Water Birth - A Review Of 969 Deliveries And A Comparison With Other Delivery Positions

Purpose: The object of our study was to analyze 969 consecutive water births and compare them with other delivery positions.Methods: We compared 969 water births, 515 deliveries in the traditional bed, and 172 deliveries on the delivery stool. Duration of labor, rates of episiotomies and lacerations, arterial cord blood pH, analgesic requirements and postpartum maternal hemoglobin levels were analyzed.Results: The first stage of labor was significantly shorter in primiparas with water birth compared with the other delivery positions (381 vs. 473 min). There were no differences in the duration of the second stage. The low episiotomy rate with the water births (0,52% compared with 17,2% and 7,6% for the other two positions) was not associated with an increased rate of perineal lacerations (23% in all three groups). Of the primiparas, 58% had no lacerations with water birth compared with 36% and 48% for the other positions, respectively. No woman with water birth required analgesics. There were no differences among the groups in arterial cord blood pH, in base-excess or postpartal maternal hemoglobin level.Conclusions: Our results suggest that water birth is associated with a significantly shorter first stage of labor, a lower episiotomy rate, fewer perineal lacerations, and reduced analgesic requirements compared with other delivery positions. Water birth appears to be safe for the mother and the fetus-neonate if candidates are selected appropriately.