Giving Birth Under Water

Under water birth is an age old tradition and it is still practiced privately in Egyptian and Hawaiian cultures. The women are allowed to sit in water (preferably lukewarm) at the time of delivery. In some cultures dolphins are said to accompany the pregnant women during the child birth.

It is said that the dolphins act as supporters for the pregnant women. Leaving aside the myths and the legends let us try to understand the scientific side of this practice.

Benefits

It is known that the head of the human baby is relatively larger to the rest of the body. The head is the largest of all animals. Due to this, the brain is at risk due to acute acceleration during delivery. This may damage the nerves of the brain.

That is why delivery on an operation table is done with the doctor who holds the head of the baby to give it support. During the underwater birth, the head is in a buoyant medium and hence is prevented from acceleration related damage.

The water provides a relaxing medium for the mother to breathe easily as she concentrates on the contractions. Water helps in stretching of the pelvis and the perineum. Although the delivery is at a slower pace, the process is safe enough and has shown zero percent of episiotomy rate. Under water birth is as beneficial to the mother as to her baby.

There are several questions regarding how the baby breaths during the delivery. As the child comes out from the uterus, it has sufficient oxygen through the umbilical cord to easily breathe for some time.

Under water birth reports show least number of complications in a normal delivery. It has also shown that water birth helps in recovery of the mother after delivery.

Complications

One main complication that may occur includes infection. The infection may be from the tub used for under water delivery in hospitals. The tub needs to be cleaned thoroughly. Also, due to the water medium, the infant may get infected due to ruptured tissues of the mother.

It is critical that the procedure is undertaken by experts only. Otherwise, risk of umbilical cord getting snapped and consequent blood loss of the baby is high.