Ok I have decided to aim for a water birth for this pickle for a number of reasons, but DH is the sort that questions & researches everything and he needs info on the technicalities of it all. We have just had hysterical hormonal tears over his negative attitude to anything outside the box (mainly my birth plan, which is not that abnormal!). He took mortal offense to me *cough*yelling*cough* that its not about what he's comfortable with, he's not the one effing pushing this baby out
So! He wants to know stats on infections, complications etc etc and pretty much pros and cons.
TIA!
I'll have a look through my links for you, but perhaps a good place to start would be sitting down and getting him to watch some videos of some waterbirths. They are pretty amazing to see for the most part, particularly if he has never seen one before or has preconceived notions about what they are/how they work.
Personal testimony, I have had one dry land and one waterbirth - It was wonderful.. not going back to non-waterbirth again.
This is the research links page of Waterbirth International Research Documents which should give him plenty of light reading. Show him the website of the woman birthing in a koi pond with the fish 'helping' that should make a birthpool pretty normal!
thanks for the link, i would like to have a water birth next time around after having to have a CS the first time due to complications. my hubby is the same, althoug I haven't had the emotional "its my body" reaction but i did tell him that it was my choice, to which he said no the baby is mine too.. ugh.
It is you going through the birth, but of course he's worried for the safety of his baby too. I can sympathize! The good news is you can show him that waterbirth is perfectly OK for you and baby. Definitely show him some waterbirth videos, and you can read through my two waterbirth stories, if you want. (If you go to the homebirth story list, it's Emily's birth, and Anna's birth. Seth's birth is also my story, and I laboured in water there, but had to get out to deliver because he wasn't budging.)
Waterbirth has been shown in some early studies to reduce the GBS infection rate in newborns.
I'll come back later - got to run.
cricket- i know, i apologised for that this morning lol!! awesome i will get him to read them, thanks! his main concerns stem from DS birth cos it was a massive drama from start to finish and waterbirth adds another unknown IYKWIM. im getting a hypnobirthing book/cd combo in a few weeks as well, they compliment each other apparently?
I think it is his responsibility to research it if he is concerned.
You are right in that it is you pushing the baby out, and you need to do what works for you and to be comfortable with your decisions. No need to apologise for stating the truth. If he has fears then he needs to work through them so that he can support you.
If your hospital supports waterbirth, then they should also have resources available to you on waterbirth.
Personally, water is a great pain reliever, it can give a sense of privacy/security, the buoyancy can help you get in positions for birthing and it can reduce chance of tears.
i have spent the day bombarding him with links and videos from that earlier link ambersky posted and just from google. i also found a beautiful hypnobirthing waterbirth vid on youtube that i sent him. he wouldnt know where to start, he would prob ask his mum (who is a midwife at the hospital where im birthing) and her response would be along the lines of it can help, or it can be better... something very vague and hospitally. she is pretty conservative in her birth opinions so he tends to follow her lead. thankfully most of the midwives at the hosp are pretty open with birth choices (babyfriendly accredited or something) otheriwse i would be homebirthing. i am seeing the midwife on tues so i will be asking her for any hosp info they have on waterbirth.
I was just going to post the link that HotI shared with you. The article that Kelly wrote has a lot of good info.
Also, it might help for him to think about what exactly worries him about waterbirth. You'll be in the water labouring for a couple hours, most likely, (it helps a LOT, IMO!) but in most cases, as soon as the baby is born, you scoop them up onto your chest, so baby is in the water for only a few seconds. Babies don't breathe under water, and in any case, the baby is still being supplied with oxygen from the placenta. So there's not really any reason to worry about the baby. Fetal monitoring can be done intermittently with a doppler just like with a "land" delivery.
Some midwives are not familiar enough with water birth to assess blood loss in the water, so you might have to get out fairly soon after baby is delivered, just so that they can be sure about how much you're bleeding. That's the only real concern that I can think of for you with a waterbirth. And if the midwife is familiar with waterbirth, that wouldn't be an issue either. But you'll probably be ready to get out fairly soon anyways.
2012 BellyBelly RAK Recipient.
sources needed for water birth info.
mg: omg what!? *runs off to look!*
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