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CREATED BY: MYA SHUCK LAST UPDATED: JULY 25, 2018

What you should know about Waterbirth


The current state of research, questions you may have, and
emergency precautions

The current
state of
research:
In a large study,
researchers found
that IF:

• There is one baby


(not twins or ++)

• Baby is vertex or
head down

• There are no signs

What is a Waterbirth? of preeclampsia


Water birth is considered to be the event of first fetal emergence
• The woman does
occurring underwater and is a very popular birthing option for many
not have
women in European countries (Nutter, Meyer, Shaw-Battista,& Marowitz,
gestational
2014) diabetes
In the picture above, you see a family that just had their first baby in the water.
Mom and baby were doing wonderfully all throughout labor and pregnancy and • There are no other
that made it possible for her to have a waterbirth. (P.S. this is me! :) ) However, reasons that mom
there are important things to be aware of before deciding if a waterbirth is a good and baby would be
option for you. considered high-
risk
You may be asked to leave the water if:

Then mom and baby
are considered low-
1 2 3 risk and are good
candidates for a
waterbirth. (Cheyney,
BABY IS BEHAVING YOU ARE BEHAVING THE WATER BECOMES TOO et al 2014)
ABNORMALLY OR AT RISK ABNORMALLY OR AT RISK CONTAMINATED
This could mean before or If you develop a fever, Poop and pee are normal Despite this..
after birth. If baby’s heart rate (outside of an elevated temp and WELCOMED in labor The American Academy of
and rhythm sound abnormal due to being in the water) and birth, we do our best to Pediatrics and the American
or there is a rare case of a you behaving abnormally, or keep the water clean, but if College of Obstetrics and
shoulder dystocia, we may you’ve just been in the water for some reason we are not Gynecology recommend
that birth does not occur in
ask you to get out. for a while and it’s time to try able to, we will ask you to get
the water because there is
something different, we may out
not enough evidence to
ask you to get out
back its safety.

1
CREATED BY: MYA SHUCK LAST UPDATED: JULY 25, 2018

Questions you may have:


Q: How does the baby breathe if it’s born in
the water?

A: In one study, researches cultured the palate


of newborns and found little to no bacteria
growth of bacteria that was present in the water
they were birthed in, suggesting that there is
very little, if any oral intake of water as the
neonate is birthed in the pool (Nutter et al.,
2014). This may be attributed to several
naturally occurring reflexes in the baby that Q: How can my midwife see the baby coming
mechanically block its airway from inhaling out if it’s underwater?
water.
A: We use a variety of techniques to make this
Q: Will myself or my baby get an infection possible. Usually we have an assistant holding a
from giving birth in the water? small flashlight so we can watch and assist as
needed as baby comes out, or if an assistant is
A: Maternal outcomes of infection of women not available, we can utilize a small spotlight
who birth vaginally in water are similar to those with a stand so that we can be hands-on if
of women who birth vaginally outside of water needed.
according to one large study comparing
waterbirths to land births (Boybjerg, Cheyney, “Maternal outcomes of infection
& Everson, 2016). And as mentioned previously, of women who birth vaginally
if baby does not inhale water, you can conclude in water are similar to those of
that the likelihood of baby getting an infection women who birth vaginally
is similar to if they were born on land outside of water”

REFERENCES
Bovbjerg, M., Cheyney, M., & Everson, C. (2016). Maternal and newborn outcomes
following waterbirth: The midwives alliance of North America statistics project, 2004
to 2009 cohort. Journal of Midwifery and Women's Health, 61(1), 11-20. Doi:
10.1111/jmwh.12394
Cheyney, M., Bovbjerg, M., Everson, C., Gordon, W., Hannibal, D., & Vedam, S. (2014).
Outcomes of care for 16,924 planned home births in the United States: The
Midwives Alliance of North America statistics project, 2004 to 2009. Journal of
Midwifery and Women's Health, 59(1), 17-27. doi: 10.1111/jmwh.12172
Nutter, E., Meyer, S., Shaw-Battista, J., & Marowitz, A. (2014). Waterbirth: An
integrative analysis of peer-reviewed literature. Journal of Midwifery and Women's
Health, 59(3), 286-319. Doi: 10.1111/jmwh.12194

*All photos used with permission of families involved.

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