Considering a Water Birth? Here's What You Should Know
If you’re exploring your birth options, you’ve likely heard about water birth—a gentle, empowering option that more and more families are choosing. Laboring and birthing in warm water can support your body’s natural rhythms and create a calm, confident experience for both you and your baby.
With a range of physical and emotional benefits backed by research, water birth is worth considering for many expecting families. Let’s explore why.
🌿 Why Choose Water Birth?
Water birth offers a wide variety of benefits, including:
Natural pain relief
Lower risk of medical interventions
Increased relaxation and mobility during labor
Reduced risk of severe perineal tearing
Potential for shorter labor and less postpartum bleeding
Gentler transition for your baby
💧 Physical and Emotional Comfort
Labor is a powerful journey—physically, emotionally, and spiritually. For many, water birth provides a sense of peace that helps reduce fear and tension. The warmth of the water relaxes muscles, eases contractions, and creates a natural support system that helps you trust your body through each stage.
🔥 Natural Pain Management
One of the biggest reasons families choose water birth is for pain relief. The warm water:
Eases muscle tension and contractions
Encourages calm breathing and focus
Helps reduce the need for epidurals or medications
May decrease hospital transfers during home births
📚 In one study, none of the women who labored in water used artificial oxytocin, and only 3.8% used pain medication—compared to 100% in the land birth group.
🧘♀️ Freedom to Move
The buoyancy of water takes pressure off your joints and makes it easier to change positions during labor, helping labor to progress more smoothly and comfortably. This can contribute to:
A greater sense of control
Shorter labor durations
Increased satisfaction with the birth experience
🛡️ Protecting the Perineum
Water immersion softens the perineal tissues, which allows them to stretch more gently as the baby is born. Research shows:
Lower rates of episiotomies in water births
A significant decrease in severe tearing
A possible increase in minor, superficial tears
📚 An Iranian study found a 23% lower episiotomy rate in water births. A Chinese study found similar trends, showing better perineum outcomes in water births than land births.
💗 Safer for You—and Your Baby
Water birth is not only safe—it’s been linked to several positive outcomes:
Lower risk of postpartum hemorrhage:
A 2022 systematic review of 22 studies found that water births were associated with significantly lower blood loss after delivery.
Safe oxygenation for baby:
Babies continue receiving oxygen through the umbilical cord until they surface. They only take their first breath once exposed to air.
Possible reduced risk of GBS transmission:
Some evidence suggests babies born in water may have a lower rate of group B strep infection, a common concern for newborns.
📚 In one trial, only 1 case of GBS occurred among 4,432 water births, compared to 1 in 1,450 in land births.
🏡 Water Birth at Home
Water birth is especially compatible with home birth, where you’re in control of your environment and surrounded by familiar comfort.
✨ If you're planning a home birth in Southwest Missouri, Southeast Kansas, or Northeast Oklahoma, I’d love to support you. I'm Emily Myers, a trained and experienced midwife (CPM) at Crowned With Good Midwifery, and water birth is one of my specialties (I also offer land births 😊).
Ready to Explore Water Birth?
Every birth is different, and what matters most is choosing what feels right for you. For many families, water birth makes all the difference—easing labor, reducing fear, and making space for a truly beautiful beginning.
When the time comes, you can step into the warm water feeling prepared, supported, and ready to meet your baby.
Is a Home Birth right for you?
One of the main reasons people have traditionally chosen to give birth in hospitals—or haven’t questioned it—is the belief that hospitals are inherently safer. And for a time, that was true. However, today’s mothers are generally healthier, receive more comprehensive prenatal care, and benefit from higher living standards. On top of that, advancements in medical technology have transformed maternity care.
All of these factors have contributed to making planned home births just as safe—if not safer—for healthy women as hospital births. This has been consistently demonstrated by numerous studies conducted worldwide. More
When families begin exploring the option of home birth, they often encounter a flood of opinions—and unfortunately, plenty of misinformation. As a midwife, I’ve heard many of the same myths repeated over the years, and I’ve seen how those false ideas can create fear or hesitation around what can be a safe and beautiful way to welcome a baby.
Let’s take a closer look at some of these common myths—and the truth that sets the record straight.
Questions? Want to schedule an interview?
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