[Pepper]

I only had the chance to labor in the shower in the past--no tubs available to me but my hospital's "Family Birthing Center" has jacuzzi tubs they use for labor (unfortunately not for actually giving birth).

I've read that tubs are the Midwives epidural and supposedly really help soften the contractions, is it so?

My tub at home isn't really that deep so I wonder if I'll be able to get comfortable in there..and I can't stand reclining at all during pregnancy or labor so I'll probably want to be leaning over or on hands and knees for much of it.

So, tell me the difference between laboring on land vs. laboring in water. Is it really a lot different?

Thanks

 

[kavamamakava]

I labored in the shower while sitting on a birthing ball with my first and that was really nice. I almost didn't feel the contractions and I was just around 8 cm at the time.
I spent the last hour of my labor and the delivery in a birthing tub with my daughter. I hung over the side of the tub a lot during that time so it was semi hands and knees but I wasn't supporting my weight at all. I thrashed around a bit trying to get comfortable and got everyone wet. I also was fighting the urge to push because I was worried I would tear so I got a bit frantic. But once I accepted that I didn't have to fight the urge nor did I have to push to get the baby out, I was fine. I didn't feel any pain except for the ring of fire (which I didn't even feel with my first).
I'm planning a water birth for this one too.

 

[TurboClaudia]

i labored in water with my son and it was very relaxing. my partner says it was too relaxing because my contractions went from being 2 minutes apart to being almost 10 minutes apart. i liked it though because i felt almost weightless and that was so nice after carrying around my huge belly for such a long time. i couldn't get into a comfortable and useful pushing position in the tub, so we tried many other positions out of the water. pushing was just altogether hard for me. i will plan on laboring in water again, much to my partner's laughter because it will probably lengthen my laboring time but i don't care. it's nice.

warmly,
claudia

 

[happyblessedmama]

I labored in a birthing tub for much of my labor with #3 and it was great from 5 cm-9cm but I had to get out of the tub due to meconium staining (ended up being hospital transfer, but that's another story) and it felt a lot better to push out of water than in. Just see what feels right when the time comes.

 

[mariposita]

I labored and birthed in a tub. I wouldn't do it any other way. I didn't experience much of laboring outside the tub, except when I had to go to the bathroom. Try as I did, I couldn't pee in the tub. When I got out, the contractions intensified tenfold. When I was in the tub I hung over the side and rocked back and forth. It was very relaxing, despite the circumstances. When i felt the need to change positions (usually onto my back floating), I felt I needed to do that in that very instance. The tub allowed me to effortlessly flip over. I highly recommend it. Oh yeah, labor went very smoothly and was only 2 1/2 hours from start to finish for my first and only child.

 

[mwherbs]

I am too old to have had the idea of birth tubs I used our household bathtub and spend a good deal of my homebirth labors in the tub. The water didn't cover everything but what ever was in the water felt better. I also used a wet towel and a pitcher to keep from getting a draft on what ever part wasn't in the water. used the pitcher to pour water over my belly. i don't know about epidural like since I haven't had one but compared to my other to labors that weren't in water it was much more soothing- who knows maybe it is the negative ions VBG
I have had some clients just hate the water so it isn't for everyone
you know that they may not intent to have you birth in the water but if you don't move what are they going to do?

 

[mezzaluna]

didn't work so well for me - i was in my tub at home for early labor, but it didn't seem to help... by the time i got to the hospital and they filled the jacuzzi tub i was 8cm and going in the tub hurt like crazy - if i tried to sit or lie down it would trigger an instant contraction. i ended up kneeling in the tub hanging over the edge, with my belly just slightly in the water. pretty quickly i was 10cm anyway. it felt better to stand up and sway while hanging onto my dh than to be in the tub.

it's too bad - i imagined the tub would be very soothing and help me relax through contractions... no dice.

 

[lilylove]

I labored in the shower with Dd and in a tub with Ds and wow what a difference it made for me.The tub was the only place I felt comfortable, every where else made me feel like I had to run and hide. It also took the edge off the pain
Funny what Mwherbs said, Ds almost did come out in the hospital tub. If I had not opened my big mouth and called for my MW he would have done more then just crowned in that tub. I would have had a water birth with just Dh there to help

sandy

 

[kavamamakava]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mwherbs I am too old to have had the idea of birth tubs I used our household bathtub and spend a good deal of my homebirth labors in the tub. The water didn't cover everything but what ever was in the water felt better. I also used a wet towel and a pitcher to keep from getting a draft on what ever part wasn't in the water. used the pitcher to pour water over my belly. i don't know about epidural like since I haven't had one but compared to my other to labors that weren't in water it was much more soothing- who knows maybe it is the negative ions VBG I have had some clients just hate the water so it isn't for everyone you know that they may not intent to have you birth in the water but if you don't move what are they going to do?

You're not too old My auntie had both of my cousins in birthing tubs (not a bathtub) and they are 23 and 18 now.

 

[Tanibani]

Water always helps.

First labor was a hospital labor, so I went into the shower and it REALLY deepened my relaxation (

HypnoBirthing), so much so, that I felt

endorphins while I was in the shower... and I KNOW that only happened because my relaxation was deepened thanks to the water. That labor was painfree thanks to HypnoBirthing.

Four years later, homebirth.

I did feel twinges of discomfort (from 1-10, it was a 2) in my lower abdomen. I went to 2 bathtubs in my home over 3 hours. One bathtub was a jacuzzi type (larger, wider) and the other was a regular tub. It didn't really cover my belly

but it was still good.

I still liked it.

I really wanted to concentrate on relaxing during the surges, and being alone helped me. So yes, it's very relaxing.

After 3 hours, I was bored, and wanted to go back to my bed (I never intended on giving birth in the water.) When I got up to pee, my water broke.

When I got to bed, the midwife came in, checked me and I was 10 cm! I didn't even feel transition! (I didn't the first time either.) Three pushes later, my

daughter was born.

 

[2+twins]

I used a birthtub with both of my labors. I only gave birth in the tub the 2nd time around. I found that it helped me tremendously in a couple of ways. First - it dulled the pain of the contractions. Took the edge off, I guess you could say. I remember with my first labor having to stand up occasionally so the mw could listen to fetal heart tones and groaning through that cuz it was so much more uncomfortable. Second - the sense of weightlessness is really nice. When I'm in labor I feel kind of like a caged animal. I need to keep moving - back and forth and back and forth. Being in the water made this so easy for me. I also spent a lot of time hanging over the edge of the tub which I liked. I feel that giving birth in the tub helped me a great deal from tearing. That baby basically came flying right out of me (very quick labor/birth) and I feel like if I hadn't been in the water to help soften and relax my perineum I probably would have had a nasty tear (and I did tear, but very minimally).

 

[cottonwood]

I've labored in water twice out of four. #2 and #3. My contractions didn't get intense until after I got in the water, so I don't know if they would have been more painful if I hadn't been in the water, but I do know that they weren't less painful than my dry-land births. So I am skeptical about that, as far as my own experience goes.

However, laboring in the water did have some advantages for me. I liked that it created kind of a barrier between me and the other people in the room. It made me feel shielded, protected. Not naked. It was also just very pleasant to be in the hot water (I LOVE hot baths,) and made changing positions very easy, because of the buoyancy.

 

[Glittergal]

just to offer a different opinion. I got in the tub at home to "relax" and about hit the roof with discomfort. My baby's head was too low to be comfy sitting and our tub was too small to do much else. I got out, hit the floor on hands and knees and felt much better...

most women love the water but some, like me, hate it. i'm also a very water-oriented person, so i was surprised.

 

[kavamamakava]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Glittergal just to offer a different opinion. I got in the tub at home to "relax" and about hit the roof with discomfort. My baby's head was too low to be comfy sitting and our tub was too small to do much else. I got out, hit the floor on hands and knees and felt much better... most women love the water but some, like me, hate it. i'm also a very water-oriented person, so i was surprised.

How big was your tub?

 

[tvanlien]

My labor didn't last all that long (6hrs total), and most of it I spent on the hospital bed or over a ball - the tub actually wasn't filled and ready until I was pretty much ready to push. The warm water really helped relax my legs and back muscles, they were so tense and shook uncontrollably. One thing I didn't like about the tub was that I felt like I was slipping all the time and had to hang on for dear life onto the side of the tub everytime I had a contraction. My upperbody was completely exhausted as a result. The tub I was in was one of those plastic ones the size of a spa.

 

[plantmommy]

I luuvvvvvvvvvved the birth tubs, and have two waterbabies as a result.

The water helped me relax, and helped ease pressure of the contractions, especially as baby was getting low right before pushing. I also love that it does feel more secure, not like you're all hanging out naked, and that with dd when the midwife was there, I had a bit of a barrier. I loved the midwife, but am a private person. I also loved the ease with which I could change positions.

I'm small (5'2") and in the aquadoula I could float pretty well, be covered on h&k, still have the belly under in a squat, etc.

When a contraction came on, I would rest my upper body/arms on the side of the tub and completely relax everything and just float. Heaven.

I can't compare my dry-land pushing to the others, as the birth was so different (OB attended, for one thing) but for this last birth I did start pushing out of the tub (on the toilet) and those felt more powerful, but I don't think they were, actually, just that the feeling was more intense. It felt like getting back into the water relaxed me so I could let my body do more and my head do less, iykwim?

 

[milk4two]

I waterbirthed my last and the water was wonderful. It was a tub the midwife brought and was plenty big enough to stretch out in, or squat in, or whatever. The contractions I had out of the water were much more intense.

 

[momto l&a]

I labored with my first in water till I got claustophobic (?) and then went to bed.
My second I also labored in the tub and thought Id have the baby on the bed till the mw checked me and said your having the baby in the tub. Twas wonderful!
Third baby came so fast I never had a chance to get in the tub let alone take my panties off.

I must say water is wonderful but anything warm say like a rice bag also is very helpful with pain.

 

[mwherbs]

Quote:

Originally Posted by blueviolet However, laboring in the water did have some advantages for me. I liked that it created kind of a barrier between me and the other people in the room. It made me feel shielded, protected. Not naked. It was also just very pleasant to be in the hot water (I LOVE hot baths,) and made changing positions very easy, because of the buoyancy.

Blueviolet yes, and yes and yes. It better than clothing, for many women especially ones who have any issues, I by far prefer to have them in the tub. It can also make labor more intense because if you are more relaxed and open the contractions can become stronger, I think that this is why there is less tearing in tubs as well.

 

[slightly crunchy]

The hospital where I had ds had the huge jacuzzi tubs, which is one of the reasons I chose it. It was good for short periods, but I had a lot of trouble finding comfortable positions in the water and couldn't stay in very long. Also felt very overheated at one point and just couldn't stand the warm water on me.