Study Finds Water Births Pose No Increased Risk of Complications
Giving birth in a water bath does not increase the risk of complications for either the baby or the mother, according to a recent study.
Researchers at the University of Cardiff reviewed 73,229 records from low-risk pregnancies where water pools were used during labor across 26 NHS organizations in England and Wales between 2015 and 2022.
The analysis examined the rate of severe tears in women who gave birth, the number of babies needing antibiotics or respiratory assistance in the neonatal ward, and the number of babies who died during birth.
The study concluded that the risks for babies and mothers were no higher in water births than in births out of water.
Water births account for about 9% of the nearly 600,000 births in the NHS each year. Clinical guidelines recommend that all expectant mothers be offered the option of a water birth.
Julia Sanders, a professor of clinical midwifery at Cardiff University who led the research, stated that water births are a safe alternative to traditional births. “In the UK, around 60,000 women a year use a birth pool or bath for pain relief in labor, but some midwives and doctors were concerned that water births could carry extra risks,” she said.
“There have been reports suggesting that babies could become seriously ill or even die after water births, and that mothers might experience severe tears or heavy blood loss. We wanted to determine if water births with NHS midwives are as safe as giving birth out of water for women and their babies at low risk of complications.”
Peter Brocklehurst, emeritus professor of women’s health at the Birmingham Clinical Trials Unit, noted, “Given that 10% of women use immersion in water for pain relief in labor, the results of this study will impact thousands of women in the UK and many more around the world, where immersion in water during labor is common practice.”
Prof Chris Gale, a consultant neonatologist at Chelsea and Westminster NHS Foundation Trust in London, commented, “Many paediatricians and neonatologists worry that births in water might carry extra risks for babies, but the study provided convincing evidence that for women with an uncomplicated pregnancy, this is not the case.”
