Gentle, natural birth in the comfort of warm water

A water birth is when a baby is born while the mother is submerged in a pool of warm water, often in a birthing tub or pool. Laboring in warm water can provide pain relief and make movement easier, and many women choose water births to create a more relaxed and natural birthing experience.

Some women believe a water birth is a more natural and less stressful experience for them and their new baby. Water immersion in labour provides an environment where women retain control of their birth experience, resulting in increased satisfaction and emotional wellbeing. Water provides natural buoyancy, which enables the woman to relax. This allows her to take advantage of the weightless feeling and concentrate on her birth.

Warm water relaxes the mother's muscles and improves blood flow. It may help to reduce vaginal tearing, thus helping the mother avoid an episiotomy or stitches. Randomised controlled trials have found that water immersion during labour decreases women's experience with pain, and lowers the use of epidural analgesia and reduces the duration of the first stage of labour (Cluett et al. 2004). 

During the first stage of labor the mother can sit or lie in a warm pool or tub to help manage pain and relax, and the baby is born in the water. The baby is then gently brought to the surface of the water.