Waterbirth in hospital or at home?

[Vicky P]

Hi. I've been searching and reading about natural birth. And, looks like, waterbirth is a good option. But, for a first pregnancy like me, what would you suggest? Have a waterbirth in hospital or at home?

[KD's Momma]

I wanted a water birth with my last delivery but NO ONE is doing them in the hospitals here (actually all of TX) and the nearest birth center is too far for my deliveries. The only way I could have had one was at home, should have stayed at home!! So, I am voting for home

[nashvillemidwife]

Is hospital water birth an option in your area? That is pretty rare.

[Belle]

I had my first in the hospital. I was pretty lucky to get a room that actually had a tub. Not all of them did. I got to labor in the water, but the tub could have been a bit larger.(It was a regular sized tub) The water really did help with the pain of the contractions and I made excellent progress. They made me get out when I was 9cm dilated. After I got out my labor stalled and I got a bunch of interventions I didn't want. If I'd been "permitted" to remain in the tub my labor wouldn't have stalled.

At home for my second child I had a much bigger tub. I knew for sure that it would be available for me at the time of the birth. I didn't have to rely on luck that I would get supportive nurses. I carefully interviewed my midwives a year before I gave birth. Also, I had PROM. If my water had broke before labor in the hospital I wouldn't have been "permitted" to get in the tub at all.

[~Megan~]

I would suggest a homebirth for all women that want one and that can have one.

Homebirths are statistically safer and parents come out happier at the end too!

[battymama]

i had this choice, i could have gone to the hospitals birth center. But for me it was a no brainer, i went home birth with a pool. It was awesome, and i would do it that way next time. It was my first as well.

[Millicent]

Fyi

I had one friend who was told she could labor in the tub at the hospital, then when she got there hot and heavy in labor and ready to get in, they told her it needed to be cleaned so she couldn't use it.

I have heard that hospitals have a huge laundry list of restrictions for getting in and staying in the tub. I have heard all kinds of stories of moms being told they can use the tub but later finding out that because of the xy&z interventions, water breaking, blah, blah, blah..they can't get in. I know my friend was miserable and couldn't relax, and spent much of her labor thinking....if I could just get in that tub...

Her next two were at a birthing center and at home and she never got out of the tub at either birth.

[momto4kids]

Originally Posted by Vicky P

Hi. I've been searching and reading about natural birth. And, looks like, waterbirth is a good option. But, for a first pregnancy like me, what would you suggest? Have a waterbirth in hospital or at home?

Quite honestly you will have a hard time finding a hospital that allows waterbirths.....as some PP stated they have all sorts of rules & guidelines & there is no guarantee that you will get the tub when you show up.

With my 4th child I told my OB I wanted a WB....had a contact @ the hospital who could arrange for me to have a waterbirth even.......my OB was "on board" as long as everything looked good to him. I was around 4-5 months pg when someone else i knew from the hospital called me (she knew this meant ALOT to me) to tell me that from what she was hearing on the inside we would still have to be fighting when we walked in the door to get into the tub........

ETA ~ my OB had never had a momma do a waterbirth before, which meant he was inexperienced regarding how mamas birth & babies react in water(plus we had to leave the tub immediately post birth for placenta.....ect)

I ended up switching to a homebirth shortly after that because the LAST THING I wanted to do was have to fight while in labor!

My MW showed up @ 6 am......@ 745 I got in my tub & @ 806 my DD was born :. I went on to have my 2nd home/water birth in 07 & I am planning my 3rd for next spring :

So what am I saying in my rambling ~~~ if this is REALLY important to you do not let it go. Look into birth centers & homebirthing ~ just because this is your first baby doesn't automatically mean you have a hospital birth........have this baby where you want too.
Dana

[ecoteat]

I had a home waterbirth with my dd, also my first birth. I am SO glad I did it at home. Without the temptation of medication, I knew I had to stay strong and focused. I needed a few stitches afterwards, and I was so blissed out from the birth and being all snuggled up in my own bed with my newborn I didn't mind them at all. You can absolutely aim for a homebirth with your first if that is what you want.

[nashvillemidwife]

Don't assume that just because you're birthing at home your midwife is totally on board with water birth. You need to interview them carefully, as some will have just as many reservations as the hospital. Many will say "oh sure, water birth is fine" but really they are not comfortable and will take any opportunity they can as an excuse for you to get out.

[Celticqueen]

During my awful pitocin-induced birth at the hospital, I labored in the tub for hours and finally yelled out, "I want to stay in here!" and the nurse told me it's not allowed there. :

Since I was in labor land and being stubborn she had to literally drag me out of it during my contractions.

Gee thanks, nurse Take away my only comfort.

Then I realized that hospital isn't the only one- many hospitals are this way, unfortunately for us.

-Caitrin

[SublimeBirthGirl]

I've done both, and HANDS DOWN home is better (for me anyway).

[meganmarie]

I would definitely not try to have a hospital waterbirth unless I had taken a tour of the hospital (which you can do as early as you like) to see the tub for myself, and asked a lot of questions about it - along the lines of what pp's have mentioned.
What do the tub(s) look like? (Sometimes they are barely-oversized bathtubs not real full-size birthing pools which means delivering a baby in there with caregiver assistance is very difficult and they may not be as much comfortable as you'd like).
Where are the tub(s) located? (I know of a hospital where the "labor tub" is kept in a separate tiny room that also functions as a storage closet. Nurses never mention it to patients voluntarily, sometimes they can't find the key, and there is no way they would allow a delivery in there since the room itself doesn't have any of the usual L&D stuff in it. Still, the hospital advertises the availability of "waterbirth" on their website.)
How many tub(s) are there? If only one, what are the odds that you will get access to that room in labor? (Ask for a % chance)
What are the hospital policy restrictions on tub usage (not if water broken, not if more or less than X cm, not if you have an IV, etc.)?

I would ask similar questions of the hospital-based MW/OB -- their answers might be better or worse than the hospital itself.
What are the MW/OB's own routine restrictions on tub usage, if any?
Do they "permit" women to deliver in the tub, or is it just for labor only?
How many waterbirths have they attended in the past month? The past year?
How do they generally "feel" about waterbirth?

[Finding Serenity]

I have had the experience of having both a hospital waterbirth in an aquadoula tub and my last birth which was a waterbirth homebirth. I can honestly say that if you have an opportunity to birth at home do it that way. My OB was supposedly a self proclaimed "midwife minded OB", which obviously sets him apart from 99.9% of all OBs. With that in mind he respected initially my requests such as NO Iv's, minimal monitoring, laboring in my own clothes. I checked in at 5 am, by about 3 pm he was getting antsy and was threatening intervention such as pitocin. I can tell you I was fit to be tied. I told him to get lost and labored with just my doula. He eventually kept coming in every hour to check on me and he got increasingly agitated at me as the hours passed and I felt that it only made my labor linger longer. The pressure that he was exerting on me to speed up my labor made me realize that even with one of the better OBs, they are still OBs who are on a time schedule when it comes to labor and they have to fit the model of care that the hospitals tell them is "safe". I had my birth the way I wanted at the end, my daughter was born at 8 pm, but it was not the most peaceful, blissful experience like I had in my own home. I had to deal with an unsupportive labor nurse who actually told me to my face that waterbirth was disgusting, as well as an OB that acted like a big baby that I didn't need him for anything as I labored quite well on my own without any help from the hospital. Interestingly, he did apologize later on that year and he told me he learned much from my birth such as letting the woman labor without threatening her with intervention so good came out of it. Although my local hospital is progressive to offer waterbirth in an aquadoula tub, in reality the staff is usually NOT on board to provide the most intervention free and supportive role in these births.

[wbg]

You need to give birth in the setting that gives you the most confidence. I know where I live I chose to birth at home the last time as they do not offer water birth, and in the one hospital that does, they can't guarantee that the tub will be free and they make you get out to push on land. For me, the best part of the water birth was actually pushing her out into the water. So I would go for home birth with water birth friendly MWs. But it really comes down to your own comfort zone. The best place for any woman to give birth is the place where they feel safe and secure.