Pregnancy is a time of great joy and happiness. You look forward to welcoming your little bundle of joy in the best possible way. But it has its own set of challenges, as it also brings a time fraught with anxiety and decision-making. Most important decisions centre around birthing and pain relief. Recently, water birthing has gained popularity due to its benefits which include lesser pain. Water birth is a process where part of your labour or delivery, or both, occurs in a pool of warm water. The benefits of water birth are less pain, less requirement of painkillers, decreased chances of perineal lacerations and tears, and a comforting environment for the mother. So should you consider water birthing as a mom-to-be? Is it safe?

We got in touch with Dr Madhu Goel, Director of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Fortis La Femme, who gives her expert advice about water birth and whether you should consider it or not. Dr Goel shares that you should contemplate waterbirth if you fulfil the following criteria:

1. You Are Full Term

Full-term pregnancy is a pregnancy that has reached at least 37 weeks of gestation. At this stage, the baby is fully developed and ready for delivery. Preterm delivery requires more monitoring and is not suitable for water birth.

2. The Baby Is Head Down

The baby should be in a cephalic position. This is the ideal position for vaginal delivery. For breech (feet or buttocks first) transverse (where the baby lies in a horizontal position), which places the baby a cesarean delivery is preferable.

High blood pressure, preeclampsia, or diabetes—both gestational and chronic—can make labour more complicated and require close monitoring.

Water birth precludes close monitoring of the mother and the baby which is necessary for managing these clinical conditions.

Twin delivery requires constant monitoring. Also, additional interventions may be required for such deliveries.

Obesity will make the process of entering and exiting the birthing pool difficult. Hence, if there is an emergency it will become difficult to get out of water, thus water birth is not advisable for such women.

The absence of infections, such as herpes or other communicable conditions, is crucial for water birth. Water can be an infection carrier that can be transmitted to either the baby or, alternatively, the caregivers. A clean and healthy environment is very important for the safety of mothers and babies alike.

“Any condition that makes the mother high risk and will require constant monitoring will preclude water birth. If you are one of those low-risk, healthy mothers looking for a normal delivery without too many painkillers or an epidural, you can certainly think of water birth,” Dr Goel said.

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