Using water during labour and birth

   Birth is a transformative experience. While it is the baby who is being born, in those hours a woman becomes a mother, a man becomes a father, a couple become a family, parents become grandparents and perhaps someone is also gaining a new brother or sister.

   Many people feel that they can remember experiences that occurred when they were in the womb, during birth and early infancy. These memories are not intellectual or visual, but are deeply embodied states of being, which feel as if they are an intrinsic part of who we have become and how we manifest ourselves throughout our lives.

   Adults who undertake a journey of self-awareness through therapy of meditation often get in touch with deep feelings or patterns of behaviour which seem to have originated in their responses to very early experiences including, and sometimes especially, birth. At this time a baby is incredibly sensitive and the first impressions of life are very powerful.

   Being born is a momentous experience which involves a dramatic transition from the safety and security of the womb, through the narrow birth canal, into a totally new and different world.

   For the mother, giving birth is a profound challenge in which she will need to be in touch with her most powerful instinctive potential and overcome any inhibitions, we are also creating the best circumstances for the baby’s journey to birth, while protecting the spirit of joy and celebration in which the newborn is welcomed into the family.

   While babies have remarkable powers to cope with and recover from a difficult birth, it is worth making every effort to ensure that your baby’s transition is as smooth and welcoming as possible.    

   The relationship between the parents and their attendants and the security and privacy of the environment for the birth help the mother to find her strength and surrender to the forces which bring her baby to birth.

   The additional option of a pool of water is an invaluable, empowering and harmless resource during labour and birth. However, even if you don’t have a pool, water can still help you.

   The sound of water running from the tap, spending some time in the bath tub, a shower down your back of sponging yourself with a cool wet flannel are amongst the many ways you can connect with the power of water.

   In this article we will explore both the physiological and psychological aspects of labour and birth for mother, father and baby, including the way water, with its special qualities, may be used to enhance the experience.

Planning to use water during your birth

   Whatever your reasons for wanting to use water for your baby’s birth, it is important once you have made the necessary arrangements, that you let go of all your expectations and allow yourself to approach the experience with an open mind.

   The idea of being in water at this time as a magnetic attraction for many people. Some women feel at their best when they are in water and, understandably, want to share this feeling with their baby in the first few moments after birth.

   However, while this might turn out to be appropriate, it is impossible to predict how you will feel or what you will need when the time comes. Try not to fall into the trap of setting up a fantasy of the perfect water birth and then feeling obliged to live up to it!

   Very often, mothers who were determined to give birth in water end up on dry land, while others who had not intention of giving birth in water find themselves unexpectedly in the pool.

   Be prepared for the possibility that the pool may remain unused on the day even if you have gone to considerable trouble and expense to get one. You baby’s birth should not become an athletic event in which you are under pressure to succeed.

   Allow yourself the freedom to choose water as one of the options available to you if it seems appropriate at the time. This attitude may be easiest to achieve in a setting where a pool is always available.

   If you have spent money on hiring a pool, then try to avoid feeling that you have to use it. Once the pool is in place, it is wise to acknowledge that using water is an option and then let go of any expectations and follow your instinctive feelings when you are in labour.

   Sometimes women feel pressured by other people to use water during the birth. Perhaps, for example, in the father’s or midwife’s fantasy, birth in water represents the ultimate way to be born.

If anyone around you has definite needs or wishes concerning the birth, these should b e discussed in advance so that you and your baby are not confined by someone else’s expectations. For many women, being out of the water and grounded is an absolutely essential prerequisite to giving birth.

  If labour is long and difficult there is not doubt that water can sometimes offer a safe alternative to the use of technology. A water pool can be the factor which helps you to overcome your inhibitions and prevents the need for intervention. However, sometimes water is insufficient and other help may be needed.

  Water introduces a powerful new dimension and additional medium to help you experience your labour and birth fully. It encourages deep relaxation and the meditative and emotional aspects of giving birth are enhanced.

   However, it is your desire and ability to accept reality and to flow with whatever happens during your labour that is crucial.

   After the birth, as you learn to love and cherish the blessing of your new baby, you will then be able to look back at what happened with feelings of acceptance and gratitude, whatever occurs on the day.

You and your baby before labour starts

   Your baby develops both physically and psychologically throughout the nine months of pregnancy. Hearing , sight, movement, smell, taste, breathing movements, swallowing, sucking, dreaming and waking all begin inside the womb.

   During this time your baby learns many things. From the start there is no separation between body and mind.

   As your baby’s body functions develop, the psychological experiences your child encounters in the womb begin to influence his or her personality, long before birth.

   In pregnancy you and your baby are partners both biologically and physically, sharing a mutual togetherness which continues during labour and matures after the birth.

   Throughout pregnancy, your baby lies inside the muscular walls of your uterus or womb which is the principle organ involved in pregnancy and birth.

   At the end of your pregnancy the upper part, or fundus, lies just under your ribs while the cervix or entrance to the uterus is at its base, above the vagina.

   This is made up of a thick circle of fibrous and muscular tissue forming the sphincter which keeps your uterus closed. In pregnancy the cervix is sealed with a plug of jelly-like mucous.

   In the last weeks of your pregnancy hormones secreted by your body and by glands within your cervix itself will cause it to soften and ‘ripen’ in readiness for birth.

   Your uterus contracts throughout your life and as you approach birth you will probably be increasingly aware of the practice contractions which prepare your uterus for the birth. In the last weeks of pregnancy these contractions gradually ripen your cervix so it thins out ready to open or dilate during labour.

   Inside the uterus your baby floats in the amniotic fluid, surrounded by the strong double membranes of the amniotic sac. Within this watery environment your baby moves, free from the effects of gravity.

   The water contains nutrients and maintains your baby’s body temperature while providing a sterile fluid full of minerals and proteins for your baby to swallow, inhale and urinate in preparation for feeding, breathing and excreting after birth. It also protects your baby from injury and acts as a shock absorber.

   During labour, if the membranes remain intact they form a fluid wedge which protects your baby’s head as the cervix dilates. The membranes form a sac which lines the inner walls of the uterine cavity including the inner wall of the placenta which is usually attached to the upper part of the uterus.

   They also form a sheath around the umbilical cord, which is made up of three intertwined blood vessels and links the baby with the placenta.

   The placenta is a remarkable organ which breathes, digests and excretes for your baby. Its cells are in intimate contact with your blood stream and carry oxygen and vital nutrients and waste products to and from your baby.

   Soon after birth, when your placenta is no longer needed, it will separate from the wall of the uterus and your body will expel it together with the membranes.

   At the end of pregnancy the uterus and all its contents, including your baby, takes up most of the abdominal cavity. From underneath, it is supported by the muscles, ligaments and bony basin of the pelvis. The four bones of the pelvis form a curved funnel shaped canal through which your baby will pass during labour and birth.

   The pelvic floor muscles surround the openings to the urethra, vagina and anus at the base of your pelvis. this layer of muscle and fibrous tissue extends across the base of your pelvis from the pubic bone in front to the tailbone (sacrum and coccyx) at the back and also from side to side.

   The tissues expand and soften in labour to allow your baby to come through them during the final stages of the birth.

  Many other muscles attach to the bony pelvic girdle including the strong muscles of the back, the legs and the abdomen and deep muscles of the pelvis.

   These all help to support your baby when you are pregnant and are used to maintain upright positions in labour and to help you bear down when you give birth.