WATERBIRTH SAFE FOR MOTHER, INFANT

Giving birth in water, also known as immersion labour and delivery or waterbirth, appears safe for mother and baby, at least when it takes place in a hospital.

Increasing numbers of women choose to labour and give birth in water, particularly in midwiferyled settings, so it is important to understand the benefits and possible risks for women and their newborns.

Dr Elizabeth R. Cluett from University of Southampton in the UK and colleagues evaluated the effects of water immersion during labour and/ or birth using information from 15 studies involving a total of 3,663 women.

Immersion had no meaningful effect on rates of spontaneous vaginal delivery, vaginal delivery with the help of forceps or other devices, or cesarean section, the authors reported in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.

Women who went through the first stage of labour with immersion were slightly less likely than women without immersion to need an epidural.

There was not enough information to determine whether waterbirth affected the rates of moderate to severe tears in the perineum, the area between the vagina and the anus, or the amount of blood loss during labour and delivery.

There was no proof that immersion increased unwanted effects regardless of the stage of labour when immersion took place.