Does water really help that much with contraction pain?

[maz]

I was dragged out of the bath by the midwife because I kept falling alseep but yes helped me heaps but then so did the shower as Olive said you can direct the water pressure for were you need it by rotating around

[MrsB26]

Oh i loved loved loved the shower. I liked that icould direct the shower head from my back to my belly and it felt like a distraction from the contraction. Once it got really intense i got in the bath. The midwife had to practically drag me out after 4 hours as i was running a fever and she didnt want tme to get any hotter. I'll tell you, once i got out the contractions felt a zillion times worse
This time i'm hoping to stay in and birth in the bath if it works as good for the pain as it did with ds.

[studentmum]

LOVED the warm water - I didn't even have a bath/birth pool but boy oh boy do I want one for #4, with DS the warm shower was DIVINE

The problem with the shower was, it got too steamy, with the pool even if it is warm out you can have a fan in your face to cool off...love it.

Sarah

[briggsy's girl]

i went from nothing to 7cm in less than 2 hours using water for pain relief. the hospital birthing suite had two shower heads that you could direct anywhere, so as contractions hit, i had one on my belly one on my back - it wasn't pain that ended up getting to me, it was shear exhaustion as the prelabour after having the gels for the induction had stopped me sleeping the two previous nights and i just couldn't stand up (and sitting wasn't working as well). i was hooked up to every maching under the sun, so a bath was a no go - but given the relief the heat and water gave me, i reckon a bath owuld have been perfect!