Homebirth - Hayden,ID

I just asked my friend who is a doula and midwife. She said the correct temp. is 97-101 degrees. She said higher temps increase the baby's heart rate, add stress for the baby, and increase the chances of the baby having meconium issues.

T.

Hi K. ~
We had a home birth... and one thing that I didn't think about - and didn't realize until the actual birth - was - we ran out of hot water!!! So even while you think you're going to want it above 100 - you may not have the choice... and plus, going thru this, you may want cooler water since you're putting so much energy out...

just a couple thoughts!!

I know you can do it too! It's going to be just fine, and I think sometimes people put fear into others when it's not necessary!!!

Take care and be safe!

Carrie

Hi K.,

I know hundreds of moms who have birthed in water without any issues. The temperature of a regular bath is not what you will want in labor. You are working hard and most women tend to want the water right around the 100 degree mark or less because they are laboring and find hot water to be too hot.

I have given birth to 3 babies in the water (2 at home) and it's amazing. And the mess, people imagine there is a lot of blood loss and mess everywhere, but in fact the midwives are experts at cleaning up and there isn't as much mess as people imagine. My last birth, the midwives had it all cleaned up, were feeding me breakfast and taking photos and writing notes for me with measurements and weights, etc before I knew it!

As for deaths of babies, they happen every day in and out of the hospital and the rates for infant and maternal mortality and morbidity rates are the highest in US hospitals compared to over 17 industrialized countries. You are far safer in the home environment or a birthing center than a hospital, but that does not mean there are not risks. But the odds are definitely in your favor with a home birth.

And as stated by others, waterbirth is a very safe and natural way to birth. Babies will not take a breath until their face touches the air and then the midwives will watch and help you if necessary to make sure the baby's face is out of the water.

Good luck and if you would like another reference, Andaluz Waterbirth Center is amazing. They will do birth center or homebirths and have amazing statistics! www.waterbirth.net

K. - My midwives explained that baby can be birthed in water because their initial breath reflex is stimulated by the shock of air passing over their face, noise, light, and cold room temperature. Therefore in water birth, they are not triggered to breathe until they come out of the body temperature water because it is so much like the womb. I would guess that the combination of higher heart rate and perhaps breathing in some water in a hot bath could be the cause of distress or death in a newborn.

As some others have mentioned, I love a hot bath, too, but when I was in labor the "right temperature" by my wrist test was making me lightheaded and feeling ill once my whole body was in because of my active labor. You'll be fine with 98 - 100 degrees! Also, as others said, I've wanted to deliver in the water, and I might have with my second because I started pushing, but it was in a hospital in WI where that's not allowed. With my 3rd I needed a change from the tub and never made it back in for delivery. Use the water as a tool to your advantage during delivery, but don't try to stick to your expectations if it isn't right at the time.

Blessings on your delivery!

I could be completely off, but I believe the temp of the water needs to be right around 99 to 100 so that the baby isn't triggered to breathe. Basically womb temperature.

I have never heard anything like this, but here are my thoughts just logically thinking it through.

Amniotic fluid is a perfect 100 degrees. The way that birth is designed is that baby moves from this 100 degree water to the cooler are and the shock of it causes baby to inhale deeply filling her lungs with air.

The reason that a water birth is safe is because baby is not shocked into breathing until coming out of the water. My guess is that water too hot could shock the baby into breathing deeply while still under water. The water in your tub is way different than amniotic fluid, plus it is full of bacterial, so it could be deadly and could cause the baby to drown. You may think that a degree or two isn't that big of a difference and couldn't cause baby that much shock, but think of this. A hot tub that is 100 degrees feels cool. At 101 degrees, it is okay, and perfect for kids. At 102, it feels nice and you could stay in it for a long time. At 103, it feels very hot and you can only stay in for 10-15 minutes. So, I am guessing that water temp for a water birth is extremely important to keep from shocking baby into taking a deep breath. Remember that the baby's head is out of the birth canal and in the water for a while while you deliver the rest of the body.

Kisti,

Congratulation on #4!!! I just had baby #3 at a water birthing center and it was wonderful. All of my babies have been with out medication, but this one that was out of the hospital was by far the most bonding, relaxing and enjoyable birth. My husband called the birthing center we went to "the Baby Spa" :-) (It was in Oregon...so a little far for you). I agree with the other responses that near body temperature will feel great. I love really hot baths and showers I take them even when I am pregnant. Although in labor it seemed to keep me the perfect temperature. Also, with my first two births I was so cold after I birthed that I started shivering really bad. Being in the water I felt great...I never got cold and I raised off with warmer water as we waited in the water for the cord to stop pulsing and snuggled my new little man.

Enjoy the comfort of your own home!! I can't wait to have our next one at home. You will love it.

S.

P.S. Ignore all the nay-sayers, only you know what is best for you and your family :-)!

Hi K.~
I don't know about the rate of newborn deaths in higher water temperatures, but I just had a homebirth last week. We also had a birthing tub and I thought 100 degrees would be too cool for me, as well (I love HOT showers and baths), but as it turned out, we had difficulty getting the temperature even up to 100. I got into the tub when it was only about 97. At first, it felt a little too cool, but as labor progressed (even as the water temperature decreased over several hours) I was actually too hot! I was really surprised!!! When birth was close, they started adding more hot water to warm the tub for the baby. It never exceeded 100, but I eventually got so overheated that I got out of the tub and delivered on the floor. :) (I also got out because I didn't feel like I could push very effectively in the tub--the baby was posterior so I had to do some very hard and prolonged pushing.) So, it didn't all work out exactly the way I had expected, but I was thankful for the tub during labor--the water helped ease the pressure of the contractions significantly. And, for me, the lower water temperatures ended up being a non-issue. All the best to you with your homebirth!
O.

The hundred degrees is so that the baby doesn't get distressed because it is so warm. The water may start out warmer than the hundred degrees as you are laboring it will decrease the temp. I have had two waterbirths, one for twins the other for a singleton. The twins birth the water was right at body temp and felt great. I was comfortable and able to birthe one of them in the water shortly after entering. The second birth the water was a little too warm for me at least for labor i stalled out a little when we turned the cold water on and lowered the temp my labor picked right back up and I delivered again in the water. So don't think of this like a spa or soemthing you would do after a long invigorating run, think of it more as a warm soothing embrace, helping remove the discomfort form the contractions, supporting you as you labor on.

S.

I used the tub with my first labor, but didn't birth in it--just didn't want to at the time. And planned to with my 2nd but he came too fast, the tub had about 3" of water by the time I was pushing. :p
My midwives never mentioned anything like that, and 1 of them is a PhD who knows all the stats of everything birth related!
That's not much higher than our own body temps.
Also, I wonder if you'd still want your water that much warmer when laboring.
Congrats, it is a wonderful experience!

I birthed my first in the water and I remember being told that the water should be right around body temp - 98.6. No more than 100 sounds right to me. If you think about it, we're told to make sure bath water for new babies is neither hot nor cold so it makes sense that their very first "bath" should be the same. The whole point is for the birth to be as relaxing as possible for all concerned. I have to say, though, that I'd be surprised if a baby could actually die because the water was slightly hotter than body temp. God bless you in your birthing experience - however it turns out!

K.,

I had my last two babies at home in the tub. I generally like my bath water pretty hot. Howevever, when in active labor you tend to feel hot anyway, and may not want it so warm. I just adjusted the temperature to my comfort level and everything was fine. Congrats on the baby and deciding on homebirth this time. It is truly an amazing experience. I'm looking forward to it again in a few months. Best wishes!

B.

Call some birth homes and ask what temperature they keep their birthing tank at.
Babies die for all kinds of reasons. Home births are usually safer than a hospital one. And, you are in your own house with all kinds of comforts you know are there. You can shower in your own shower with all your own soaps and favorite towel.
Someone should come to clean the house for you and you need a helper for a week after the birth for the other children.
Until the 1930's almost all births occurred at home. Midwives and doctors knew how to turn a baby or oil up the baby's bottom so he could be breach birthed. Twins born at home usually survived. My aunt was born at 7 months gestation, kept in a warming oven and fed with an eye dropper. Today she is a great grandmother. Give up on all those manufactured statistics which seem to be made to scare women.
I'll tell you a scarey statistic. One third of all births in the hospital are C sections. It used to be 6 percent 40 years ago. Now the OB's know nothing and grab the knife for every little thing their machinery shows. It's all about the money.
I can tell you that 104° is too hot. But, ask around. And, not every nurse midwife or certified midwife is a smart midwife. I've been to births where certification or not the woman should never have been doing home births.
Millions of babies have been born at home since the late 60's when hippie Moms refused to go to the hospital and lay midwives became available. Things seldom go wrong and the hospital back up is always there if they do.
Have a wonderful home birth.

My daughter was a home water birth last August and I was never told anything about the water temp. We did add a little cool water because the tub was too hot for me, but my midwife wasn't concerned about the temp for my daughter. They are really only in the water a few moments between the birth and when they are on your chest/breastfeeding.

One little tip about it thought it to have a handtowel nearby and put that over your baby's back while you're both in the tub. Then you can scoop warm water over the towel with your hand to keep baby warm enough.

It's true you don't want the water above that because of the baby's body temp. But you should have people (midwives) monitoring the temp so there should be no problem. If you're concerned, just let them know. But I've never heard about baby deaths this way. I'm actually have much more concern about hospital births.

I applaud you for having and wanting a natural birth. However I feel that births should happen in the hospital because you never know what could happen and an ambulance and hospital may be too far away to save baby or mom if something were to go wrong. Also do you really want that big of a mess in your home?

Good for you! I've done some research on birthing including home birthing & never came across this.... Wish I had more info. Best of luck!

My midwife was knowledgeable about the mortality rate in home water births, and that is why I chose to birth at the water birth center instead. She even told me to not expect to birth in the water, as she would trust her judgment on my birthing process to determine if she needed me out of the water to make observations. Thank goodness I trusted her. I ended up having a vaginal septum that had been missed my whole life and pregnancy. It had to be cut away by a surgeon(no drugs!)immediately, as it was noticed about 5 minutes before I was about ready to push. If I had been underwater, the septum would have crushed the baby's skull, and we both would have hemorrhaged to death. Looking back, I am glad I had a land birth, as I feel now it is way more natural to do so. And I am proud I did it all drug-free:)(and that was with five days of unassisted second stage labor as well, I would never have naturally have spent five days in the water:)

Honestly, I would question the education of your midwife. Is she a certified midwife? A certified nurse midwife? A common midwife?(which needs no degree) Since this is your 4th, I bet you have lots of experience on your side and could probably birth unassisted, but if you are going to put your trust into a midwife, then it is totally different. I found these links on Google by running "homebirth waterbirth fatalities".
http://www.homebirth.net.au/2008/06/homebirth-vs-hospital...

http://homebirthdebate.blogspot.com/

Good luck and I hope you have a magical birth:)

K.,

I had my last two babies at a local hospital in their birthing tub. I wish I remembered the temp the water was at... there is a "correct" temperature. When I got in the last time, it was too hot and I got super light headed, and felt like things were all wrong. The midwife QUICKLY adjusted the temp. and we were all good after that. I think it was not too much over 100 degrees. It felt like warm bath water (not hot at all).

If Mom is overheated, baby is over heated - and that's never good for a newborn but no one ever mentioned that baby could die about it.

Make sure your midwife knows what the correct temp is before having a home/water birth.

GOOD LUCK to you and congratulations!

Jessica