If you’ve decided to give birth without medication, one of the best coping mechanisms available to you is hydrotherapy. At Magnolia Birth House, we offer our clients the options to labor and birth in water.
The evidence on water birth shows it’s safe for birthing parents and causes no inherent harm to babies. Still, we realize you might have questions about water birth benefits and potential risks.
You may be wondering, “How does water birth work?” or “What are the pros and cons of a water birth?” Here are the answers to those common questions, along with a few other things you need to know about water birth in Miami.
What’s a Water Birth Like at Magnolia?
In Miami, the most common way to have a water birth is to choose out-of-hospital birth. At our natural birthing center, we have inflatable birth pools — not installed, hard-wired tubs. Each client gets a new hose and a new liner, ensuring there is a clean sanitary disposable barrier between the birthing parent and the tub.
If you’re curious about the cost of water birth in Miami, the tub rental fee at Magnolia is $75, which covers the liner and hose. All of the other costs are the same for our childbirth services.
When clients think they might be interested in water birth, we leave the decision up to them. Oftentimes, expectant parents choose water immersion during labor for pain relief and get out of the tub for the birth. Some clients prefer to stay in the warm water when the baby is born. Either choice is OK, and we empower our clients to do what feels right for them.
What Are the Benefits of Water Birth for the Birthing Parent?
For our clients who choose to labor in water, but not deliver in the tub, there are still many benefits. Hydrotherapy aids in coping with pain, reducing the likelihood of transferring to a hospital for pain relief. In fact, research shows that water immersion is equal to or better than narcotics for pain relief.
Laboring in the water also has been shown to reduce anxiety, lead to better fetal positioning in the pelvis, and help the cervix to dilate more rapidly, shortening the first stage of labor.
Evidence Based Birth (EBB) does a great job summarizing the potential benefits of water birth:
Less use of artificial oxytocin
Higher rates of normal vaginal birth
Less use of episiotomy
Higher rates of intact perineum, especially in high-episiotomy settings
Lower rates of third- and fourth-degree tears, especially in high-episiotomy settings
Greater satisfaction with the birth experience
Lower rates of postpartum hemorrhage
Is Water Birth Safe?
Questions about safety are always some of the first ones people ask during a discussion on water birth. The short answer is yes, water birth is safe for both moms and babies.
Related to safety, another common question is, “Can babies breathe underwater?” No, it is very unlikely that your baby will attempt to breathe in the water. In the womb, fetuses live in amniotic fluid, so delivering a baby in water is a similar environment for them.
In addition, a change in temperature is what prompts babies to take their first breath. That’s why it’s crucial that the temperature of the birth pool’s water is about the same as the birthing parent’s body: 97-100 degrees Fahrenheit during labor and 99-100 during birth. When the water is the appropriate temperature, the baby’s normal physiological response is to take the first breath when he or she emerges from the water.
Other concerns usually pertain to possible infection and umbilical cord snap. Both of these are extremely rare, but we want to help you understand how we prevent these from happening at Magnolia. Infection is unlikely because, as previously mentioned, we use tubs that come with an individual liner and hose for each client. To protect against umbilical cord snap, we make sure not to place too much traction on the cord when guiding the infant out of the water.
Why Water Birth?
We are proud to offer water birth as an option at Magnolia Birth House, but it’s important to understand that it’s not an all or nothing choice. Just because you utilize hydrotherapy during labor, does not mean you have to ultimately deliver your baby in the water. If you get in the tub, you’re not married to delivering in the tub. We are not restrictive in either direction.
Also, when we talk about hydrotherapy, that can include the shower, too. It doesn’t always have to mean a tub. Water can be a coping mechanism in various ways.
