Water birth is becoming increasingly popular as more women are looking for natural safe alternative to drugs and interventions during childbirth. Since the 1993 Report from The Heath Department acknowledged the benefit and safety of labouring and birthing in water, most NHS hospitals have equipped their unit with plumbed in birthing pool. Today, even the famous and riches, once thought to be to "posh to push", are turning the tap on and enjoying the natural, safe and relaxing effect of warm water. Gwyneth Paltrow is just one of the latest celebrities reported to have opted for a Home Waterbirth for her second baby due in June.

Personal Experience

Mum of four little angels, I have experienced the benefit of water during each labour and gave birth under water three times. For me without doubt, giving birth naturally has been much more satisfactory than giving birth under the effect of an epidural.

During the birth of my first baby, due to shortage of staff and a very busy ward, I was asked to leave the bath as no midwife was available to attend me. Although I was, until then coping pretty well with the contractions, once I got out, the pain really started to intensify and after few hours I was offered an epidural which I accepted. As soon as the analgesic drug was injected, my baby's heart beat dropped dramatically and within seconds the room was filled with doctors and nurses. Thankfully the initial shock passed, my little boy recovered quickly and his heart beat got back in track. The pain relief from the epidural was immediate and after this little scare I was able to rest completely. It is true that from this moment, my labour became 100% pain free, however this did not mean that I enjoyed it and still today I wish things could have been different. Once you get under the effect of drugs sadly you are not in control any more of your own body. It felt like it was the midwives who were giving birth to my baby and not me. I needed to be told what to do, when to push and how to push.

Second time around, I had the chance to experience a full water birth, delivering my baby into my own hand with no one interfering. Water did not equal a pain free labour, and yes as the birth became imminent, the pain become overwhelming. However, somehow being in a birthing pool did help me to stay in control and give birth naturally. Although I had previously experienced the pain relief of an epidural, it did not cross my mind once to ask for one, even at the worst of the pain. I was fully absorbed by the birth of my baby and working hard to help him coming into this world. The satisfaction and high, I got from this experience would never compare with my first birth. I was ecstatic and still am today when thinking about it. Since I had two little girls both born at home, in La Bassine, a birthing pool that I personally designed for their birth.

The warm water helps the muscles to relax and the buoyancy effect allows one to effortlessly maintain an active birth position, such as squatting and kneeling. A well designed birthing pool can provide the optimum environment.

As Michel Odent rightly pointed out, women, like all mammals, need privacy to give birth. In today's society where birth has become a very public affair with partner, doctors and midwives coming in and out, a birthing pool is an excellent way to achieve this privacy and be able to give birth in a quiet secluded place, as we are supposed to do.

As women have now automatically have access to gas and air to cope with labour's pain, they should equally be offered a warm pool of water before being offered an epidural or a shot of petidine. Most of them will forget about the drugs as soon as they step in the water.

Useful Links

For more information on Waterbirth, How to organise a Waterbirth and Birthing pools you can visit:

• www.thegoodbirth.co.uk

  The Good Birth Company hires birthing pools in addition to selling to Birth-Pool-in-a-Box. Two styles are available: Hexagonal and Oval with built-in step, starting from £165.00 for 4 weeks.

• www.homebirth.org.uk/water.html: very useful information on how to organise a home water birth and a lot of water birth stories.
• www.madeinwater.co.uk/waterbirth.html : Information on Waterbirth and inflatable birthing pool to buy for use in home and hospital.
• www.activebirthcentre.com : Information on Waterbirth, workshop, and rigid birthing pool to rent for use in home and hospital.
• www.birthwork.co.uk: Information on Waterbirth, workshop, and heated rigid pool to rent for home.
• www.aquabirth.co.uk: Heated pool to rent for home.

Professional Advice

Midwives Information and Resource Service (MIDIRS) publishes an excellent leaflet called 'Do You Want a Waterbirth'.

Many midwives believe that the use of water for labour and/or for the birth helps you to feel in control and women have said that they found it pleasant and relaxing to be in water during labour. However, opinions differ and you may receive conflicting advice about how well waterbirth works and how safe it is.

This leaflet tells you what research has found out. It tells you what is known about how safe it is to give birth in water, whether waterbirth will really make your labour easier and what your maternity unit is likely to offer.

You can download a free copy at www.infochoice.org - Select 'Consumer' and then 'During Pregnancy' from the drop down leaflets menu to display a list of leaflets available including this one.

Below is Paula's story of her first home water birth.

My waters broke at 5 a.m which dispelled any doubt that I was in labour. I'd woken twice the previous night with Braxton Hicks wondering if this was it. Now it definitely was. Contractions were about 5 minutes apart, so we thought things might progress very quickly. The midwife explained later that when the waters break they cause a surge of oxytocin to be released, which increases the contractions.

We started to fill the birth pool and phoned the out of hours response team. The receptionist seemed awfully excited when we said we were booked for a home birth. She told us a midwife would call us back shortly, which she did, to tell us she was on her way. There seemed a lot to do - pool to be filled, crumpets to be eaten, raspberry leaf tea to drink, making phone calls and toast, interspersed with contractions.

Elaine, our midwife, arrived at 6.30am, in the fog at minus 3 degrees. She'd had to scrape ice off her car. At this point I could still chat through my contractions, which were about every 5 minutes, but not particularly strong or regular. I'd refused an internal examination initially, but as we wanted to go for a walk in the park, I agreed so the midwife could tell how well I was progressing. It was 7.30 am and I was 2cm dilated and fully effaced. Elaine said this was really good, and she could feel the head in a good position too. She offered to release some more amniotic fluid to help the contractions which I agreed to.

By 8.00am the contractions were getting stronger. I started rocking through them and concentrating on my breathing. But this made me feel like I was going to pass out after each contraction. So, I tried the TENS machine, and I don't know if it helped, but it did give me something to focus on as each contraction came. As my birth seemed to be picking up rather quickly, the midwife ordered the Entonox and Oxygen from the hospital, which arrived by taxi soon after. By now, I was pretty focused inwardly, and wasn't really aware of what was happening outside of my body. I was vaguely aware that things were being done elsewhere in the room, but didn't feel part of any of it.

By 9.30 am I was "4cm dilated and doing well", so the midwife advised I could get into the pool whenever I wanted to. By now the contractions seemed very close together and very strong. I was on all fours leaning onto a beanbag to get through each one. It felt like I was falling asleep in between them.

I got into the Birth Pool just after 10 am, and suddenly felt much more relaxed and in control. I didn't feel like sleeping at the end of each contraction; I felt like I could cope with each one much better.

Jean, the second midwife, suggested I try the Entonox, which I did when the next contraction came. When it was over I sunk down with my chin on the side of the pool, smiling.
Jonnie asked "Are you smiling because of the gas and air, or because that contraction's over?"
"She's on the merry-go-round." answered Jean, as I hung over the side of the bath clinging to the Entonox with one hand, Jonnie's hand with the other, smiling! After that I didn't move from the side of the Pool much. Between contractions, I squatted or knelt, always close enough to grab the Entonox and Jonnie's hand as soon as a contraction started.

At about 11 am I felt like I was getting close. Suddenly I shook my head. I felt panicky and really couldn't envisage how the baby was going to come out. After drinking 2 glasses of water with Bach's Flower Rescue Remedy, I felt that I was coping better again.

At 11.30am I knew I was getting close - I could feel the baby's head starting to press down, and could feel it with my fingers. The midwife's didn't believe I was that close, as I was coping so well, and they had predicted a 4pm birth, so they were very surprised when they examined me at 11.45 and they could see the head. I could feel the change in contractions from pushing down to pushing out, and the strange mixture of them during transition. Jonnie was keeping me focused on breathing, (not pushing). "Breathe the baby out" as we had been taught at Active Birth classes.

As the head was crowning I felt the force of the water was holding the baby in, and knew I had to move forwards or backwards to get the baby out. The midwives asked if I wanted me or them to bring the baby to the surface. I said I did, although it was really hard to make any kind of decision or to communicate at this point.

So, I dropped to all fours and felt him starting to come out, but then I realised that he'd be born behind me so I quickly flipped over onto my back, which was fairly easy as the water took most of my weight.

Felix Oscar Xavier Daly was born 7lb 15 oz at 11.57 am on 1st February 2001 into the birth pool, to the sound of Orbital in the dim light of fairy lights with heavy curtains blocking out the daylight. I brought him to the surface and he started breathing almost immediately, and gave a few little cries. I held him close.

We spent about 10 minutes in the Pool, holding him to my breast, and letting the water gently wash over over his head and body, gently massaging him and welcoming him to the world.

Paula

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