Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Fancy a Swim?

I love waterbirths, I have always loved them. My second child was born in the water and my first would have been if the hospital had "allowed" it, at least I was "allowed" to labor in the water. The funny thing about waterbirths is that they are wet ;) and there is a lot of water involved...splashing water, dripping water, sloshing water...you get the point. I have joked with the owner of our birth center that she should buy us wet suit tops so that we don't end up looking like contestants in a wet t-shirt concert....

It was her second baby and she was doing beautifully. Her husband was great and she had a fabulous doula. As her labor progressed, she moved into the pool and soon after her husband joined her. This if course, raised the water level pretty high, so I was on bucket brigade and removed some of the water. She started pushing while on her hands and knees, then she moved to squatting, followed by leaning back into her husbands arms. With each move she got a little bit further away from me...and I leaned a little bit more over the side of the pool. Then as her babe started to crown, she pushed her legs against the sides of the pool, pinned her husband against the back of the pool and sat on the pool bottom. Now, I am a pretty hands off midwife, especially in the water, but I do like to feel for cords and make sure it is ok for Mama to bring/pull her babe up out of the water. (Also, it can be a little difficult for a baby to emerge when its Mama is sitting.) So, I ended up basically in the pool from the waist up, gently lifting/encouraging Mama to squat and make room for baby. Her son was very soon born and was welcomed into the loving arms of both Mama and Papa. I looked like a drowned cat and was literally dripping all over the floor...my hair was wet, my shirt was soaked (along with my bra), my pants were wet and the water dripped down into my shoes. And we all laughed. I love waterbirths!

1 comment:

  1. i LOVE waterbirths, too! (i have only just barely had any experience with them, with my first two in the past week - but they were such beautiful, calm births, i can't imagine *not* loving them) i didn't get quite as wet as it sounds like you did -- but did end up with one shoulder-length veterinary glove full of water after the second :)

    i can imagine that waterbirths in a home birth or birth center setting are just that much better than in the hospital setting, too....

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