Issue 54, Summer 2000
Dear Friend of Birth,
What’s so special about waterbirth? Why are more and more women wanting to experience
this way to give birth? How can you bring waterbirth into your birthing practice
or improve the waterbirths you are already doing? Read Midwifery Today Issue 54,
dedicated to the theme "Waterbirth," to learn more about this gentle form of birth.
Read Birth at Sea, a poem about waterbirth,
by Holly Knight.
Question of the Quarter
What is your favorite waterbirth story?
The Basics
Concerned about the baby inhaling water at the time of birth? In "Waterbirth
Basics," Barbara Harper, RN explains factors that prevent this from happening:
"When the baby is born and the prostaglandin level is still high, the baby's muscles
for breathing simply don't work, thus engaging the first inhibitory response."
She also discusses changes in waterbirth protocols as we learn more about the
safety of this birthing method: "Now the universal practice is to not even feel
for a cord in waterbirth, unless there has been a very slow second stage and you
are afraid of cord compression. No attempt is made to clamp and cut the cord."
Other topics in this informative and referenced article include how a newborn's
first breath is initiated, outcomes and concerns, when to enter the water and
the midwife’s influence.
Michel Odent
Discover the importance of what was learned from the first births in hospital
birthing pools, in "What I Learned from the
First Hospital Birthing Pool," by Michel Odent, M.D.: "At the time of the
paddling pool... women were not influenced by the media or by what they read in
books about childbirth. Their behavior was unpremeditated. This phase of the history
of childbirth was ideal to learn about the genuine effects of a watery environment."
Then, in "A Landmark in the History of Birthing
Pools" Dr. Odent discusses an important and authoritative study published
in the British Medical Journal on August 21, 1999. He explains the methods and
results of this study, and then gives updated recommendations based on the study's
outcomes: "The first practical recommendation is to give great importance to the
time when the laboring woman enters the pool."
Waterbirth Stories
As always, the heart of midwifery is found in the personal birth stories where
mothers and midwives share their experiences: "I began to come to terms with my
labor and decided to manage it by letting it manage me," Traci Coburn tells us
in "The Waterbirth of Maggie Cate."
In "Waterbirth, A New Beginning" Carolee Hall remembers: "The water washed
something away from the contraction—it no longer possessed the intense power that
had been there just a moment before....Contractions flowed as smoothly over my
body as the water." And read the story of a "VBAC Waterbirth" by Cathy O’Bryant,
CPM: "My favorite waterbirth story is about a very special woman who decided early
in her pregnancy that she was going to have the birth she wanted—a VBAC waterbirth—even
after she found she was expecting twins."
Birth Around the World
Sara Wickham and her grandmother Peggy Lee talk about birth in the United Kingdom
60 years ago in "And That Was That!" Peggy had four children of her own and also
helped the local midwife with births. Sara asked her if she'd ever seen problems:
"I never had any with all those problems. I think myself they were born more naturally
in those days than they are today....I think it was because women weren’t scared."
In "Assignment: Somalia," Rondi Anderson, CNM tells us about birth and life
in this country without a government: "To the Somali people, childbirth is a woman’s
domain. Men are not involved, not even the husband, but there is very good female
support. Childbirth is seen as a difficult passage, impossible for women to get
through without aggressive management by midwives." And Chaya Raizel Breger tells
us what happened in her "Birth Surprise in Jerusalem" : "I had had no labor, no
warning. I couldn’t fight the urge to push, so I quickly put a towel on our bed,
lay down on my side and simply let my body work." You’ll also be able to read
about the effect of pregnancy and birth on Muslim families, plus articles about
birth in Armenia, Spain, France and Jamaica.
Learn more about waterbirth!
Renew your subscription to Midwifery Today!
As a Midwifery Today subscriber, you can look forward to learning about these
topics in upcoming issues:
Each issue of this quarterly, 72-page journal is filled with informative, inspiring
articles and columns; powerful birth stories; poetry; and beautiful black and
white photography and art. Open our pages, and you will:
- Discover techniques that work in Tricks of the Trade
- Keep informed about the latest publications with Media Reviews and
Journal Abstracts
- Read pregnancy and birth-related News
- Learn new insights from an experienced homebirth, birth center, and hospital
CNM with Marion’s Message
Let Midwifery Today help you bring the heart back into your practice!
Toward Better Birth,
Jan Tritten, Editor
Issue 54 is available for $10
plus shipping!
To Order:
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