Like all women, I have thought about how and where I would want to deliver my baby. I did extensive research on locations, home or hospital, positions – how would the baby come out the easiest, and of course the safest, with ‘minimal pain’ (yeah right!), standing up, with the help of a kruk, squatting and then of course, the option of a water birth.
The idea of the warm water somehow soothing the pain sounded very appealing to me, and also the theory that it is less traumatizing for the baby. The transition from being pushed out of the watery uterus (we all know where the baby gets pushed out of, right?) into the nice and warm, 37 degree, body temperature water is naturally soothing for the baby, so you’ll have a calmer, happier new-born….
In the end, it didn’t quite pan out as I had hoped, as I didn’t have a straight forward ‘birth plan’ (I will tell you more about that in another blog). I ended up having to get out of the nice and comfortable water to deliver my baby on the bed as my baby’s heart rate was slowing down as perhaps I was too comfortable in the water and I took too long to actually push the baby out, so the midwife thought it would be better if I got out of the bath and onto the bed to get the job done!
Here is how it all went down…
I was already having contractions a few minutes apart when my husband finally arrived at the hospital with the blow-up water bath (we had it delivered to our house a couple of weeks prior, but my husband has a tendency for being late for everything; yes even for the birth of his first born). I was in excruciating pain from the contractions, and as I had decided not to take any pain relief to do it all “au natural”, I couldn’t wait for the bath to be blown up and filled with water!
When the bath was ready to go, with the help of my husband and sister, I couldn’t wait to get into the bath. Once in the water, it truly was an instant pain relief with the contractions being a lot more bearable. The warmth, and the water itself, made me way more relaxed.
Now don’t get me wrong: it still hurt like hell when it came to the actual pushing part! The whole experience, especially from starting on the bed to ending back on the bed, I know the difference and I can honestly say that being in the water made a huge, positive difference and I wish that I could’ve delivered Lyla in the water as well.
If we are lucky enough to have a second baby, I will, without a doubt, attempt to have a
water birth again!
We rented the bath from www.bevallingsbaden.nl
They have both options available; to rent or to buy. For more information on water-births feel free to visit their website.
· They deliver and collect the bath to and from your house with a two week window period from your due date, which is very convenient.
· It is super easy to blow up (just make sure that your husband DOES read the instructions well in advance)
· Super affordable, money well spent!
Remember to check with your midwife and hospital (if you choose for a hospital delivery) first as not all hospitals allow water births and the ones that do would want to check the electricals first for safety and a handful of midwives don’t support a water birth.
Whatever you choose, will be a good and the right option for you! Go and ROCK your birth!
This photo was taken by my sister, with her mobile phone, not edited and clearly not professionally done 🙂
