The Power of Water by Dr. Sarah Buckley

THE HISTORY AND WISDOM OF WATER BIRTHS by Donna Young . . . is being reported by many emancipated birthing women who have tried them. Please see what Dr. Sarah Buckley, experienced in water births, (Red Title below) has to say in her article, "Waterbirth : The Power of Water.

Some other facts are: WATER BIRTHS ARE RECOMMENDED BY EXPERTS:

While some hospitals are improving for the allowance of water births, approved in the good in Policy #71, December 1998 of The Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada (SOGC), the nurses in hospitals are not all educated, nor have kept up their studies, past and present. Nor the family doctors or surgeons. All medical persons are supposed to be able to do research, and allow women the freedom of natural birth, they, just making themselves available, if needed. What Policy #71, advised was, do not have the water too hot or too cold, and bring the baby's face out of the water, immediately.

It is logical, that all other fears on water births are myths. This is regarding fears for not birthing in the water if the water broke, or water births being more messy then other births. The facts are, germs are present in any environment for births. Births are messy. So what.

The facts are the warm water helps the mother to relax, and to change her position most easily. Warm water is a more natural environment for the child to birth into, because the baby is surrounded by water in the womb. The water birth keeps the baby from cold air shock, and so does not stop the infant's circulation system. This is the fetal circulation that is transfusing the placenta blood into the baby, during and also after birth. No sudden stoppage of the fetal oxygenated blood (the placenta still attached inside the womb) will obviously help the baby to be calmer and the blood transfusion not to be stopped by a clamp. This is, if the mother does not allow others to have control over the child's birth, and after care. The mother is best able to catch her own baby, in a water birth, in most instances.

See the fetus and neonate circulation system, there are two diagrams at: www.lotusbirth.com/doc/FEB2003Lotusbirth-435.htm

Waterbirth: The Power of Wate r

by Dr Sarah Buckley

First published in Australia’s Parents Pregnancy, Winter 1999, as “The Power of Water”

Water. It’s the first medium of life, and where we all began. When we are pregnant, our bodies are the pool in which our babies float; perhaps this is why water holds a particular attraction in pregnancy, labour and birth.

There are stories of babies being born into water from all over the globe, and as far back as ancient Egyptian times. However it is only with the advent of modern plumbing that warm water has become an accessible resource for most western women during labour and birth.

Water birth as we know it was pioneered by Russian Igor Tjarkovsky in the 1960’s, and developed by Michel Odent in his natural birth clinic in Pithiviers, France from 1977. Odent noticed how helpful water could be, especially when labour was slow or painful, and that women using the birthing pools had little need for pethidine. Births that took place in the water were unplanned, but Odent trusted the labouring mother’s instincts, and soon accumulated an experience and understanding of water birth that is still unparalleled.

Janet Balaskas, the founder of the Active Birth movement, was also very influential in promoting water birth, and her 1992 video ‘Water and Birth’ remains a classic. The first water born baby in Australia was born in a converted concrete pipe that was lifted by crane into a home in South Melbourne in 1983.

In the late 1990’s, the use of water in labour has become widespread, with purpose-built tubs being used in many hospitals in the UK, parts of Europe, North America and New Zealand. In Australia, where consumer preferences have less impact on services, there is still much fear and conservatism around the use of water. Tubs are available in some hospitals but hospital policy may not permit their full use, and women may be asked to get out when their baby’s birth is imminent.

Some of this reticence is due to hospital staff’s lack of experience and expertise in this area. There is also a world wide lack of research on the effects of water on mother and baby. However, the First International Water Birth Conference, held in the UK in 1995, heard experiences and evidence from over 19 000 underwater births, with participants reporting excellent safety and satisfaction outcomes.

In particular, no baby had drowned or aspirated water after a carefully supervised water birth. There was no increased risk of infection for mother or baby. Water born babies were generally in good condition, although it was noted that babies well being could be compromised if a woman labouring in water became overheated. One recommendation was that pool temperature should be below 35C in the first stage of labour, and 35 to 37C at the time of birth. The labouring woman’s temperature should be checked regularly.

Women often experienced rapid progress after entering the water, especially if they used the pool when labour was well established. They also had little need of intervention or pain relief, had fewer episiotomies or serious tears, and were more satisfied with their experience than mothers birthing on land.

UK consumer activist and author Beverley Beech points out that the staff who are most opposed to the use of water because of the theoretical risks, may be the first to suggest other labour interventions such as epidural pain relief and routine electronic monitoring. Such interventions have been shown to pose real risks for mothers and babies.

I was drawn to water during each of my three pregnancies, but only seriously considered using a tub in labour for Jacob’s birth- my third at home. I wanted my older children Emma (then 4) and Zoe (2) to be present for the labour and birth, along with a good friend to care for them; add in the doctor, midwife and Nicholas, my partner, and there was room full. Using a birth pool would allow me, I figured, some private space, and help me to be less concerned about my surroundings, especially if I laboured in the daytime.

The tub I hired from my midwife was excellent. It was quick to set up, and was not too high, so that I could step into the pool relatively easily. We had a practice run to see how many tanks of hot water would be needed to fill it, and how long it take, allowing for time for the hot water tank to reheat ( three tanks, and about four hours ). During the practice run I managed to cook the water-bed heater that kept the tub warm onto a piece of foam, and I had to buy a new heater!

Labour started for me at 1am, and I woke Nicholas to fill the tub around 2.30. This labour was very slow and gentle, and I spent time both in and out of the water. I found that I couldn’t sway my hips as well in the tub- at least not without causing a tidal wave- but I certainly relished the water as I rested between contractions. Other women have found that the water gives them an increased mobility that encourages movement. Zoe, who was naked from early on, spent much of the labour trying to get in with me, and then contented herself with floating her dollies in the water.

We had the tub in our family room, and Nicholas had purposefully grown some beautiful cinerarias in the adjoining garden, which I could watch through the window. My task in this labour was to slow down, and go with the gentle pace- getting out and walking around didn’t speed things up for me, as it does for some women after a few hours in the tub.

When the contractions became strong, later in the morning, I found the water soothing and supporting. I had a feeling that this baby would be born in the water, but it was important to not be fixed on this idea. I remembered how important it had been to me to have my feet on the earth, and allow gravity to help me give birth to my second baby, who was born posterior (face up). In most centres, around 2/3 of women who labour in the water feel the need to get out of the tub to deliver their babies.

At transition, before the urge to push was strong, I felt the reality of this baby; that I would soon be holding him in my arms. I felt a wave of fear, followed by a strong connection and commitment. Michel Odent calls this “physiological fear”, as this emotion often parallels the release of the fight or flight hormones that give us the power to push our babies out in the second stage of labour. As his head came lower, we saw a mass of white in the water; the soft creamy vernix that covered his skin was floating out as I pushed.

I was kneeling, supported by the side of the tub as he was born at around midday. My midwife caught him in the water and passed him to me. In contrast to other water born babies, he cried quickly and vigorously. In the exhilaration of the moment, we didn’t think to check his sex, and we had another wave of ecstasy when we discovered that we had a son.

I stood up out of the water to deliver the placenta, mostly for ease and comfort. Michel Odent advises this, and points out that allowing water to enter the placental site in the uterus could theoretically be risky. There have been no problems reported worldwide, so far; however some centres routinely advise women to leave the water after delivery. This also helps the midwife to assess the amount of blood loss, which can be difficult in a pool.

We chose not to cut the cord (a practice known as lotus birth), and so we floated the placenta in an ice-cream tub until I was ready to get out, about 60 minutes after the birth. Before this, Emma and Zoe climbed in, and said hello to their new brother.

After the birth, we siphoned the water onto the garden, which made clean-up very easy.

If you are interested in water birth, contact your local hospitals or birth centres and ask if this option is available. If this is not possible, ask if you can bring in your own pool.

If this is also not possible, you could consider writing to the hospital director, asking why this service is not provided- this will at least let the hospitals know that there is a demand for water birth..

Independent or home birth midwives in your area (look in the yellow pages under pregnancy) will know about local hire services. Most independent midwives are experienced in assisting water births at home, and may be able to support you in hospital as well.