Labour and delivery in the birthing pool

The objective of this study was to determine basic data on maternal and neonatal well-being and infection risk in a group of low-risk women using a water pool for delivery. A prospective non-randomized method was followed. Delivery details and complications were recorded, and post-delivery patient satisfaction questionnaires were completed. Forty-nine women delivered in the pool. There was no clinically significant neonatal infection, however, there were some positive maternal and neonatal swabs. Although two babies required basic resuscitation and some babies had transient abnormalities of postnatal observations, there was no evidence of serious neonatal morbidity. The data analysed in this study did not suggest any increased risk of bacterial infection to the mother or baby after delivery underwater. The neonatal observations suggest that neonatal morbidity is rare after waterbirth in a carefully selected group of mothers and with close attention to fetal and neonatal well-being. We recommend that proto...