Water has always been known for its soothing properties and we all know how good it feels to take a hot bath after a stressful day at work.
Water has always been used to give birth in as history shows us this, a birth was once a community event and women used the local rivers and streams to have their children in. Perhaps this was because pain relief was virtually non existant and the water was a natural pain relief. Labouring in water has been proven to be upto 40% less painful than any other conventional birth using no form of pain relief.
Russia was the first country to make a purpose built birthing pool in the 1950s, since then there has been a steady increase in the demand for birthing pools. Birthing pools are now quite commonplace in America and most of Europe, however,it is relatively recent that the U.K has developed an interest in water birth. There is a lack of decent information on water births in the
U.K but even still the amount of people opting for a water birth in the United Kingdom is most definately growing. Perhaps people's attitudes are changing, some see water births as the trendier option to the run of the mill birth experience or maybe as a more holistic way to welcome your newborn into the world. |
