What is Water Birthing?
Water birthing is a method of giving birth where the mother delivers her child in a bathtub or basin full of warm water. The first recorded account of an underwater birth was in 1805 in France. The woman was reported to be exhausted after 48 hours of labor. After being placed in a tub of water, she was revived and was able to give birth to a healthy infant. Since that event, water birth has been promoted as a natural and safe method of pain relief and relaxation during labor. [http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6W9P-4CDYKYJ-F&_coverDate=05%2F31%2F2004&_alid=314732197&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_qd=1&_cdi=6688&_sort=d&view=c&_acct=C000006878&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=86629&md5=93c3aea09bc559de83e1f8256db26e40#bib4] Who uses it? Water birth is a leading alternative to the conventional bed delivery practiced by most U.S. hospitals. The exact number of water births is unknown because of a lack of literature and record of the manner of births. It is know that a