Water birth cons Videos

Yes! I had a friend who was soooo sure she was going to have a birth that followed her plan exactly. Then when it didnt, she was super sad about it. I just kept telling myself that as long as the outcome was beautiful (I had my baby) that I would be happy! And I was! :) Its all about perspective!

Great video!! I labored in the water and it always slowed down my contractions so it's not my friend, but others love it! Love the message about birth flexibility- I am still beating myself up about requesting an epidural. You really never know what's going to happen in the thick of things!

I love how you said to do what makes you feel comfortable an not to get your mind set on one thing. I know so many people who are bummed out when their birth doesn't go exactly according to plan! I am hoping for a water birth this time around but I know I may not like it.

Thank you! I have heard of the water slowing labor down. Thats the pits cuz it seriously felt good to me :) And I had an epidural with my first. Everyone knows their limits and in the end it still turned out beautiful! That is all that matters!!!

Great video! I'm in early labor myself and I love the water during active through delivery.... but you're right the water is icky... that's my only downside of it :-)

thanks for this! I loved hearing how amazing it was and don't be stuck on a plan because things change when you are in that moment

Sooo true. But in the moment I totally didnt even care! I was just in shock that I birthed a 9 lbs baby all by myself! naturally! lol

You can't even think of the cons!!! That's great!! :) Thanks for reinforcing my desire for a water birth...=)

Thank you for making this. I've been dead set on water birthing and I love hearing these opinions

"The floating white stuff" Vernix, possibly? :-) Thank you for your honest opinion!

love this videos i wanna try this with my next baby sounds awesome xoxo

Is there a good temperature? Is there some recommended temperature?

ohhh... and good luck! Labor dust your way!

I mean its icky after delivery...

You should try! I love it!!

Atlanta Medical Center

+Eowyn Eadig there's another option which excludes the two evils: surrogate motherhood :)

The point wasn't that pain was the accomplishment, as I resent when women have terrible agonizing births. My point was if I must choose between two evils, I would rather suffer with sore uterine muscles working hard to push a baby out and then think, "Wow that's so cool I was able to do that all by myself!" That as opposed to having to suffer with this unnatural gash in my abdomen that was the result of the doctor's knife. I would love to do a water birth where the water soothes my hard-working muscles and I can move in positions that make me comfortable, rather than be hooked-up to a bunch of crap: IV, monitor, etc, where I am forced to give birth in an unnatural position for the convenience of a doctor. Then that uncomfortable position might lead to an epidural which I might have avoided otherwise, and then that might trigger a need for a Caesarian.

+tanyaakh I am no longer a doula so this is all my actual opinion of birth, and yes I still think it's really cool. I think 2 or 3 had an epidural and 2 had narcotic analgesic (like nubane). I supported them through any and all decisions as my goal was to ensure they felt safe and informed not to necessarily ensure a "natural birth." I am a supporter of the idea that all births are natural some just require medical intervention. Epidurals don't actually take away all discomfort. You still feel baby leave the body, and can suffer some challenges because of them after. Epidurals can, however lead to other challenges and interventions such as a stall in dilation due to malposition of baby and hip position when laying supine. In the cases of the labors I assisted they did not lead to cesarean, but they totally can :/ Healing from a cesarean SUCKS. THAT is true pain. TRUE torture. So it isn't that cut and dry (no pun intended) when it comes to anethesia. It isn't a save all. Statistics show that as we medicalize (otherwise healthy) births we are heightening maternal death numbers in some instances as well as fetal deaths and complications. No one wants that. I think our best option is CHOICE. The CHOICE to have well women care and delivery where its most safe (for some that is at home), and the CHOICE to have an evidence based medical professional oversee care and delivery in a medical setting. That choice NEEDS to exist. Your disgust with that choice is scary and quite frankly, just an opinion. Its not based in statistical fact. Your opinion is valid. You make some points that I am sure even pregnant individuals feel.Your need to speak poorly of others decisions (on the video of their child's birth) to validate your own opinion is unnecessary and doesn't serve your purpose well. You have some totally valid points and ask some great questions, but I think you might find it best to have another arena to host those points. Somewhere that aids in your learning about the process.

+Eowyn Eadig The c-section is not the ideal option either, you're right. It's just slightly less terrifying in my view than the natural process. It's a very strange way to look at birth as at some sort of accomplishment, IMHO. I thought the only thing that matters is the result (the child) not the pride that you had to suffer to get him.  The easier, the better.Why not then recreate the medieval torture devices and use them for the sake of having an accomplishment?How can taking physical pain be connected to pride? I would say it is connected to humiliation.

An elective c-section creates unnecessary damage to the body that just increases with each subsequent surgery. For someone who wants a lot of kids, elective c-sections would be the worst decision. I don't have kids yet, but I want a home water-birth. I heard that recovering from a c-section is miserable and you don't even have the cool feeling of accomplishment that you would have with a natural vaginal birth. If I gave birth vaginally with no drugs, the pain I felt would be part of the process of me working and doing everything by myself, and at the end I could feel so cool knowing it did it all by myself. It would be like, "Wow, I could survive being stranded on an island or could have survived the Middle Ages!" Where a c-section is just an atrocious unnatural gash in your abdomen.

+Ruth McGeehan Well, I'm female at the age at which it is usually expected to give birth and I feel that I will never do such a thing. I have such a deep-seated disgust for this process (and a bit for pregnancy as well although it's just discomfort and not pain). I don't feel that it's worth it. I don't think cruelty is worth anything. I think if I ever want to have a child a surrogate motherhood or an adoption will be the only options for me. I find it unfair that only women can birth and I cannot reconciliate with this fact either... Luckily  there are women who actually enjoy carrying the child. Thank you for sharing your experience. Cool to watch? I understand that you're a professional so you cannot afford to say things that I say. Still, watching human bieng in great unnecessary pain will never give me pleasure. Experiencing it is not cool either.In my moments of rage I really thought  I might have been a good anaesthetist...How many women did opt for an epidural in your practice? 

+tanyaakh I assure you it isn't a mistake, and that it's actually pretty cool to watch (and do). I have watched 25 children be born, and assisted those families through childbirth as a professional doula. There is no cruel mistake. You are literally (chemically) out of your mind during natural birth. It looks like "pain," but it's something much different. Yes. Many women do say that they think they might die during childbirth. It's one of the most common "emotional signposts" during transition. It is just that though: an EMOTIONAL signpost. They are not actually dying or anywhere near it. They are just meeting their fight or flight reflex head on and working through it. Most don't know another word for it but "dying" to describe an out of body experience. In a way you kind of are dying. A part of you anyways. A bigger part though is being born. Some women also say they experience little to no pain, and mentally train to meditate through labor. Those are cool to watch too. Ever seen a HYPNOBIRTH? Saying such words like "death and dying" during labor usually isn't due to pain, but due to an understandable fear. During childbirth you are doing something that seems impossible. It really does seem impossible until it is happening to you, and you are doing it. Even as someone who has experienced it first hand it feels kind of impossible. The chemical process that takes place is almost like a drug trip. Your mind goes somewhere else and the things you are saying and doing are almost out of body. Some people do have bad drug trips (or birth experiences that are traumatic due to pain), and expose things in their journey that require deep processing after. Those experiences are not bad because of that. Just unlocking a different door. Want to know the most common thing I hear after a baby is born? "That was so worth it." And it is. You might have a future in Obstetrics or Anesthesia though. ;) Many medical professionals share your opinion on discomfort as it applies to labor. Many OBs and Anesthesiologists are MEN, however and can never actually experience what they are trying to "fix.". I won't assume your gender or age, but perhaps one or the other are showing a bit.

+Ruth McGeehan Well, I agree with some of your points. Achieving somehting does require effort indeed, and athletes, tennis players in particular, also get injured every once in a while. However, I'm sure it's a different kind of pain - if it hurts too bad, they don't play and ask for treatment, this is the pain that can be ceased immediately. Also, pain in sports is not natural, heck, NO phisical pain is natural. It always tells us that somehting doesn't go well and that we need to pay attention and fix the problem. Everything in nature adheres to this logic, except birth. Why should it be any different? My greatest complaint is that the pain is EXTREME and it lasts way too long. I've read too many stories of women wishing they could die during the process because it got literally unbearable. I don't think THAT is necessary at all. I don't think nature was right when it invented this pain. I don't find it reasonable. Discomfort? I could be very easy with it. But this is not the word women choose when they describe labor.You're right, we tend to feel vulnerable when trying something new or achieving something, or simply getting out of our comfort zone. But again it's just discomfort and like I said I'm ready to tolerate any  discomfort, but not extreme phisical pain that I find cruel and completely unnecessary.If we dive into philosophy, and take for example mental or phsychological pain that is also a part of our life, I'm ok with it as well. For a number of reasons 1. it makes us grow spiritually and helps us distinguish the good from the bad. 2. we CAN control it - if we live according to our nature and adhere to the universal laws, life is not painful at all. 3. it is a deviation from the norm, we're not supposed to be in pain, because our natural state of being is happiness and joy.Mental pain makes us grow and teaches us something. Phisical pain in a natural process doesn't serve a purpose, doesn't make us grow, there's nothing that it can teach us and so to me it's absolutely unnecessary.All this still makes me think that childbirth is some sort of a mistake. And a very cruel one at that.

I find your perspective very interesting. You say that pain isn't natural but I can see from your profile that you are an avid tennis fan. Want to know who else goes through extreme "pain" to achieve a goal? Athletes. Lots of pain actually. Training on an olympic level is very painful. While it would be nice to think that pain isnt a necessary part of life, it usually is in our times of utmost discomfort that we achieve our greatest goals. Ever learned how to do something new? Childbirth is really a lot like that. Like learning something new. Statistics also show us that in our quest to diminish the discomfort of the laboring woman (by analgesic) that we actually increase the possibility of something going wrong. Do you think Andy Roddick could win a match with half of his body numb? Probably not. ;) I don't want to assume you are not a parent, but if you aren't and ever become one you will realize that the human race only exists because we SEEK out discomfort. Every time we try something new. Every time we feel vulnerable. Every time we struggle through something. It's painful, but its very,very necessary.

+Megnog Gazelle How is it any of your business who says what on youtube?As for birth, damn it, even if I'll never do it myself, I happen not to be indifferent to the sufferings of others. 

+tanyaakhHow is it any of your business what other people do? Make your own choices and then move on from there.

+Megnog Gazelle Because this subject bothers me enourmously, that's why.

+tanyaakh WHY are you making this same comment on multiple water birth videos??? Get a life!

I actually found it Tina! :D It's called I get to be the One by JJ Heller. My newborn daughter falls asleep to it now <3

+Izzy Bocharov-Fraser I'd like to know what that first song is as well

+Arianna Cadwallader Thank you Arianna! This experience truly was one of the most amazing in our life. Can't believe it's been over half a year now!!! You're a sweet lady <3

+Mormon Housewives <3

+Graycee Barber (;

+Graycee Barber Thank you so much! And welcome!!

+Hằng Lê Thank you!