there, just settling in before my labor began to really do anything. Once it did get going, though, and the tub was filled, I felt the familiarity of it. I relaxed completely and our atest little one arrived only a few hours later, after only five minutes of pushing. Once I relaxed, this birth was exactly the same as if we had been home. The midwives were wonderful and supportive during labor and, after the baby was born, they allowed us as much time as we liked, both in the tub and out, to rest, relax, and to get to know our baby. We came home a couple of hours later and our baby has been happy and peaceful ever since.
I’m not sure every woman would choose to have a waterbirth, given the option, but many would, knowing that choice is there; and it is a beautiful choice.
Best to you all,
Lakshmi Bertrand
Author of CHOOSING WATERBIRTH: RECLAIMING THE SACRED POWER OF BIRTH
from Hampton Roads Publishing Co., Inc.
Filed under: labour, video, waterbirth | Tags: birth in water, free water birth movies, water birth, water birth video, water birth videos, water births, waterbirth, waterbirth at home, waterbirth video sharing, woman giving water birth
Filed under: birth, homebirth, labour, video, waterbirth | Tags: waterbirth, birth in water, water birth, waterbirth at home, waterbirth video, birth video, labouring in water, labour in water, water labour, water birth blog, waterbirth blog, free waterbirth information, laboring in water, free waterbirth video, woman gives birth in water
Lyle:
Our second son’s welcome into this world.
This is the mommy in this birth video. I’m giving background info for viewers understanding. My husband posted this but I’m glad to share this wonderful exp. This was our 2nd birth (1st was Taylor now 5 born at home in tub too after 12 hours of labor). If mom and baby are healthy and you have all the necessary pre-natal care and are fully educated on labor/birth and what to expect and really want a homebirth exp. (no fear) than this is the way to go man! It was the most empowering exp. of my life.
The reason midwife is not here is my husband told her it would be 1 hr. when she called to check on us at 4am. what does he know—he’s just a man and I couldn’t really verbalize that is would be sooner. The call you see in the video (where my husband has the head in his hands)at 5am is midwife again, @ 30 min. away still. Well, she’s gonna be late,huh? My sister, best friend & my mom who is tending to our 22 month (Taylor—now 5) were there. He was crying because its 4:45am, he just woke up & wanted Mommy like all kids do at 5am-he also wanted to get in the pool. He was not traumatized by seeing me give birth. I was having a baby–one of the most nautural things in the world.
Filed under: aqua midwife, birth, empowered childbirth, waterbirth | Tags: waterbirth, birth in water, water birth, waterbirth at home, aqua midwife, labouring in water, labour in water, water labour, waterbirth in the hospital, waterbirth in the birthing center, water birth blog, waterbirth blog, waterbirth information, free waterbirth information, waterbirth resources, water birth resources, waterbirth resource list
Apart from medical factors, psychological factors also influence the birth process. The more familiar the environment is for the birthing woman, the more complication-free and easy a birth is. Beyond that the water offers a shelter into which the birthing woman can dive into, if she wants to concentrate on the process of labour.
A water birth can take place in the hospital, in the birth center or at home.
Water birth in the hospital
Some hospitals [in Germany] have special bearing tubs in the in the maternity ward, which are equipped with all comfort. A birthing tub is accessible from each side, has handles and footrests build in and is fillable up to the chest with water. The parents do not have to worry about the filling of the tub or the disposal of the waste water. In some gynaecological clinics the cardio activity of the baby and the activity of the labour of the mother can be supervised with waterproof telemetry. Many midwives and physicians trained themselves further for water birth. If you are interested in water birth in a hospital, get information from the hospitals of your region whether this possibility of birthing is offered there.
See also Waterbirth International
Water birth in the birth center
Some birth centers have a birthing tub available. Sometimes parents can bring a birthing tub of their choice. Water basin rental companies offer different, transportable birthing tubs. Many midwives of the birthing centers trained themselves further for water delivery and how to connect it with the midwife assistance for a active birth.
See also water babies (Germany)
waterbirthinfo (USA)
Waterbirth at home
With the waterbirth in the own home parents can create their individual birth surroundings. Parents themselves decide which persons are to help with the birth, in which rooms they want to experience it the “celebration of the birth” (Leboyer), which music they want to hear and they determine want they want to eat. They can use the bathing tub or rent a birthing tub with a lot of space. Many parents buy a inflatable children’s pool, which permits a depth of water of 50 cm at least. The liberty to “create your own birth” (see also video: “Kinder kriegen “, Birth center Vienna), requires good planning and birth preparation. Freelance midwives support parents, accompany the house/water birth and lead the following water training in the childbed. From midwives led water baby meetings in the first year of life of the child helps with the transition from the water life in utero to the future land life
See also hebinfo (German), the website of aqua midwife Cornelia Enning from where this translations come
For rental pools or purchasing birthing pools:
aquadoula
yourwaterbirth
gentlewater (UK)
My lens on waterbirth:
waterbirth101
Filed under: aqua midwife, birth, labour, midwifery, waterbirth | Tags: newborn, waterbirth, birth in water, midwifery, birth, natural childbirth blog, Cornelia Enning, birth blog, baby, labour hormones
A healthy baby is able to overcome the distance between uterus and motherly chest by its own strength if the conditions of its birth give it the opportunity. The baby itself gives the impulse to the mother to release labour hormones. In the water her body reacts faster and more easily.
In the stage of expulsion the baby repels itself with his little legs at the wall of the uterus while rotating through the birth channel. In the water the pelvic bones of the mother give way better. Born into the water, the newborn child paddles with its little arms in order to arrive at the chest of the mother.
The baby can already take up the first eye contact in the water with its mother. Water babies are born with open eyes. The transition of the fruit water to the bath water is like a restorative stopover on the birth way. The birth under water is one of the gentlest forms for a baby to see the light of the world.
Translated with permission from aqua-midwife Cornelia Enning’s website hebinfo.de
Filed under: aqua midwife, birth, waterbirth | Tags: active birth, avoid tearing, birth in water, non-interventionist birth, painfree birth, unmedicated birth, water birth, waterbirth
During labour the movements of the woman support the birth procedure. The water permits movements which were to be implemented ashore only with difficulty. In which position the birth of the child is to take place, a woman can decide best herself in the weightlessness of water.
The water lets the birth canals become so eased and flexible that the birthing woman will get along without pain medication. She also does not need artificial hormones because the water will energize the body-own hormones. At the end of the birth she will be able to control how quickly the head of the child is to be born and can thereby avoid tearing.
Interferences by birth attendants are difficult in the water and during a normal birth process unnecessary. Particularly women after a cesaeren section have a opportunity with the waterbirth to bring this child normally in the world.
Translated from aqua-midwife Cornelia Enning’s website hebinfo.de
Filed under: birth, empowered childbirth, video, waterbirth | Tags: birth in water, free water birth movies, water birth, water birth video, water birth videos, water births, waterbirth, waterbirth at home, waterbirth video sharing, woman giving water birth
Filed under: aqua midwife, labour, midwifery, waterbirth | Tags: waterbirth, midwifery, waterbirth at home, woman giving water birth, aqua midwife, waterbirth in europe
Already since the beginnings of midwifery, bathing has been used as birth assistance during labour.. Similarly long, women report that they do not want to leave the warm water to give birth to their child on the bed.
Progressive midwives already began before approximately 15-20 years, to search for “alternative” birth methods and birthing positions, moved by the needs of the pregnant women. In due course of time water birth turned out to be the most gentle and popular. Water birth is one of the gentlest birth methods for mother and child: Pain reduction for the mother and stress reduction for the child.
Experience of many years and scientific investigations on the procedures of water birth prove today free of doubts that the water birth is absolutely harmless for mother and child . Everyone can easily understand, which special and intimate relationship the unborn child has to (fruit) the water, which is his home for the first nine month.
In water, births works with the so-called dipping reflex which closes the bronchial tube of the newborn waterproof. A newborn child inhales for the first time only if its (face) skin has no more contact with the water.
Women who gave birth to their child in the water, say in the most cases that they had a beautiful and gentle birth experience. Beyond that the water birth has also “medical” advantages: frequently the birth precedes somewhat faster, fewer pain medication is needed, and the number of episiotomies (dam cuts) and dam injuries (tearing) is smaller. This can be traced back to the relaxation and pain reduction which is experienced in a warm tub bath.
The modern birth assistance permits women to decide how long they want to enjoy their birth bath. Each woman can get the advantages of the water before, during and after birth. A water birth designates the baby’s birth of the under water.
From Aqua-Midwife Cornelia enning’s website hebinfo.de
Photo by B. Baltimore
Filed under: birth, birthstories, empowered childbirth, labour, waterbirth | Tags: birth in water, birth stories, birthstories, water birth, water birth story, water births, waterbirth, waterbirth at home, waterbirth story, woman giving water birth
“My husband and I had done many test runs with the hot tub to see how long it took to fill and heat back up again, and it was a good 5 hours. Well my labor was going fast and it had maybe been 4 hours since we put the fresh water in. So the temperature was then about 83 degrees. Luckily it was a warm night. But once I got into the water the contractions slowed down a little. So my wonderful husband connected a garden hose to the hot water inside the house and started pumping it in. The water circled around my body like a warm blanket.
The transition stage came on fast. I remember looking up at the stars and letting out a scream that felt animalistic. I moaned and moaned while feeling the head making its way down. My husband was gently rubbing my back. The midwives only took the fetal heart rate a couple of times. When I was ready to push, they asked me to get out of the tub. They said they felt it wasn’t hot enough for the baby. Well I thought it was damn close enough. Nothing was getting me out. It wasn’t 98 yet, maybe only 92, but I wasn’t moving. I said, “Babies have been born in the Baltic sea in Russia, I’m not getting out.” They looked at each other and said “OK.” I knew my baby would be just fine, something deep inside told me. I trusted my instincts.
The pushing went fast. When the head started coming down I gave some really strong pushes. I remembered reading that many women enjoyed reaching up and feeling the head. So I did. Then I grabbed my husband’s hand and had him feel. The baby’s head was covered in hair. That gave me a lot of encouragement to push the head out. At this time we had the hot tub light on low so we could see. When he came out he had his eyes wide open. I looked down and there he was. Staring back at me. I rested then pushed the rest of his beautiful little body out. My husband put his hands underneath him and gently brought him up to the surface.
The cord was kind of short, so I couldn’t nurse him right away, so my husband and I just held him for a few minutes in the water. It was amazing to see this new person emerge into the world. We had in seconds gone from a family of two to a family of three.
We got out of the tub and walked inside. Our family room was quiet and warm, with soft music in the background. Just like a dream. We sat on the couch and got acquainted for a while. After several minutes with the lights very low, my husband said “so what is the sex of our baby???” We hadn’t had any ultrasound tests so we didn’t know ahead of time. I had been so caught up with everything until this point. I felt like I had just run a marathon. My adrenaline was pumping. But with it being so dark outside and dark inside we didn’t see. I said “I feel little balls, I�m pretty sure it�s a boy.” And it was. Logan James had been born. My husband cut the cord. About 25 minutes later, I got on my hands and knees and gave a huge push and out popped the placenta onto my floor. It was big and beautiful and totally intact.
The birth was more wonderful than I could have ever have imagined. It happened so fast. From the time I got into the hot tub to the time he was born was about an hour. With the total labor being about 4 - 5 hours. I know it was because of the water. The birth was wonderful, without interruptions and distractions. Just like I wanted it to be.
I didn’t want a circus of people around me. I love my family very much, but I felt that it was important to have very few people there. I believe we birth naturally like animals when we are left alone. Our bodies naturally take over. I think water is a miracle. It makes birth wonderful and enjoyable. I’d do it again right now and again tomorrow. I look back on the experience and I get excited to do it again real soon.
With this wonderful website out there and with the help of many books, I have come full circle. From years earlier thinking I would have a hospital birth with drugs and maybe not nurse, to a home birth (naturally), and being a proud member of La Leche League. Thank the heavens for the Internet, which brought me to this site. It literally changed my life.
I hope this story inspires someone somewhere like the other ones that inspired me. Having a waterbirth is a beautiful experience. Not to mention the benefits it has on the baby. Logan is stronger and healthier than many of his friends the same age. (The doctor even said so.) Logan also loves the water. He enjoys his baths and likes to be in the hot tub.
I am so thankful for the waterbirth. It has been a dream, not to mention an empowering experience as a woman. It has made me realize that I am strong and capable of anything. Well, almost anything.”
Sincerely,
Gayla
Filed under: birth, empowered childbirth, homebirth, labour, video, waterbirth | Tags: waterbirth, birth in water, water birth, waterbirth at home, waterbirth video sharing, water births, water birth video, free water birth movies, water birth videos, woman giving water birth, natural childbirth blog
Josie’s Birth in the back yard hot tub surounded by family and friends filmed by her parents.
Filed under: waterbirth
What are the benefits of waterbirth and waterlabour?
Soak in a tub of water to ease labour
…and baby’s being born into an environment that is suited to her innocence and newness
- Provides a kind, gentle and loving entrance into this world for the baby
- The women achieve achieve much comfort in the water
- Reduces fear and anxiety
- The body relaxes
- Provides significant pain relief
- Floating in a pool the woman can move unencumbered
- Labour becomes easier
- Speeds up the labour
- The woman can focus better inwardly on giving birth
- Water imparts elasticity to the tissues of the perenium which reduces tearing
- Eliminates episiotomies
- No need for ‘pain-reducing’ drugs
- Reduces the rate of cesarean sections
ease of the mother tranferred to the child (intricately linked) - Makes the experience of birthing a positive one
- Water mitigates the sensory overload and shock experienced by the newbornand more benefits are:
- Reduces blood pressure
- Gives mother more feelings of control
- Conserves her energy
- Gives mother a private protected space
- Is highly rated by mothers - women who have given birth in water would do it again
- Is highly rated by experienced providers
- A gentler welcome for babies
- Mother or father can more readily catch her baby
- Bacteria is dissipated in water reducing infection to mother and baby
- Cleaning up is easier
- Moist air assist better breathing for mother specifically if asthmatic
- Conservation of maternal energy
- Less problems with breastfeeding after birth
- Less trauma to mother means less trauma to baby
- Babies brought into a world with less violence have a greater potential to integrate into the world with less violence
Photo by Barbara Backyard
Filed under: homebirth, video, waterbirth | Tags: birth in water, homebirth, natural childbirth, water birth, waterbirth
A woman giving birth at home in a tub, helped by a midwife.
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Filed under: waterbirth | Tags: birth in water, naturel childbirth, painfree labour, water birth, waterbirth, waterbirths
