Study: Water birth is safe for both mother and baby

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A team of researchers has found that giving birth in a swimming pool may be convenient and healthy for women in low-risk pregnancies.

A new study analyzed more than 87,000 records of women who used a swimming pool during labour, across 26 NHS trusts in England and Wales between 2015 and 2022.

The researchers explored the infant mortality rate, the severe pain experienced by women during childbirth, as well as the number of babies who needed antibiotics or help breathing in the neonatal unit.

Julia Sanders, professor of clinical midwifery at Cardiff University, said: “There are reports that babies can become seriously ill, or even die, after giving birth in water, and that mothers are more likely to experience severe pain or heavy blood loss. We wanted to determine whether births “In the water with NHS midwives is as safe as giving birth out of the water for women and their babies who are at risk of complications.”

The analysis found that one in 20 mothers suffered a severe tear in their first birth, compared to one in 100 mothers who gave birth to a second, third or fourth child.

Three out of every 100 babies needed antibiotics or help breathing, while deaths were rare, with 7 recorded in the water birth group compared to 6 among those born outside the water.

Cesarean section rates were also low, reaching less than 6% for first-time mothers, and less than 1% for mothers who gave birth to their second, third, or fourth child.

Sanders said the results scientifically prove that water birth "was not associated with increased risks to the mother and baby."

Peter Brocklehurst, Emeritus Professor of Women's Health at the Birmingham Clinical Trials Unit, said: “Given that 10% of women use water immersion to relieve pain during labour, the results of this study will have implications for thousands of women every year in the UK and around the world. “Immersion in water during labor is a common practice.”

Professor Chris Gale, a consultant neonatologist at Chelsea and Westminster NHS Foundation Trust in London, added: “Many doctors are concerned that water birth may carry additional risks for babies, but the study found convincing evidence that this is the case for women.” Women who do not have a complicated pregnancy.

The study was published in the journal Obstetrics and Gynecology BJOG.