Medical Insider Choose your ground: Land or Water? — Published in Healthcare India, September 2018 issue
Waterbirth is a new age birthing practice and it is becoming popular due to those adorable YouTube videos. Contrary to the
common belief, water birth is safe and has more benefits than you could ever imagine, writes SURELA CHAKRABORTY. Read on to learn about this great birthing alternative in INDIA
Literature and old films portray a mother screaming with labour pain while the midwife and the other ladies of the house gather around her in the birth room while the anxious father and male relatives wait outside the room to hear the first cry’. In the modern era, the mother is wheeled into the operation theatre or labour room where either a C-section takes place or a normal delivery on land happens. Here the question arises, ‘Is it the memory of only pain that she takes home?’ For it has always been portrayed as screaming mothers on the labour bed holding on to the latches as she pushes for the baby birth. Yes, giving birth is never painless, but helping a mother to manage the pain better is where the role of a medically educated and experienced, the professional midwife comes.
The extraordinary levels of pain relief the mother-about-to-be feels when in water.” It helps the mother to give birth on water or land! The endearing videos of a mother holding the newborn infant inside the water tub as the family gathers around her to celebrate the joyous moment have made many teary-eyed as well as curious. Mothers who have given birth in the water have said how wonderful their experience has been and how, if given a chance they would opt for a water birth again. Waterbirth which is now beginning to gain popularity in India is just another variation of the natural birth of ‘birth on land. Medical research shows that water birth is not just a craze and that its benefits are backed by scientific evidence and it empowers the mother during her entire childbearing process.
A deep sense of relaxation comes about as the mother enters the warm water tub. The buoyancy of water provides her with the flexibility to move and change positions far more easily while giving birth. Warm water is used but not hot since the temperature should reflect the internal body temperature, for the safety of the baby. The warm water relaxes the muscles and tissues instantly. The mother finds it easy to deal with the intense pain of contractions without any medical interventions. Since the mother is able to relax in the privacy of water, the chances of perineal tearing are lesser compared to birth on land.
Why choose water birth?
Dr. Vijaya Krishnan, one of the most well-known midwives in the country, and the founder of Sanctum, which is one of India’s Premium Natural Birth Centers is located in Hyderabad, points out, “Waterbirth over C-Section to me is not a comparison at all. Waterbirth is just a variation of natural birth, except that it happens with the mom birthing underwater — of course with certain protocols, like there has to be a certain amount of water to cover the mother, the water has to be clean with a temperature ranging between 97–99 degrees, etc. but the basic thing you are looking at as an advantage is
There is a private bubble around the mother where only the birthing partner encourages her, along with a skilled midwife to monitor and assist. Dr. Vijaya Krishnan aptly describes, “Mom is the powerhouse as her body does the enormous work of birthing a baby; my job as a midwife is to hold her space and to keep her safe and monitored. It is more about the comfort and the ease with which she herself opens up for her baby and the baby comes into a gentle environment.
The mother-baby bond is also known to be stronger when one opts for this kind of birthing and the process is also more peaceful.” What research says… Dr. Vijaya points out, “A woman’s body is perfectly capable of giving birth unless there are extenuating circumstances. In a cesarean birth, the mother has no control over her body.
Moreover, current research points out, when a baby is born through the vaginal canal, the pH of the vaginal canal changes as she starts to push, and the baby is exposed to a large amount of good bacteria. This good bacteria gets deposited in the baby’s stomach and that enhances immunity. But in C-Section the baby is brought out abdominally, and it doesn’t get a chance to come in contact with the mother’s healthy bacteria. Research also points out that the mother’s microbiome closely mirrors her great grandmother’s microbiomes.” Now if you look at cesarean birth, it takes place in a sterile environment where the doctor cuts the abdomen open and going through the layers brings the baby out and cuts off the umbilical cord. The baby is separated from the mother at birth.
The mother is under medications and is too tired to respond. Thirty-five years of study has emphasized that there is a rise in autoimmune disorders in the cases of cesarean birth. However, this doesn’t mean that one should hesitate to opt for cesarean birth if the situation demands it; it is a life-saving surgery in many cases. Cesarean birth should be a last resort when a natural birth fails to happen. If the mother is suffering from diabetes, high blood pressure, maternal infections and fever, excessive bleeding, preterm
labour, if the position of the baby is not right inside the mother’s womb, the mother is expected to give birth to multiples are some
extraordinary circumstances when the doctor might suggest C-section. Also, due to a sedentary lifestyle, the pelvic area becomes stiff and weak thus giving birth becomes difficult. Modern mothers tend to labour for more hours than their grandmothers. So prenatal exercise is very important if one wants to give birth in water.
Unfortunately, there is a lot of fear in the whole community regarding natural birth. Dr. Vijaya emphasizes that the word ‘natural itself means “It is by the body, of the body, and for the body.” She informs, “There is a huge gap in the medical education in terms of the physiology of birth, and bringing that back, has to be the first step.”
Sometimes, grandmothers who had perfectly normal birth want their granddaughters to have a cesarean birth and do not want them to suffer the labour pain. People are not ready to break the cycle of C-section for they think it is ‘risk-free’. Sometimes, land birth that is termed ‘natural’ is hardly so, because the vaginal area is sterilized, so the healthy microbiomes are wiped away, and a large cut is made to enlarge the vaginal opening. The mother’s legs are held in an unnatural position with background screams of ‘push, push.’
This creates a pathological fear in the mind of mothers and her family regarding natural birth. However, if she is encouraged by her doctor that it is perfectly normal to give birth ‘naturally both in land and water then they will feel assured. Water birth is as simple as it sounds since it reduces the stress and the span of labour pain. The mother is not given any pain killers but is helped to deal with pain
efficiently and that also reduces the chances of cesarean birth or any other complications.
The mother will have enough energy to breastfeed the child and even walk after giving birth. So, women who are working professionals or are aware of different birthing practices are approaching the new age birthing centers and are switching back to natural methods to give birth, which is safe and beneficial for their bodies and their babies, and of course more comfortable postpartum, than C-Section.
