SarahH wrote:ockysmith wrote:In my experience if you're not keen on water outside of labour you won't be keen on it in labour.
Personally for me I couldn't imagine labour/birth on dry land - I've done it once and hated it, it was horrible compared to the warm private sanctuary of my pool - but I'm a huge water baby, I adore swimming, I crave a hot bath at the slightest ache or pain and spend most of the summer in a hot tub!
I guess the only way to know is to try, if you're in hospital and the pool isn't in use then it's free - nothing lost - but I could imagine it would be quite galling being at home - spending £100+ (even the cheap inflatables work out to about this once you have all the correct kit) and finding you hated it.
You certainly don't need to use a pool to have a great homebirth or HypnoBirth anyway. I'd say about 25% of my clients have waterbirths.
HTH
Sarah
Hello you!! Long time no speak! How are things with you? I hope business, family life etc is going well for you.
Hmmmm I do like water in some cases I suppose, and I guess I won't really know until I try it. But I was interested that you said you couldn't imagine birth on dry land and that you hated it - was that a Hypnobirth too?
I'm surprised that only 25% of your clients have waterbirths as I thought it would be much higher. Does that 25% include all that labour in the water as well, or just those who give birth? It shows that more people prefer no water I suppose, and I wouldn't be that strange in not wanting a water birth!
Thanks!
Sarah x (Holland)
I'm guessing you are pregnant? congratulations!
My dry land labour/birth was just hypnosis, not HypnoBirthing. I knew before I had children I wanted to labour and birth in water, that is predominantly the reason I chose homebirths (to guarantee a pool) and what led me to using hypnosis. It's that important to me.
Waterbirth really isn't all that popular I don't think. "My" homebirth rates are sitting at around 40% at the moment and less than half of those mums choose to use a pool at any point in labour (of all the mums who have laboured in it -and who haven't transferred- all of the babies were born in water), of the hospital births probably only about 10% choose to labour/birth in water (and all of the local hospitals I cover provide the facilities).
It's certainly something we cover in the classes in the basic syllabus (some practitioners moreso than others - I do a bit extra as I agent for a pool firm, run seperate waterbirth classes sometimes and also run the local NCT homebirth group so it comes up there quite a bit) and fits in very well with the whole ethos (which is why Mickey covers it a lot in the book) of HypnoBirthing, plus if you go further into the non NeoCortex stimulation theory (Michel Odent mostly) then it is a very obvious tool to use in labour - BUT - it's the same with everything, the best thing for you in labour is just that - for you - not for everybody else, if it makes you uncomfortable then it doesn't matter if 99.9% of other people found it great. Some women like active birth/birthing balls and the like, some take themselves by surprise and like laying on the bed the whole time!
Personally, from what you've said I wouldn't bother with a pool if you want to stay at home, unless you can borrow one, but would give it a go in hospital if they have one free.
