Many parents and caregivers express concerns about the safety of water births, particularly for the baby. When considering water birth it is important to remember that there can be health problems for all mothers and babies, whether the baby is born in water or not. If a problem does occur, deciding whether it was a direct result of the water birth, or whether it would have happened anyway is an aspect that needs to be examined.
In over 22, 000 documented water births in recent years there have been very few complications that can be directly connected with the actual water birth. The following is a summary of the main complications that are possible or have been reported in relation to water births.
Baby breathing in water
Infection for the mother
Infection for the baby
Cleaning the bath / pool
The placenta and bleeding
The temperature of the water
Too many red blood cells
Baby breathing in water
The most common question asked by people interested in water birth is 'What if the baby breathes in water?' While this is always a theoretical possibility, it is an extremely rare complication. Newborn babies have a natural 'diving reflex'. When their faces and head are born under the water, the liquid stimulates the nerves on their face allowing the baby to sense the water. Their desire to take a breath in is automatically stopped and their larynx (the opening to their lungs) closes over.
This means that the baby can cope with 'waiting' for the next contraction (3 to 5 minutes) with just their head out in the water until their body is born (this is the part that most people become concerned about). They still receive oxygen from the mother through the umbilical cord at this stage. Once the baby's body is born, the umbilical cord tends to 'spasm' soon after, reducing the blood flow (and oxygen) to the baby. (A pulsating cord does not mean the baby is receiving oxygen, it is simply a sign that the heart is beating).