Re:Is it safe to have my baby in water?
Water births are uncommon in the hospital setting; however, in birthing centers run by midwives, they are relatively common. The woman gets in a tub of warm water for the latter stages of delivery and actually delivers the baby while in the water. The baby is then just lifted out of the water and then it is allowed to cry.
Water births are very safe and the only complication is that if something goes wrong at the end, it is hard to get the mom and baby out of the water to handle the complication. The baby doesn’t have any problems under the water and it hasn’t breathed yet. It is no different from being in the amniotic fluid it has been bathed in for nine months.
As soon as the baby is out of the water, it cries and can be detached from the umbilical cord. Before then, the umbilical cord provides oxygen to the baby while it is under the water. Water births are more comfortable for the mom and are more soothing to the perineum. Most moms who have had a water birth would do it again.
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