Water Birth Pros and Cons List

The birth of a child is a great event in the life of pretty much anyone involved. It is a new life coming, and a whole new story to be told. But the birth is usually an incredibly painful process for the mother, but it can certainly be reduced. A water birth is when a woman delivers her baby in warm water, usually this is done in a shallow pool or even a hot tub. These births are incredibly popular because they simulate the environment of the womb, and in these types of birth, the babies come out of the warm womb into the warm water. This is offers more comfort to the baby and it actually reduces fetal distress. As soon as the baby is born, it is removed from the water and goes into the mother’s arms. The baby does not breath until its lungs feel fresh air, and as such, there is absolutely no risk of drowning at all.

List of Pros of Water Birth

1. Less Pain
In these births, women report less pain due to the relaxing effect the water has on them. Most water births in birth centers are very easy going, as these places usually put on some dimming lights and play relaxing music to help stimulate a relax environment.

2. Less Privacy
On top of that, these water births have an increased sense of privacy for everyone involved. Traditional births try to get privacy as hard as possible, but they do not really manage to do so. If there is place for two people in the pool, it can be an intimate labor for both.

3. Less Pain
As a final pro, the effect the water has on movement makes things easier when it comes to moving and positioning during birth. This is particularly important for women with low tolerance to pain and for women with disabilities.

List of Cons of Water Births

1. Not Comfortable
But these births aren’t that great, and there are downsides to them. One of them is that some women do not feel less pain in the relaxed environment of water birth, and do not feel any comfort in the water. As such, they feel disappointed when they have to get out of the water to get an epidural.

2. Higher Chance of Losing Bowels
Another con is that when the baby is being pushed out, due to the watery environment, there is a bigger chance that women open their bowels at the same time. This might be due to weak pelvic muscles, and it can make women uncomfortable. It is something normal, but it does carry a small risk of infection.

3. Rise in Complications
The worst thing about water births is that if any type of complications arise. Complications such as increasing blood pressure, slow progression of labor, and so on have to end and the woman needs to be removed from the water for monitoring.