Birth, Bath, and Beyond: The Science and Safety of Water Immersion During Labor and Birth

Harper, Barbara

doi:10.1891/1058-1243.23.3.124

Cited by 21 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…Considering the critical role of nurses and midwives in the birthing process, this situation could limit the labour pain management options that expectant mothers have to choose from and may lead to sub-optimal labour pain relief. Non-pharmacological interventions such as water immersion [32], guided imagery, aromatherapy, chromotherapy, homoeopathy, acupuncture, transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS), floral therapy, and energy-level support [33] have been shown to be successful in reducing labour pain in other settings. The use of these other non-pharmacological pain management interventions could be explored further in future studies.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This is due to the reduced consumption of analgesics and their associated side effects when non-pharmacologic techniques are used to complement pharmacologic interventions. Moreover, several studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of non-pharmacological methods in reducing labour pain [28,32,38]. Exposure to and utilisation of diverse types of non-pharmacological methods could contribute to reducing the perception that these methods do not really relieve pain and this could be achieved through frequent training sessions on these lesser known methods.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Nurses and midwives’ experiences of using non-pharmacological interventions for labour pain management: a qualitative study in Ghana

Boateng

Kumi

Diji

2019

BMC Pregnancy Childbirth

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Background: Non-pharmacological interventions hold promise in reducing labour pain, with minimal or no harm to the mother, foetus and the progress of labour and are simple and cost-effective. Yet their use has not been adequately explored in clinical settings, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. Methods: This was a descriptive phenomenological study. Fifteen (15) nurses and midwives working in labour wards of two hospitals in Ghana were interviewed. Data analysis was guided by the principles of coding by Bailey and the constant comparative approach to generate themes. Ethics approval was obtained from the 37 Military Teaching Hospital Institutional Review Board in Ghana. Results: Three major themes were identified that described the experiences of nurses and midwives regarding their use of non-pharmacological interventions in managing labour pain. These were familiarity with nonpharmacological interventions, perceived benefits of non-pharmacological interventions, and barriers to the use of non-pharmacological interventions in the management of labour pain. Conclusions: While some non-pharmacological pain management interventions were known and used by the nurses and midwives, they were not familiar with a good number of these interventions. Nurses and midwives perceived these interventions to be beneficial yet a number of barriers prevented easy utilisation.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nurses and midwives’ experiences of using non-pharmacological interventions for labour pain management: a qualitative study in Ghana

Boateng

Kumi

Diji

2019

BMC Pregnancy Childbirth

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“…Waterbirth is highly controversial in the United States, [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] despite being an accepted practice in other high-resource nations. [9][10][11][12] Proponents of waterbirth cite anthropological evidence from Odent and Tjarkovsky regarding childbearing traditions that include immersion 13,14 ; the maternal benefits of laboring in water, such as pain relief and reduced stress on tissues secondary to buoyancy 15,16 ; the potential benefits to a neonate of being born into a warm, liquid environment similar to the amniotic fluid 17 ; and a series of studies, mostly small and observational, suggesting no adverse effects for either the laboring woman or the neonate.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Maternal and Newborn Outcomes Following Waterbirth: The Midwives Alliance of North America Statistics Project, 2004 to 2009 Cohort

Bovbjerg¹,

Cheyney²,

Everson³

2016

J Midwife Womens Health

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Introduction: Data on the safety of waterbirth in the United States are lacking. Methods:We used data from the Midwives Alliance of North America Statistics Project, birth years 2004 to 2009. We compared outcomes of neonates born underwater waterbirth (n = 6534), neonates not born underwater nonwaterbirth (n = 10,290), and neonates whose mothers intended a waterbirth but did not have one intended waterbirth (n = 1573). Neonatal outcomes included a 5-minute Apgar score of less than 7, neonatal hospital transfer, and hospitalization or neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) admission in the first 6 weeks. Maternal outcomes included genital tract trauma, postpartum hospital transfer, and hospitalization or infection (uterine, endometrial, perineal) in the first 6 weeks. We used logistic regression for all analyses, controlling for primiparity.Results: Waterbirth neonates experienced fewer negative outcomes than nonwaterbirth neonates: the adjusted odds ratio (aOR) for hospital transfer was 0.46 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.32-0.68; P Ͻ .001); the aOR for infant hospitalization in the first 6 weeks was 0.75 (95% CI, 0.63-0.88; P Ͻ .001); and the aOR for NICU admission was 0.59 (95% CI, 0.46-0.76; P Ͻ .001). By comparison, neonates in the intended waterbirth group experienced more negative outcomes than the nonwaterbirth group, although only 5-minute Apgar score was significant (aOR, 2.02; 95% CI, 1.40-2.93; P Ͻ 0001). For women, waterbirth (compared to nonwaterbirth) was associated with fewer postpartum transfers (aOR, 0.65; 95% CI, 0.50-0.84; P = .001) and hospitalizations in the first 6 weeks (aOR, 0.72; 95% CI, 0.59-0.87; P Ͻ 0.001) but with an increased odds of genital tract trauma (aOR, 1.11; 95% CI, 1.04-1.18; P = .002). Waterbirth was not associated with maternal infection. Women in the intended waterbirth group had increased odds for all maternal outcomes compared to women in the nonwaterbirth group, although only genital tract trauma was significant (aOR, 1.67; 95% CI, 1.49-1.87; P Ͻ .001).Discussion: Waterbirth confers no additional risk to neonates; however, waterbirth may be associated with increased risk of genital tract trauma for women.

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“…Water also has an important role in the further development of every human (Balaskas, 2010, p. 144). If we ask ourselves how to increase the naturalness of birth, the answer is very simple: the only thing we have to do is add water (Harper, 2014).…”

Section: Why Did the Phenomenal Maternity Hospital In Vrchlabí Close?mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Indigenous women from Western Australia paddled out to sea; they came back and gave (Kitzinger, 2012). Již v roce 1849 řekla americká lékařka, že každá žena potřebuje mít k normálnímu porodu teplou mysl (Harper, 2014).…”

Section: History Of Water Birthsunclassified

Being a happy midwife

Lorenzová¹,

Raisnerová²

2020

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The publication Being a happy midwife describes the role of midwives. The first chapter explains the change of the vocation over time, from its very beginning to the challenges of modern times. The publication emphasises community midwifery, as well as the personal commitment that is closely related to this occupation. Therefore, the publication contains special chapters focused on midwifery practices in the hospital in Vrchlabí and on water births. The final chapter is devoted to the challenges of the present time and describes the development of midwifery in the future. All chapters have one common topic: Midwives’ desire to work freely according to their competencies and with full professional responsibility, and thus become happy midwives.

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Birth, Bath, and Beyond: The Science and Safety of Water Immersion During Labor and Birth

Abstract: The 2014 objection to birth in water voiced by both the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American This article reviews the retrospective literature on water birth and explains newborn physiology and the protective mechanisms that prevent babies from breathing during a birth in water.

Cited by 21 publications

References 33 publications

Nurses and midwives’ experiences of using non-pharmacological interventions for labour pain management: a qualitative study in Ghana

Nurses and midwives’ experiences of using non-pharmacological interventions for labour pain management: a qualitative study in Ghana

Maternal and Newborn Outcomes Following Waterbirth: The Midwives Alliance of North America Statistics Project, 2004 to 2009 Cohort

Being a happy midwife

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