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Water birth is dangerous to the baby's health
Last reviewed: 01.07.2025
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Water births are becoming increasingly popular. According to experts, this method of delivery helps reduce the stress a child experiences during birth and eases contractions for the woman herself. However, many experts now question the benefits of being in water during birth, noting that such a birth can be dangerous for the life and health of the child and mother.
Medical experts say there is no evidence that water birth is good for mother and baby. They also say it can be harmful and even cause death for the newborn. In their report, a group of researchers said water birth can cause serious problems for the newborn, including infection, bleeding, and drowning.
The United States Academy of Pediatrics and the College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists believe that doctors should not offer women this method of childbirth (except in experimental cases). In modern conditions, more and more maternity wards are equipping rooms for water births. Also, recently women have been renting pools for home births. Supporters of such methods claim that the body relaxes in warm water, the woman calms down, which is especially useful for women giving birth for the first time. In addition, the baby floats in water in the womb, so birth in water will be more familiar to him. But, despite this, experts recommend getting the baby out of the water as quickly as possible to avoid infection, as well as water getting into the respiratory tract and drowning.
According to some data, one out of a hundred women gives birth in water. The Royal College of Gynecologists and Obstetricians in Great Britain believes that if the pregnancy is uncomplicated, a woman can choose to give birth in water, but in the United States, they have a slightly different opinion.
There is currently much debate about how safe (or dangerous) water births are. Pregnancy experts in the United States are pushing for more research into the effects of water births. At the same time, experts have acknowledged that in the early stages of labor, a pool can indeed help a woman reduce pain and the strength of contractions. They also noted that there has not been enough research to prove or disprove the benefits of being in water during contractions and the birth of the baby.
There is now evidence that after water births, the newborn has breathing problems (including drowning), convulsions, and the risk of severe bleeding and infection in the woman also increases.
One of the few studies in this area found that 12% of babies born in water subsequently required hospitalization and special care that was not required by babies born by the more common method.
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