Question about waterbirth

[Kleine Hexe]

Can water ever be too cold to safely birth in?

[mendomidwife]

Yes.....If the water is too cold it could cause hypothermia in the baby.

Carla

[Kleine Hexe]

So how cold would that be?

As in if mom is laboring in tub and feels the water is plenty warm for her.

[mendomidwife]

Lower than body temperature. I like the water to be around 101 degrees to make it comfortable for the mother and baby.

Carla

[Reha]

I find this a fascinating topic. Especially when you consider that women birth their babies in the ocean/sea!

We don't monitor the water temp. during births with a thermometer. We let moms decide what feels good to them. I get more concerned with really hot, hot water, in fact, than cooler water, just because I have seen the baby's heart rate rise due to that, though it is easily remedied (ask the mom get out of the pool for a little bit and cool the water down some).

[mendomidwife]

I don't think there is a hard and fast rule - just guidelines. I don't usually use a thermometer either, but rely on the mother. Too hot isn't good - but neither is too cold - and can cause hypothermia or hyperthermia.
I've read a number of time that the ideal temp is between 90-101 - depending on what is comfortable for the mother. When I first began doing water births I would check the temp with a spa thermometer and found that 100-101 was a good place to start. Now I just check it with my hand - or ask the mom to see what she thinks.
Most ocean births that I have read about have been in warm water - either in Hawii or the Black Sea.

Carla

[mwherbs]

the films of the Black Sea births that water looks pretty dang cold-- what do you feel comfortable in?

[Reha]

yeah, i looked it up, and the warmest that the Black Sea gets along the coast (surface temperature) is 86 degrees.

[nashvillemidwife]

Originally Posted by mendomidwife

Lower than body temperature. I like the water to be around 101 degrees to make it comfortable for the mother and baby.

I respectfully disagree. That water is too warm for mom and baby. I like the water around 95 for the birth. The baby is not going to get hypothermia at this temp! Do you get cold in a 95 degree bath?

Babies not born under water are still born wet into the room temperature air and they do just fine.

And now for a heretical view: who says birth needs to be made more comfortable for the baby? I think babies need to know they've been born. I am very sensitive to newborn consciousness and I do believe in gentle transition for the baby, but I believe it should only be as gentle as nature intended. I've heard several midwives say that the only difference in outcomes between water births and air births is that water-born babies have lower apgars because they're more "relaxed". Why is that a good thing? We midwives argue vehemently about the natural way of things, yet when it comes to water births we think we can use water to improve the way babies should be born.

I don't mean to come across so harsh. I love water births! And I did them for years at body temp until I started reading the most current literature and began really thinking about the reasons for our body temp or above protocols.