[SaraBravo]

any one else here ever had a waterbirth? im planning one with a midwife at a hospital. im not totaly sure if i am acutally going to stay in the water while i am giving birth but i know i am going to want to labor in it.
how did your waterbirth go?
did you plan to stay in or out of the water?
did you stick to it?
did you have any other form of pain relief?
how did you like it?
would you do it again?
where did you have it? home/ birth center/ hospital?
what didn't you like about it?
did your partner get in the water with you or support you from out side the tub?
tones of questions i know. i this is my first and i want to have the best experience. i am 34 weeks and am planning for my birth to be at northfulton regional in roswell ga. which is like one of the only hospital in ga that let us use the tubs for labor and birth.
any info would help.

 

[ferra]

Well, I wanted a waterbirth. I wasn't completely set on it but I thought if I ended up pushing him out in the water it would be cool. Here are some answers to your questions: I was in and out of the water (from tub to toilet) my whole first stage and ended up having to get out for pushing. When I was in the water it definately helped with the pain and felt very private. I didn't have any other form of pain relief. I just kept having them pour more hot water in when it started to get cold. I wouldn't ever want to give birth without access to hot water. I had my baby at home, he ended up coming out on the bed (the last place I thought I'd end up). I don't have a partner and I was in the water alone. I really didn't want to be around people, just wanted to get the work done.
I recommend not trying to plan much. Just have as many tools at hand as possible-Water is an excellent ally during labor. Happy Birthing!

 

[Daisie125]

how did your waterbirth go?
It went wonderfully, I'd never give birth another way!

did you plan to stay in or out of the water?
I planned to get in when the contractions were unbearable and stay there

did you stick to it?
yep! DS was born about 45 minutes after I got in

did you have any other form of pain relief?
Nope

how did you like it?
Loved it!

would you do it again?
For sure!

where did you have it? home/ birth center/ hospital?
Free-standing birth center. Home next time

what didn't you like about it?
Having to get out after DS was born, that alot of movement after just giving birth (we were in for about 30 minutes after he was born, tho

did your partner get in the water with you or support you from out side the tub?
He was in the tub and it was perfect that way

 

[~Shanna~]

I'm pregnant and am planning to give birth at a birth center for the sole reason that they have a birth tub, though I don't have my heart set one way or another, it's more about having the option. Our local hospital's idea of "laboring tubs" is a joke - I doubt a pregnant woman could even fit in
them

When my DH and I suffered our second miscarriage, we decided to go home and wait instead of having a D&C. You couldn't have pulled me out of that tub during the birth, and it gave us a lot of clarity about what we would need and how we cope with birth when we ever deliver a full-term child. Our home tub was sufficient because I was only 12 weeks at that point, but it was easy to extrapolate if you were full-term, especially since it was so comforting to me to actually lay in the water on my back, with the water about as high as possible. It's a somewhat limited experience, but I was surprised at the clarity it gave us. Other mamas I know tell me that they never intended on having a water birth, but you couldn't have pried them out of that tub!

 

[AmieV]

I have another question...if you had a waterbirth at home, in a blow up pool...how warm did it stay? How long were you in there? This is the setup we'll have, no heater for the pool itself and I'm just skeptical as to how it will work. I spent a lot of time in the bathtub and shower last time, and I'm thinking if I'm in that tub a lot during my labor, my hot water heater is not going to be able to keep up and have it be warm when the baby comes. I'm not sure if I'll care, because it's hot and August...but won't that be bad for the baby if it's not warm? My m/w said that the hose she has has a reflux thing where you can drain it and then refill it with warm water, but what if we run out of hot water??

I know, I'm overthinking this but I really am unconvinced in this waterbirth thing.

 

[LizaBear]

My daughter Heather was born at home, in a blow-up kiddie pool with water in it.

You can read her birth story - it's the link in my signature.

 

[DreamsInDigital]

how did your waterbirth go?

PERFECT!
did you plan to stay in or out of the water?
Didn't have a plan, but during transition my midwife suggested the tub and it was such a great place I didn't get out.
did you have any other form of pain relief?
No.
how did you like it?
LOVED it.
would you do it again?
Absolutely!
where did you have it? home/ birth center/ hospital?
Home.
what didn't you like about it?
Nothing.
did your partner get in the water with you or support you from out side the tub?
From outside the tub.

 

[lotusdebi]

I had an almost-waterbirth, so I figured I'd answer your questions.

how did your waterbirth go?
Everything went great, until the end. My son ended up stuck - shoulder dystocia - so I had to get on hands and knees (still in the tub) and push him out that way. So, he wasn't born in the water, but I did what I could to have a waterbirth.

did you plan to stay in or out of the water?
I planned to stay in the water for the whole thing.

did you stick to it?
Aside from having to get out to use the bathroom once, and then getting checked on the bed, on my way back from the bathroom.... And then having to switch to hands and knees position to get him out (he was taken immediately to get oxygen), I stuck to it!

did you have any other form of pain relief?
I used a mix of hypnobirthing and Buddhist meditation. That plus the water on my belly were all I really needed.

how did you like it?
I loved the water.

would you do it again?
Absolutely! I plan to attempt a waterbirth again with this baby! Hopefully, we won't have any complications this time!

where did you have it? home/ birth center/ hospital?
Birth center. Trying homebirth next.

what didn't you like about it?
That I had to get out to use the bathroom.
That the tub wasn't deep enough to cover my belly.
That I had to get out to deliver the placenta. After that last bit of stressful pushing, I was exhausted, and just wanted to collapse back in the water.

did your partner get in the water with you or support you from out side the tub?
He supported me from outside the tub. Mostly, I had him pour warm water over the part of my belly that wasn't covered (due to the tub not being deep enough). Though, I also needed him to change the music until he put in something that resonated with me. And he had to get me something to throw up in at some point.

Additionally, I thought I'd mention that I didn't tear, even though my son was stuck and had to be maneuvered out. I'm sure I would have torn if I hadn't been in the water for such a long time!

 

[xmysticprincessx]

i didnt have a water birth but labored in the tub. i couldnt have a water birth because the hospital i delivered at didnt have the accomodations. (i think the nearest place i could have had a water birth was over an hour away.) however they had these really nice bath tub/jacuzzis in each birthing room. i would have loved to been able to give birth in the water because the jacuzzi jets really helped me with my contractions.

i love the swimming pool idea! haha, i could just imagine us dragging dd's plastic little tikes pool into the hospital and filling it up there!
dh stayed outside the tub the whole time and was great.

its been awhile since i was researching water births, but i think one website said that only 10% of women who used water birth used pain medication. (not sure if they meant medication in general or epidurals.) i had also read that you can rent water birth tubs. they basically looked like big jacuzzis.

 

[mooliette]

how did your waterbirth go?
Amazing

did you plan to stay in or out of the water? I planned to labor where ever I felt the most comfortable.

did you have any other form of pain relief?
No.

how did you like it?
It couldn't have been anymore perfect.

would you do it again?
Absolutely, done it twice already and we're planning another in February.

where did you have it? home/ birth center/ hospital?
Home.

what didn't you like about it?
Absolutly Nothing.

did your partner get in the water with you or support you from out side the tub?DH was in the tub with for the entire time for both births, our oldest son was in the tub with both of us up until' about 10 minutes before the birth of Sammy.

And for the person asking about how long it stayed warm, how we kept the water warm, if we had a heater and how long I was in:

We have forced hot water heat, we didn't use a pool heater. We filled the pool about 2 hours after labor started, I got in right away and got out of the tub once or twice to use the toilet. With both births we drained 1/2 the water every 2 hours. Our 1st was born after 8 hours, and our second was born after 6 hours.

 

[DayDreamer]

how did your waterbirth go?
It went well, except I didn't stay in the water to deliver.

did you plan to stay in or out of the water?
I wanted to stay in the water for the delivery but i was open to the fact that may not have been what my body wanted.

did you stick to it?
My body for some reason wanted OUT of the water to deliver. I delivered on my bed

did you have any other form of pain relief?
No

how did you like it?
I loved being in the water up to almost the end

would you do it again?
I'd definately try it again, the laboring in the water felt wonderful.

where did you have it? home/ birth center/ hospital?
Home

what didn't you like about it?
I honestly don't know what I didn't like. I know this over powering sense came over me and I wanted OUT to push. Maybe cuz my most comfy pushing possition was, surprisingly on my back and I couldn't get like that in the water? I dunno.

did your partner get in the water with you or support you from out side the tub?
He was in the water with me

As for keeping the water warm...I forget the actual temp my midwife wanted my water at...100 or so?? Well we "tested" it out before labor and I couldn't STAND the water that hot. (I'm one who generally LOVES HOT HOT HOT showers and baths). I went back to my MW and said, the water that hot makes me want to faint. So she checked my baseline temp and saw my baseline is usually only slightly above 96 degrees. So my water was actually at about 98 degrees, which is what we guessed my inside body temp would be. For a person who is normally 98-99 they'd want the water a little above 100. So I highly recommend "testing" it out before hand to see what is the most comfortable for you. We had no problems keeping the water at my temp, I actually paid no mind to it, but I know my doula did drain a portion of the water and refil occassionally.

HTH

 

[mcsarahb]

how did your waterbirth go?
Amazingly great; the only way I'd ever do it again. I got in when in full, active labor, about 6 cm or so.

did you plan to stay in or out of the water?
Thought I'd probably like it enough to stay in, but wasn't totally positive

did you stick to it?
Yup, 'til they pried me out 30 minutes after the birth to deliver the stubborn placenta

did you have any other form of pain relief?
Nope

how did you like it?
Loved it

would you do it again?
See above

where did you have it? home/ birth center/ hospital?
Home, in our bedroom

what didn't you like about it?
Hmm. I was really hot. The midwives let me have the water temperature lower than normal but then they felt the babe shouldn't stay in the (lukewarm) water very long. So we got to hold her for about 5 minutes before they took her out to dry her. But it turned out fine - I totally understood their point.

did your partner get in the water with you or support you from outside the tub?
He was crouched next to the tub for most of active labor, then got in, behind me, when I started to push.

BTW, the tub I used was a big, hard plastic livestock watering tub (never used for that purpose

) that we lined with pillows, sheets, and clear plastic sheeting.

Oh, and heating tip: in preparation for birth, turn your hot water heater up a few degrees. That will take less water from the hot tap to get it to temperature. Also keep a couple big pots of water simmering on stove in case the hot water gets depleted and you need a quick warm-up.

Good luck!

 

[trmpetplaya]

I was dead set on having a waterbirth. So set on it that I waited till I was 5 months along to ask my midwife if she even did them because I was scared she'd say NO

She had the water birth book by Susan Napierala (I think that's the last name...) which is the one I have so I figured she would, but I was still scared to ask!

how did your waterbirth go? Beautifully! Except that we didn't get the right hose and I wasn't able to actually get into the birthing tub till after my water broke (so it was really intense before I got into it...). I did labour in the regular bathtub for a couple hours though which helped

did you plan to stay in or out of the water? In.

did you stick to it? Oh yes. I had to get out at one point because dd crowned for 1.5 hours (her hand was up in a fist by her head so I would've torn if she hadn't crowned that long or if I hadn't been in the tub) and my midwife wanted me to walk to the bathroom to see if my bladder was full and also because walking would help joggle her down in a better position.

did you have any other form of pain relief? Nope. Couldn't because I was at home (that was part of the reason I was at home - didn't want to even be given the chance to have drugs).

how did you like it? Very very much. It's infinitely better to labour in the tub than out of the tub. Walking around while dd was crowning was the worst thing I've ever had to do. Gravity HIT me and all I wanted was to get back in that tub!

would you do it again? Oh yes. Definitely, certainly, absolutely, for sure!

where did you have it? home/ birth center/ hospital? At home.

what didn't you like about it? Um... nothing. I loved being in the water.

did your partner get in the water with you or support you from out side the tub? He got in the tub behind me (he was in his swim trunks and I was naked) because the tub was so big that I would have rattled around in it by myself.

I also used a big plastic livestock watering tub (also never used for that purpose). It didn't have a heater so there was lots of water being boiled to keep the water temperature up. We also put pillows, a light-coloured sheet, and a clear plastic liner (that my m/w provided) in the tub so it was nice and comfy!

Best wishes

love and peace.

 

[mezzaluna]

how did your waterbirth go? i planned to labor in the jacuzzi tub at my hospital. turned out not to work for me.
did you plan to stay in or out of the water? hospital didn't permit delivery underwater, so my plan was to use the tub during labor.
did you stick to it? i used it only briefly
did you have any other form of pain relief? the tub was a form of pain relief?

no, no meds, TENS, acupuncture, what have you.
how did you like it? could not stand it! this made me so sad because normally i love water - baths, swimming pools, oceans... my favorite way to relax is to soak in a bathtub.
would you do it again? i dunno, i'm worried it would be a waste and i wouldn't like it again.
where did you have it? home/ birth center/ hospital? hospital.
what didn't you like about it? well, that's the big question for me! it just felt *wrong* in some indescribable way - the way the fetal monitor felt wrong to me during labor, and holding my DH felt right to me. i was having contractions triggered by uncomfortable sensations during my labor... at first i tried lying down in the tub and this felt wrong... i tried curling into a fetal position - felt wrong... finally the best position i could find was on my knees with my arms folded on the edge and my head down on it. my belly was just barely touching the water, and i was acutely aware of that contact. my doula noticed i was just basically trying to avoid being in the water, and asked DH to ask me if i would be happier being out, and i said yes! the positions that felt best to me duing labor were to walk around draped onto DH, and when things got too intense to get on my knees with forearms down on the ground and bum way up in the air - i guess to take pressure off my cervix. i couldn't do either of these in the tub. i do wonder if i had a bigger tub with more freedom of movement whether it would have worked better for me... or if DH could have been in there so i could hang on to him. also maybe if it had been a homebirth i would have been less tense in the environment? lots of questions for me to think about for next time!
did your partner get in the water with you or support you from out side the tub? outside, it wasn't big enough for two.