Research shows that water births could be on the rise in maternity hospitals

Very interesting.

Whenever I read about other mothers and their water births it makes me wish I'd had one. It was something I thought a lot about on my second pregnancy but never mentioned to my midwife or doctor. In the hospital I was attending water birthing was fairly new and there was a careful screening process for eligible mothers (those seen has having difficult pregnancy or one that had to be closely monitored were not eligible at the time). Now it seems that water births are becoming much more common place as recent research shows that more mothers are requesting them. According to the New York Times there has been a huge increase in the number of women buying or renting birthing pools. This could be due in part to the rise of celebrities using them or simply because there is more awareness of water birthing than there used to be. Long gone are the days when the use of a birthing pool was seen as being a bit 'quirky', now parents are more aware of the benefits of the more calming birth environment that a pool provides. Labour is an extremely stressful time but the more relaxed you can be the less likely you are to cause any damage to your body and the easier it will be for your baby to arrive. Water births are popular for the very reason that they create a soothing environment and they are becoming increasingly common in Ireland with most large maternity hospitals making it a possible option for expectant mums. Knowing now all the benefits of water birthing if I could re-do my last pregnancy over again I would definitely ask my midwife about the possibility of using a birthing pool and would suggest it to any female friends who were thinking of having children in the future.