I've always known that water was powerful but did you know that labouring and birthing water can be the perfect choice for someone who is planning a birth at home?
Speaking from personal experience I am happy to open up and say that labouring and birthing in water was incredibly helpful for me in terms of pain relief and relaxation during labour.
Anyone out there use a hot bath to relieve menstrual discomfort? The same idea can be applied to birth, it helps reduce labour pain!
Labouring in water can also reduce the need for pain medications. As the body relaxes, more oxytocin and endorphins are released. Oxytocin is the hormone that encourages contractions and cervical dilation and when oxytocin is released, endorphins follow... endorphins are the body's natural pain reliever. Isn't the body amazing!?
Birthing in water can also lessen the severity of tearing as the perineum becomes more relaxed resulting in stretching versus tearing.
Here's another fun fact...there are couple of studies that have found that water births can shorten labour and can potentially have better outcomes than a land birth.
Water birth can also reduce the need for medical interventions such as induction or episiotomy.
And for those who are thinking...but what a mess! Who wants to clean up after that?? I'm also here to tell you that it really is less of a mess and less of a clean up job than you think. Generally, if you rent a birth pool it will come with a disposable tub liner, hoses and a pump to empty the tub afterward so you're not hauling buckets of dirty water to dump out. It takes all of 20-30 minutes to empty everything and tidy it up.
So if you've been considering it, take this as a sign to go for it!!
Happy Birthing!
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