Does anyone have any experiences of water births -good or bad? I had never considered it as an option before but spoke to someone recently who said how wonderful it was. We have 3 weeks to go now and any advice would be greatly appreciated!!

OH's nephew's wife was planning to have a water birth a couple of months ago, but it never happened because she was overdue with a very large baby and they had to abandon the home birth. She ended up having to have a caesarean. Fortunately they were very close to the hospital and it all turned out fine in the end :) It was their first baby which probably didn't help :)

Good luck with your baby :)

Daisy

Oh I soooo wanted a water birth second time round.  We moved house and I wanted a specific hospital that had a birthing pool so got my new dr to put me down for that hospital to discover their pool was out of action for maintenance!  So never did have one!  I thought it would be a wonderful way to give birth!

Good luck - gosh time has flown - 3 weeks - you must be very excited!

Hope all your crew are well!

I dont know if it is the same rule for all hospitals but i know at my local hospital the lady has to have no known complications and basically have had a very plain sailing pregnancy also without any complications.  The pool room or Lilypad :D as it is called at our hospital is lovely though and i would say the pool is about two and a half times the size of a standard bath and about twice as deep.  Th only thing i would say against it and this is just my opinion,  is that in terms of blood and mess it almost always looks much worse than a normal delivery room after the birth.  I know the general feeling from talking to ladies who have had a waterbirth and a normal birth is that they felt alot more relaxed.  Good luck with whatever you decide :)

Its the same at my nearest hospital regarding who can use the pool.  Only for those with "normal pregnancies" and low risk.  High risk pregnancies, ie previous c-section, large baby, multiple, premature etc were not able to use them due to the increased risks.  (unfortunately I fell into this category), but having spoken to my SIL who is a midwife, she reckons yes they are extremely good at easing the pain.  Women feel more relaxed in the water (if that is possible).  Some prefer to labour outside the water and just go in during the "transition stage" to give birth and some the other way round. However, She did mention that some men feel "left out" as they can't get really close to the action so to speak (unless they wanted to get in of course! ) :D

Hope everything goes ok. :)

Waterbirths can be very calming, and helps you to relax, which in turn help your body to produce more of it's own pain relieving hormones (endorphins).  The baby will also arrive into the warm moist environment and be much calmer, more ready to feed and you will instantly be able to hold your baby against your skin which has many known benefits.
You do not need to 'plan' for a waterbirth.  Just have a think about it, find out what you can and then decide if it's for you once you're in labour.  You can hire a pool for a home birth, or if you're having your baby in a hospital, then contact them and go and have a look.  Ask about the general availability of the pool, are all the midwives experienced in waterbirth?  In what circumstances can you NOT use the water?  This will generally be any known medical conditions, previous section, prem labour.  High blood pressure is not usually a no-no as water can lower BP.  However pre-eclampsia is a no-no. 
Leave your options open.  Try the water during labour and you will soon know if you like it or not.  You don't have to stay in for the birth unless you want to.
You can use gas and air but no other pain relief, but usually the effect of the water is enough. 
Have a look at the Association of Radical Midwives website for more info. 
Good luck with your baby, it will be the most marvellous thing you've ever done.

Thank you for all your replies. We went to have a look round the hospital last week and saw the pool then, which made me consider it an option. My blood pressure has been fine throughout pregnancy, the only problem I have had recently is terrible backache and the only thing which seems to help relieve this is a nice hot bath. The thought that put me off was the thought of the mess!! but there is going to be mess however the baby comes out!
The past 8 1/2 months has wizzed by so fast Rachel! I asked the Dr when I first found out we were expecting, how long it would be before it sank in, she relied 9 months and she was right! I am aprehensive, just not knowing when and how things will start. Been having lots of Braxton Hicks and Dr thinks it may be early!! EEK!

My sister is a midwife and gave birth to her daughter in the pool and loved it said she was so glad she did it, she was the only water specialist midwife at her hospital in California which made for an interesting time giving instructions on what to do when whilst having contractions lol.  I know you have to wait until a certain point before getting into the pool just can't remember how far dialated (sp?) you need to be don't think its too much.  If I had my time again I'd go for a waterbirth but unfortunatley in my day they weren't around so missed out on that one.

Takes me back to when we did our hospital tour when I was pregnant with my first!  I came out and just sat in the car saying I'm going to have a baby!!! over and over!

I too was worried how will I know when I'm in labour etc. and everyone said you will know - and I did too!  Just woke up and knew that it was the day - was surprisingly calm.

Sarah - You will know honey honestly and it is painful but it is sooo worth it in the end - and yes you do forget the pain straight away!

All the best and keep your feet up and plenty of warm baths!

I will let you know how things go. Baby can't arrive too early as I have entered my new baby pup for his first show at Birmingham on the 13th 

I must admit I contemplated a water birth myself, it looks so relaxing and calming on the tv, but I don't know in the end I went oh naturelle, I just thought in the end, I'm not a fish, I'm not supposed to give birth in water, old fashioned maybe, but as your title suggests you wouldn't expect a dog to do it in water, so why us? I felt it was not what natured intended.

It's a personal choice and I know it does not harm the babe, good luck however you deliver, it may even be in a car. :-D

Ihad a waterbirth at home, it was fantastic. My son was born very alert and ready to feed immediately .HE was my fourth birth and i definately feel it helped me relax and relieved any pain. If i were to give any advice i would say dont get in the pool to soon as it may slow down labour. It was a great experience and i would definately recomend it. What ever you choose have a great birth, one of lifes wonderful experiences.

For my third I opted to go in the pool. I didn't stick it out though, I was soon out on the bed bed willing the baby out....It was okay but I wasn't overly impressed.