I can share my experiences in my 2 home births so far, both of which I labored in water.
With my first, I labored in the fishy pool for a long time, but was encouraged to get out to go potty. Began to get a pushing urge at that point and never got back in (was dealing with a stubborn cervical lip after that, etc). So I birthed on the bed but laboring in the pool was fantastic!
With my second homebirth, my body began pushing soon after I got in the pool (BPIAB). I ended up on my knees, holding onto the handles on the outside of the pool. My DH had trouble inflating the pool and the inside cushion was not fully inflated, which drove me NUTS. I wanted to put my hands on it but couldn't. So, leaning over the side on my knees worked, and those handles were awesome for holding even tho I wasn't actively pushing (my uterus was doing all the work for me!). I was like that until the head was born, when my MW asked me to turn over. Thank goodness for the water, as it was easy to do, and I birthed the rest of him semi-sitting (I guess it was semi-, as you can't really sit flat down on a baby's head!
). I then caught him myself.
I had originally wanted to squat (wherever I was) and catch the baby on my own, so I was glad that it worked out such that I did catch him.
Definitely read some of the stories in the Birth Story forum. I have read ones where mamas wanted to get out for one reason or another, and of course there are many where mamas stayed in the water to birth.
).
