waterbirth questions

[snoopy5386]

We are having this next baby at a birth center and waterbirth is an option there. I'm very excited about this but I have a few questions - I've heard the water has to be a certain temp 98-100 degrees? Was this your experience? Did you find the water warm enough? I like HOT baths - I took one tonight and took the temp for kicks, it was 106 degrees. I cooled the water to 98 and it felt cold....I'm going to check with the BC to see if I can make the room warmer, I think that might help. I'd hate to get set on a waterbirth and then be freezing in the water.
Also, I have the choice of birthing in a regular jacuzzi tub for free (a big whirlpool tub, what you might see in a hotel room) or pay an extra $150 out of pocket to use a much bigger inflatable birth pool with padded floor, etc. Much deeper. The $150 is for the hose and liner. Which would you pick? We live 1 hour and 15 mins from the birth center and this is my 2nd baby. My 1st labor was only 6 hours start to finish, so I am worried about not getting there in time to birth, let alone spending time in the tub.

[isabellamirac]

If I ever have more kids I'd do waterbirth again in a heartbeat! Such a huge difference compared to on land.

While I labored, the midwife kept the water warmer, then cooled it during transition. My labor was fast and intense, but the water was incredibly soothing. I got to the birth center @ 7:15, got in the tub by 7:45, and baby was born @ 8:30. The tub there was deep - and the buoyancy was part of what helped, and being able to squat while under water - I'd spring for the deep tub.

Hope that helps, and best wishes for a beautiful birth.

[grumpybear]

when i first got into the tub, it was comfortably warm.
as my labor progressed, i felt warmer and hotter. all this without changing or adding more water.

[xixstar]

hmmmm, I've wondered about the water temp too. I like hot showers and baths and am sure that our birth pool will be warmer than the standard temp suggested, at least at the beginning. Maybe it'll cool by the time babe arrives.

As for which tub to pick, that'd be a hard choice to make in advance. What have other mom's that have used the regular tub said about it? It might be enough. I'd talk to some other moms that have use the regular tub and see what their opinions of it were. And wow, $150 to use the birth pool, I can buy my own for that price.

We're also planning a waterbirth this time... I was planning it last time too but ended up pushing side-lying in bed, which was not in any of my previous plans of how I was going to give birth and caught me a little off guard as well. Gotta love how things workout however they're going to.

[Salihah]

I love hot water!! We just had our waterbirth on Sunday and dh had just filled the tub earlier in the day (it can sit 3 days as long as it is covered and the tub has a heater) I thought he was being premature filling the tub so soon because I wasn't due for another week. I went to bed at 9:00pm that night feeling fine, woke at 9:30pm with contractions 2 min apart and baby was born 2 hours later.

The midwifes were actually taking water OUT of my tub because it was so hot. It was steaming. I had told dh I wanted it really hot and then the tubs heaters maintained really well I guess, and it was covered. But the midwives wanted the water below 100*. I thought I would be cold, too, but it really didn't bother me at all at the cooler temp. In fact with the heat of labor going on in my body, it probably would have been too warm. It really never crossed my mind again once they cooled the tub a bit, the temp was perfect.

As for the birthing tub or jacuzzi, I guess it is preference on how you like to position your body while laboring. I liked the birthing tub because I could kneel facing the wall of the tub and rest my arms on the edge. So I was in the water up to my shoulders, kneeling. Kneeling and squatting is comfortable for me while laboring, though, some people like to lay on their side or on all fours. The jacuzzi would be better if it has like a seat in it for reclining. My tub was padded on the bottom. But I might not have noticed if it wasn't, the labor was too intense.

Waterbirth is the way to go in my book!

[gentlestrengths]

I love hot baths too. I take hot baths and showers, and that is what my body is used to.

Mostly, they like the temps between 95 and 98 degrees. WAY too low for me and probably anyone who is used to taking hot baths.

One concern is that the hot water will dehydrate you if you stay in for prolonged periods. This is a valid concern - but you can just drink water, and an electrolyte drink (I use the natural fruit juice kinds), and you can also step out of the water every so often.

Another concern is that the water will be too warm for the baby. The baby is used to your body temperature, and s/he can't really get cooler. If you're too hot, then so is the baby. When a baby is born into too-hot water, s/he isn't as responsive.

Babies AND placentas do better being born in cooler water - cooler than 95 even.

I've always had my water at about 103-105 - but I've never given birth in the water. I've always gotten out - I don't know why. I'm seriously considering staying IN this time. I don't know if that will happen, but if it does, I don't want my baby born into 103 degree water, I think that is too hot for a baby, it is a 5 degree temperature change.

I don't use a heated pool though, so the water cools naturally. It has never cooled very quickly though, and I usually wait to get in until pretty close to the end...and we usually add hot water right before I get in...so I imagine it is still around 100-101 or even 102.

But it still feels great - and at the pushing point, I am not thinking "I'm cold" or "this water isn't hot enough" - those thoughts are just gone!

[wbg]

I have only had one water birth and I LOVE LOVE loved it!
I used the la bassine inflatable pool and it was super comfy.
I too love hot baths and when I was pregnant would soak each evening in a really hot bath.
For our water birth, I do not know how hot the water was, but certainly not as hot as my baths. However when in labour, I think my body temp heats up, as I felt hot the whole time. We did not heat or cool the water throughout the birth. I was probably in it for an hour and a half.
As to which tub, I can only go off my own experience. I found the inflatable much more roomy and comfortable than my usual tub. The water was such a gentle way to welcome our baby. I am not sure that I found it to be "nature's epidural" as some lucky folk do! But I did find it helped me move around with greater ease and that it was perfect for baby to arrive in.
All the best with your birth journey.

[nashvillemidwife]

I don't think it's a good idea to have the water above body temperature (I don't even like to see it that high). It makes your pulse too rapid and blood pressure go up. It also makes for more lethargic babies.

[gentlestrengths]

Originally Posted by nashvillemidwife

I don't think it's a good idea to have the water above body temperature (I don't even like to see it that high). It makes your pulse too rapid and blood pressure go up. It also makes for more lethargic babies.

I think it is too general to say that ALL women need to keep the temperature at 98 or 99. Hot baths are probably not going to cause a rapid pulse or higher blood pressure in women that normally take hot baths.

[porcelina]

I just wanted to post here about the tub size. I labored first birth in a jacuzzi (hotel type) tub. I would NOT suggest this if you have the option of a larger one. DS was posterior, and the tub forced me to be essentially lying on my back (or slightly on side). The water was great to help me deal with the pain, but the tub size was not great for his position -- he couldn't get turned around. Midwife broke my bag of waters at 8 cm, thinking it would speed things up, and then labor stalled and I had cervical edema (swelling to 5 cm). Ended up transferring to the hospital. Apparently, she didn't realize he was posterior until after breaking waters...

Anyway, I would highly recommend springing $150 for the larger tub, in which you can sit straight up, or in whatever position you want. The temp won't be an issue while you're in labor, as long as they keep it relatively warm.

[Honey693]

Normally I take showers and baths so hot my skin is red all over and can still complain they're not hot enough. With my first pregnancy I didn't have a water birth, but I was in the tub until I was ready to push. DH filled the tub for me and said it was on the warmer side of lukewarm and definitely not hot. All I remember was the water was the perfect temp, so in labor your idea of hot might be drastically different than your normal idea of hot.

[finnegansmom]

I had a water birth with my second and got in very close to pushing since it all happened so quickly. But I kept complaining that the water was too hot (and it was at body temp) and my midwife keep checking it but it was fine. I love HOT baths as well, I think since we now have a big jacuzzi tub if we ever plan to birth here, I would get a pool thermometer for the tub, since clearly I wasn't very good at knowing hot and cool while in the throes of labor.

[mwherbs]

you know I we have lots of women who like hot water, who don't like it as hot in labor because the work they are doing their bodies are hot already- and some who just want really hot water to help relieve pain- I don't care unless it causes the baby's heart to really speed up- and everyone can hear that when it happens - outside the tub the heart rate is 130's,140's and in the tub it is 160's,180's this is stressing the kido and we have moms get out cool down a bit get the baby's heart rate back down.