A water birth is where a birthing person delivers their child in a tub of warm water. Some hospitals offer tubs for women to labor in, but many do not allow you to deliver your baby in the tub. Many birthing centers have birthing tubs, and some homebirth midwives provide a portable birthing tub to be used during labor and delivery in the comfort of your home.
My first child was born at home with a skilled midwife, and delivered in the comfort of my own bed. When I got pregnant a second time, after an uncomfortable miscarriage, I considered trying a new homebirth experience that would include laboring and delivering my baby in a tub.
I had always wanted an aqua birth – one where my orgasmic birthing body gracefully pushed my baby into a spa-like tub, and my relaxed arms pulled her out of the water to the sound of meditation music and candlelight.
That was not exactly my experience, but it was still magical.
To have a home birth, you must prepare.
First, you prepare your body for a homebirth by attending weekly visits with your midwives throughout your pregnancy.
This ensures that you are healthy, baby is healthy, and that having a homebirth is completely safe for everyone involved.
Having prenatal visits at home meant that my first born child could join in on the visits and participate in my check-ins. Her pretend play consisted of many baby check-ups and deliveries.
Then, you prepare your home.
You stock the house full of supplies you need for the birth, such as all of the towels, blankets, extra sheets, absorbent chux pads, food, clothes, electrolyte drinks – supplies that would have been provided to you by the hospital, and more.
If you decide to labor or deliver in a birthing tub, you must set that up as well! Tub preparation requires assembling the structural components, inflating the tub itself, coving the tub with a plastic liner, filling the tub with water, then time for the water inside to heat up to the right temperature for labor, which can take a few hours depending on the tub.
I was prepared to have a second home birth
I had planned for a home birth for my second child. If you’d like to know why, check out my first home birth story and my post about why you should consider a home birth.
My family, friends, and obstetrician said, “Oh, sure, that makes sense,” even though they had considered me completely crazy for making this choice the first time.
Apparently, no one was as concerned about my second labor as they were with my first.
Does that sound familiar?
I’ve heard so many stories about parents fussing about every squeak their first baby makes, but then relaxing with the second baby, saying “Eh, they’ll be okay” when they cry. It appears that people are more relaxed about everything for the second kid, even from the very beginning!
My obstetrician said it best, though: once you’ve had a healthy birth and baby, they are worried about subsequent pregnancies.
It was nice to have everyone on board with my decision this time.
My expectations were low.
Since my first labor took over a day to progress, I denied any indication that this time would be any different. I had hoped with all of my being that I would have a shorter labor; an average, 12-hour labor would have been great!
When I felt contractions on and off throughout the day, I brushed them off as my body just ‘warming up.’ Things weren’t really happening yet, no big deal.
My parents came for dinner in the hopes that I would start active labor that night. They put pressure on me by constantly asking “Is anything happening?” and “Are you in labor?”
I scoffed, “I don’t know, maybe!”
They decided to stick around and help with our oldest. My parents helped her go to sleep, and gave my partner and me space to take a walk, talk, mentally prepare, and let things “happen.”
Well, things happened, and fast!
I felt excited as I walked back into my house. I felt contractions coming more frequently and was reassured that labor had actually started. I sat in the shower to wash away my nervousness, and mentally prepare myself for the long journey ahead.
My parents told me that our oldest was already asleep, so there was one less thing for me to worry about. My husband joked about going to get me a milkshake. I really wanted one in the wee hours of my first labor, but everything was closed at that time, so he thought I should start this time with the milkshake I never had.
Although I was tempted, I suggested that he get started on setting up the tub instead.
The contractions started to come more quickly.
While my dad and husband unfolded the tub and began the laborious task of filling it with warm water, I couldn’t stop rocking, moving, and moaning as my contractions peaked.
Oh, the pain of labor is something I cannot even begin to describe. It is as if you’re completely normal for a few seconds, then someone wrenches your body into the tightest most painful squeeze, and then suddenly it eases, and everything is fine again. It is nutso.
I paced my kitchen, feeling waves of pain and heat, requesting a heat pad for a moment, then throwing it down because I was too hot, asking for someone, anyone, to squeeze my hips then shouting, “Don’t touch me!”
I didn't trust my progress.
I still didn’t believe that I was that far along. My last birth felt so long, that I couldn’t let my heart be let down again thinking I was close to the end of the strenuous labor when really I was just beginning.
But the contractions and surges were coming on strong and quick. I didn’t think I could make it at this intensity level for 12-28 hours.
My midwife called and asked if she should come by. I replied with an “I don’t know?” Lucky for me, she could tell by my voice that my labor was progressing quickly, and headed straight to my house.
I texted my doulas who said they would start to make their way over, too. I told them to take their time, “labor had just begun!” I thought.
I felt like I was going to overheat.
I told my partner that I needed to go outside. I didn’t want to wake my neighbors with my loud moans, but labor was taking over my body and I had to cool down.
I walked slowly to the front door, down the long hallway, in my dress and compression socks. I rocked and danced through a contraction or two on our porch, trying to catch my breath without waking the neighbors.
Until a sudden urge to pee overcame me.
I ran as fast as my 9-month pregnant body could carry me. The second I entered the bathroom I leaned on my husband for a strong contraction and then I felt a woosh as a huge splat of water hit the tile floor and ricocheted throughout my bathroom.
“Ahh!” I screamed, then “Eww, there is water everywhere…”
My mom came running in, more concerned about me slipping than anything else, and suddenly I was being whisked to the tub. The midwife said that I should get undressed and labor in the tub.
I was in shock.
My water just broke!
How was this happening so fast? It had only been two hours since my walk.
Time to labor in the birthing tub
Naked and in disbelief, I stepped into the tub.
Then came another contraction, then another one, then another one!
I told my husband to go get changed if he wanted to join me in the tub. He was hoping to catch the baby but couldn’t if he was outside and still in his jeans.
Everyone around me was moving around quickly – my mom played calming music in the background, my parents ran to grab the cameras, my husband was changing, and my midwife was quickly setting up all she needed for labor.
Meanwhile in the tub, I felt the urge to push.
“This can’t be happening so fast,” I said. “I think I need to push! Is everything ok? Is my body ok? Will my body be ok?” I wondered. The midwife reassured me to trust my body, to follow its lead, to try not to worry.
Not worrying felt next to impossible, especially as I reached down between my legs and realized that my baby’s head was already there.
“Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god!” I shouted. My husband hopped in the pool to brace what was coming next.
First the head came, then a pause, then the rest of her soft body slithered out, guided by the sweet hands of my husband and midwife.
I’ve seen waterbirth videos that show a baby being brought out of the water and straight onto their mother’s chest or into their arms right after delivery. This was not that.
As my sweet baby emerged from the now very bloody pool (normal blood, don’t worry!), we quickly realized that she was entangled in the umbilical cord. The cord was wrapped around her body so tightly that she couldn’t fully come out of the water.
In a frantic move to free her from the entanglement, my midwife tried to pull off the cord, then my husband tried to pull it over the baby’s head. Nothing seemed to work. I reached to help but was told to “let the do it.”
I immediately saw how they could unwrap her from the clutches of this extra-long umbilical cord with a simple twirl and twist of her torso.
Her sweet body disentangled, she was finally placed upon my chest to rest and cry with me. What a ride.
My new miracle baby was here, and she was perfect.
It was around 10pm when my mom woke up our eldest child to say Hello to the new little life that sprung into the world so fast our doulas did not arrive in time.
Our new family of four sat in our family bed as our birth team and family gathered around us to recant the story of my fast labor and birth, to eat a quick meal, and to marvel in the magic of life.
My review of using a tub during labor and delivery
Although my labor was fast, I still was able to experience laboring and birthing in a tub.
Here are six reasons why I am glad I did:
It was relaxing to get into the warm water
It took weight off my body and relieved areas that I had experienced pain, such as my back and legs
The weightless feeling allowed me to labor and push in different positions that would have been uncomfortable out of the pool, such as on my hands and knees
The mess of childbirth felt less apparent while in the tub. Normally, a lot of bodily fluids come with the baby during childbirth. When birthing in a tub, all of those fluids just became part of the water you are sitting in, instead of something that needs to be absorbed or wiped up by towels and pads
I was happy to share the birth experience with my partner. Having him in the pool with me gave me comfort, as he supported me during labor and could catch our baby
Although our birth team was around us, it felt intimate in the pool, as if it was just the two of us in the birthing space
I would recommend giving birth in a tub for anyone considering a home birth.
Have you had a water birth? Or know someone else who has? What questions do you have? Share in the comments below!
The “Road to Mamahood” series will continue over the course of a few posts to share my journey from infertility to pregnancy and then through two homebirths. Please continue the story here:
“Wait, I’m Pregnant?” How I found out I was pregnant after being told I could never have kids. (Road to Mamahood Series, Part 2)
How I Delivered a Baby Safely at Home with a Midwife. (Road to Mamahood Series, Part 3)
Puerto Rican & Indigenous mama of two. Bay Area native. Salsa dancer. Backpacker. Doula. Angel (she/her/hers) is a co-founding member of the Beautiful Brown Adventures team. She has traveled to over 30 countries and loves to explore the world with her two daughters & partner - one ice cream shop at a time.
