What happens if I can’t have a water birth?

You’ve always dreamed of a water birth. You’ve read about the benefits, maybe you’ve watched some zen AF water births and that’s what you want.

But, what happens if you are advised against a water birth for some reason? Or are you worrying you may turn up at your local hospital to be told that all the pools are in use?

Your strength doesn’t lie within the water.

Read that again.

Your strength doesn’t lie within the water.

What I so often see as a midwife, is women losing confidence in themselves when an original plan changes.

💥 Never limit your ability to cope to having a waterbirth 💥

Or an epidural …Or being at a birth unit, or at home for that matter. What you’re telling yourself is that your strength only lies within an object or situation & that it isn’t within yourself. When you say you can’t do it because the birth pool isn’t available, your saying… That your strength lies within the water.

Let me just stop you there ✋ 🛑  That, my friend, is your mind telling you a  big whopper of lie.

That strength you get to birth your baby … that ALL comes from YOU.

Don’t let the changes in direction that birth so often makes, take away from your sense of control, your ability to cope or the magic of birth. You have the courage and determination to birth your baby in whichever pathway your birth chooses to take. You have all that strength within you,

….And that’s your super power 🦸‍♀️💥

What if I can’t have a water birth?

If for whatever reason you are unable to have a water birth, there are still lots of ways to incorporate water into your labour. And there are so many other techniques and tools that can help you throughout.

Shower during labour

A shower during labour is the unsung hero of pain relief. Seriously… it’s massively underrated and could seriously hold its own against the notorious birth pool.

Warm Compress

Many women want a water birth as they can reduce the chances of tearing. Having a warm compress held on your perineum during the pushing stages can also reduce tears. Put this on your birth plan and it can be done by your midwife or your birth partner.

TENS Machine

A TENS increases your endorphins which is your body’s natural pain relief. The electrical impulses flood your nervous system. It focuses on these electrical impulse sensations on your skin, reducing the deep muscular sensation of a contraction. It almost confuses your mind, making it focus on the skin rather than the contractions. Some women swear by them! Read more about What is a TENS for labour here.

Breathing Techniques

Breathing techniques are one of the most spoken about topics we get in our course reviews – you guys bloomin’ love them! The Candle Breath is a super one to use when you are birthing baby’s head. It is a short sequence of out breaths, basically imagining you are blowing out a series of candles. Watch me explain this more here on Instagram.

Were you unable to have a water birth? What techniques did you use that helped in labour? We have so many positive birth stories where women didn’t use the pool. You can read about Faye’s birth here who didn’t have time for the pool to run before she gave birth, or Elisabete’s Positive Induction here. Ellie was unable to have a water birth as she had an unplanned homebirth; read about Ellie’s Unplanned Homebirth here. Jade’s birth story is another lovely one; she decided against a water birth as her baby was early and so she needed extra monitoring. She used lots of techniques like acupressure and positioning to have a positive birth. Read Jade’s Positive Birth; Optimal Positioning here.