Water Birth Vs. Traditional Birth

Used more in Europe than the United States, water birth lets women endure labor and/or give birth in water. Some are wary of the practice, but proponents say it is easier on baby and Mom than births performed in other ways.

Location

• Traditional deliveries usually take place in a bed. Water births usually take place in "birthing pools," which are tubs of warm water. The water temperature regulated.

Safety

• According to a Swiss study by the Clinic for Obstetrics and Gynecology of 2,000 water births, water birth and bed births have the same degree of safety for mothers and babies. Water-birth research is still young.

Pain Relief

• Water birth reduces the need for painkillers during labor, though BabyCentre UK says the presence of midwives might be the reason. The American Pregnancy Association says water birth allows the body to release pain-killing endorphins, while in traditional delivery, local anesthesia (epidural, pudendal block, spinal block) is often used.

Tearing and Episiotomy

• Because the perineum is more relaxed and elastic, women delivering via water birth have less tearing and a decreased need for an episiotomy than women delivering babies traditionally. This holds true even when mothers only spend part of labor in water.

Forceps Use

• Forceps use is not needed in water deliveries as often it is in traditional births.

Better Blood Circulation

• Spending labor in water makes for better blood circulation, which means more oxygen for the mother's uterine muscles, as well as for the baby, according to the American Pregnancy Association.