• BENEFITS FOR THE MOTHER
  • The warm water has an important relaxing effect, which results in a smoother, easier and faster labour.
  • There is an important reduction of pain sensation: it is experienced otherwise: it is more divided over the whole body, moreover the warmth of the water helps to turn the attention away from the pain .
  • A more positive experience of giving birth is created, because women have an active role and everything happens in a non-medical, intimate and relaxing atmosphere (dimmed light, soft music, etc...)
  • After the delivery, I see a faster recuperation of the mother, due to this spontaneous course, and due to the reduction of medical interventions to a minimum. Six weeks after the delivery I see considerably less cervical erosions!
  • The weakening effect of the salt-water on the tissues result in fewer and smaller episiotomies and tears.
  • The fact that everything happens smoothly, without unnecessary rush and stress enables women to have a very positive and conscious experience of their delivery.

• BENEFITS FOR THE BABY
  • The aquatic environment enables the baby to come smoothly and slowly to the outer world, diminishing the birth-trauma considerably.
  • The baby suffers no dangerous side-effects of medication or interventions during labour.

• THE CONTRA - INDICATIONS FOR A WATER - BIRTH ARE
  • Lack of experience of births in and out of the water, and of course not being able to have the attitude to do a delivery in a calm and serene way.
  • Women who are overstressed, hypernervous, and who don't feel comfortable in an aquatic environment, are certainly not good candidates for a water-birth
  • Conditions where pure tap water cannot be provided.
  • General exhaustion of the woman in labour.
  • Degrading foetal heartbeat
  • Meconial amniotic fluid.
  • Transverse position of the baby
  • Not having a normal smooth evolution of a breech labour.
  • An expulsion period that lasts too long without good progression (more than 1 hour - 1 hour 30)
  • Abnormal loss of blood for any reason
  • Placenta praevia, marginalis; solutio placentae
  • Foeto-peivic disproportion
  • Prematurity of the baby, meaning babies with less than 37 w gestation.
  • Important diseases of the mother like diabetes, heart-lung-kidney-liver diseases.
  • Pre - eclampsia
  • Women who have aids, hepatitis B or other important contagious diseases.
  • Women who need an intravenous perfusion for some reason or another.
  • Women who need strong pain killers during labour.
  • Heavy foetal anomalies
  • Great expectancy of a heavy baby, because it gives an important risk for shoulder dystocia.

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