January 10, 2025 • 18 mins
Uncover the secret to a more serene and empowered birth experience by mastering the art of using "Mother Nature's epidural"—hydrotherapy! Explore how the strategic use of water during labor can provide a natural, effective means of managing pain and enhancing relaxation. Whether you're considering a soothing bath, invigorating shower, or the calming effects of a birthing tub. This isn't just about comfort; it's about harnessing the power of water to support labor progression, ensuring a positive and memorable birth journey.
In this empowering episode of The Ordinary Doula Podcast, we delve into the versatility of water and how it can be your greatest ally during labor. From creating a tranquil environment with dim lighting and soothing music to the practicalities of handling bodily fluids and choosing the optimal time for hydrotherapy, we cover it all. Learn about different types of tubs and the benefits of buoyancy, alongside tips for hydration and maintaining a cool atmosphere. Whether you're planning a hospital birth or a home birth, these insights will equip you with the knowledge to make informed choices, ensuring your labor is as comfortable and fulfilling as possible.
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Show Credits
Host: Angie Rosier
Music: Michael Hicks
Photographer: Toni Walker
Episode Artwork: Nick Greenwood
Producer: Gillian Rosier Frampton
Voiceover: Ryan Parker
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
Welcome to the Ordinary Doula Podcast with
Angie Rozier, hosted by BirthLearning, where we help prepare
folks for labor and birth withexpertise coming from 20 years
of experience in a busy doulapractice Helping thousands of
people prepare for labor,providing essential knowledge
(00:37):
and tools for positive andempowering birth experiences.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
Hello and welcome to the Ordinary Doula podcast.
I hope that you can findsomething useful through
listening to these episodes.
Kind of my design in doing thispodcast is to help all people
gain some tools as they preparefor labor, for childbirth, for
breastfeeding, for the firstlittle bit of postpartum, which
(01:07):
is kind of a big shift in life.
So not everyone can afford adoula.
I realize that it's kind of aluxury item.
There are more and more ways tocover doula services.
Some states have Medicaidcoverage.
Some insurance companies coverdoula services.
You can cover them with healthsavings or flex spending
accounts in many cases.
(01:27):
But my goal is that everyonehas the access to what you might
be able to prepare with toempower you along your birth
journey.
So one thing I want to talkabout today as you may know,
doulas have several differentspecialties and one of them is
comfort measures that can beused during labor, or coping
(01:50):
skills, some different tools.
There's so many tools availableto use during labor.
A lot of people just think, oh,I'm just, you know, grin and
bear it, we've got to getthrough it.
Or they go in without a plan.
They don't have things to do,things to try things to um, to
test and to use.
So today we're going to talkabout one of my favorite gosh.
(02:12):
I have a lot of favorites, Idon't know if I can say that,
but one of the uh yeah, it's afavorite, it's a favorite tool,
a very powerful tool, a veryeffective tool, a very popular
tool, and that is the use ofwater.
So it's also known ashydrotherapy.
This could be water in the formof a tub, it could be water in
the form of a shower.
(02:32):
But we're going to talk aboutdifferent ways to use
hydrotherapy, when to use it,why to use it, how it works,
kind of some differenttechniques you can use in and
around and surroundinghydrotherapy, or the use of
water during labor.
So kind of water has a prettyimpressive impact.
It's also kind of been calledMother Nature's epidural or a
(02:56):
water dural, because it can bepretty effective.
So water can be used atdifferent times during labor and
you kind of want to strategizewhen to use it.
I'm going to talk about earlylabor and why we would or would
not want to use the use of watershower tub during early labor.
So early labor as you know, theearly labor phase can kind of
(03:20):
come and go.
It can be a little mysteriousin that we're wondering is this
it?
When is it going to take off?
So many people are anxious forit to take off, like I can't
wait to get going.
And they get going.
You're like, wow, I wish Icould go back to the chill time
of early labor.
But early labor, whencontractions might be sporadic
or spread out or kind of shortor not very intense.
(03:44):
If we use water in early labor,it can be very effective at kind
of just mellowing mellow labor.
So why would we want to do that?
Well, it kind of depends onyour energy levels and the time
of day.
If early labor begins at 8pm,we're going into the nighttime.
You're probably, hopefully, ina couple hours.
(04:04):
The idea is to lay down, go tosleep, get some rest.
So you may want to strategizeand use labor as a comfort tool
to kind of relax things duringearly labor so you could take a
bath before you lay down and tryto get as much rest as possible
.
However, if early labor isstarting at 6 or 7am, you may
(04:24):
not want to take a bath.
If you had a good night's sleep, you want to maybe move around
a little bit more.
Um, do some things to encouragelabor rather than to kind of
really relax through it.
So be strategic about when youuse water in early labor.
Now, a shower shower can beused at any time, of course.
Um, sometimes it's a nice resetto to use a shower.
(04:46):
If you think about thesensations that are occurring
during use of water, there, ofcourse, is moisture happening,
right.
So whatever is being touched bywater is being moistened.
Um, so that can be good for um,we'll talk a little bit later
about, like preparing of thetissues for stretching.
In late labor, there'stemperature involved.
(05:09):
Typically it's warm or hot.
I don't really know many, toomany people who take super cold
baths or showers, but sometimesthat water does cool off and
that can feel good too, aspeople take a long bath or
something.
And actually studies have shownthat the natural cooling of the
water in late labor helps withthe extraction of placenta if
(05:30):
baby is born in the water.
So, and people kind of warm upand that cooler water as it
cools off can be a nice tool inearlier labor, or, sorry, in
later labor.
So water has a temperature toit and that is controllable,
right?
Some people they want it hotter, they want it not so hot.
I've had people in such hotshowers.
(05:51):
They look like they're baking,like they're just red as can be.
Their skin is red and that'skind of what they want.
You know they're like no hotterhotter.
In some hospital settings wehave a challenge with getting
hot hot water coming out of thepipes, or it takes a while
anyway for it to warm up.
So be aware of yoursurroundings and if you're going
to use water to prepare forthat, so get the water going.
(06:13):
Honestly, sometimes it takesseveral minutes in a hospital
for that water to get as hot asit can be, which isn't usually
as hot as you want.
At home we sometimes havelimited hot water use.
Like it might be super hot, butit's going to run out.
I was at a home birth a fewmonths ago.
It was a water birth and thismom was just loving the hot
water.
She was in a bath with a showerrunning on her.
(06:35):
That was her main copingmechanism.
She was leaning on it superstrong.
It was working very well, butwe ran out of hot water so we
had to kind of give it a break.
Do something else before we gotback to the hot water.
If you have a tankless waterheater, awesome, all the better.
You're not going to run out ofhot water.
So we have temperature.
And then a very impactful partof hydrotherapy is tactile
(06:56):
sensation.
So water, whether it's in ashower or, even more so, in a
tub, the body is submerged.
Water is gonna be touching somany places right, like when you
submerge in water.
Just I want you to feel, if youknow, some people are bath
takers, they love taking a bath,other people don't.
But kind of sense, when yousubmerge in the perfect
(07:18):
temperature water hopefully it'sa nice deep, you know, pool or
tub where you can get reallywell submerged just kind of
imagine that sensation thatcomes over your whole body,
right.
Water's touching your toes,your legs, your buttocks, your
stomach, your back, like you canmove in the water and there's a
buoyancy that comes to thewater that a lot of people like.
(07:38):
It kind of takes off some ofthe pressure that we feel as a
heavy baby is in the pelvis andmaking their way down.
So some really cool physicalsensations there to water.
So strategies to use water inlater labor.
I kind of like to save that toolin my back pocket for when
things get tough, like ifsomebody is just swimming along
(08:00):
nicely through labor.
They're coping really well.
I'm not going to say, hey,let's get in the tub.
You know, I'll kind of waittill maybe they're struggling a
little bit, maybe things aregetting a little bit intense,
and then we can use that toolwhen things are getting more
intense, because it is soeffective.
I've had, I love if I couldwrite a little recipe for labor.
(08:20):
It would be to get in the tub.
About seven, eight centimeters,spend transition in the tub.
That buoyancy, that warmth,that moisture, we're preparing
the tissues to stretch, we'rebringing blood flow to the area.
The tactile sensation of wateris phenomenal.
And then we if you're nothaving a baby in the water we
get out of the tub and most tubs.
(08:41):
You are going to be doing anice big step over the side of a
tub.
If it's at home it might be ashorter step.
If it's a birth pool, that's apretty high step which is so
good for the pelvis at thatpoint as we're helping a baby to
navigate.
So the movement even of gettingin and out of a tub can be
helpful and I wish most peoplelike wish they could.
(09:02):
If they want to spend timeduring transition in the tub
because it's so effective.
Then we get out and we push.
You can even push, startpushing in the tub.
Some providers, some hospitalsstaff, get pretty nervous about
that.
But again, if you're gonna bepushing for one, two, three
hours, it's probably fine tostart pushing in the tub and
then to get out of that tub andcontinue on, just smoothly, move
(09:24):
right into that pushing phase.
That's a great place to spendthat time.
So how can other people helpwhen someone's in the tub or in
the shower?
I've gotten pretty soaking wetbefore at births, for sure, um
and helping people.
I've had partners, you know,get in this a swimming suit or
um, get soaking wet themselvesas they help in a shower or a
tub.
So sometimes rubbing the back,that's like with fingers, with
(09:46):
hands, having a nice big cup topour water over.
Sometimes the temperaturecontrol can be interesting in
that the tub can make you prettywarm.
So sometimes we want to standup to cool off like a quick
stand up.
Again, great movement, greatgravity, use of gravity there,
but standing up can cool you offpretty quickly.
(10:06):
Sometimes people are cold.
They get cold when they get out, you know, if their shoulders
out and their shoulders, theirshoulders cold.
So there's that you want to beaware, if you're helping someone
in the tub, to kind of be awareof temperature sensations and
some people are much moresensitive to temperature changes
and sensations than others.
But be aware of temperaturecontrol and helping someone with
(10:29):
a nice cup of water pouringthat over them adds a tactile
sensation to places that mightnot be submerged in the water,
that are not very good forsubmersion.
We can add more tactilesensation and temperature
(10:52):
sensation with a cup of waterthat we're pouring over the
belly, over the back.
It adds kind of a nice rhythmto it and gives the partner
something to do.
Always, always have something todrink when someone's in the
water, because they warm up.
You can burn a lot of calories,you can burn off a lot of.
You're sweating some peoplewill sweat in the tub.
So have drinks ready.
(11:13):
I always have a cold drinkhandy and we're going to offer
it quite often when somebody'sin the tub, also because they
warm up, I'm going to have somecool washcloths, even ice cold
washcloths, sometimes rightready near the tub.
So maybe a little bowl of waterIf you're at the hospital, a
little emesis basin or somethingwith, or a little basin, a
(11:34):
little tub with ice water in itand three or four washcloths in
that.
Those are going to warm up assoon as they're on the body.
They're going to warm up, sohave them always at hand to be
cold.
Maybe you put them on the neck,maybe put them on the forehead,
maybe some people hold them intheir hands, but our access to
someone in the water does change, right, like we can't access
them for double hip squeeze aswell, but still try to get
(11:57):
access to the back when you canAlso use other things in the
tubs, things such as towels,pillows.
Some people will want somethingdepending on what kind of tub
they're in.
Some rentable tubs or birthingtubs are going to be nice and
soft all the way around, even onthe bottom, so we're going to
be comfortable leaning on thatanywhere we are.
(12:17):
Other tubs have some realhardness to them, so we might
want to be ready with towels forforeheads or knees or back if
the person's semi-reclining.
So sometimes positions in tubsshift.
Of course, very common peoplemight be kind of semi reclined.
We a lot of times like to avoidsemi reclined or reclined during
labor, but in the tub a littlebit different rule because we're
(12:40):
buoyant so it's not terrible tospend some time, if desired,
kind of semi-reclined Sitting toa side.
Sometimes people lean withright shoulder, left shoulder,
kind of elbow up over the edgeof the tub.
They'll have their right hipdown, their left hip down or
switch between the two.
A lot of people, however, willkneel in the tub.
They will kind of kneel.
(13:00):
They're nice and submerged.
If they have a good spot tokneel over.
They'll kind of drape theirarms, elbows over the edge of a
tub and let their spine be long,kind of let the belly hang in
the water.
The knees may be spread outwide, but movement in the tub
can be good too.
So encourage someone in the tub.
If it's you yourself, kind ofconsider moving every few
(13:23):
minutes also in the tub.
Some people get in the tub andspend 20 minutes and they're
done also in the tub.
Some people get in the tub andspend 20 minutes and they're
done.
That's it.
Other people get in the tub anddon't want to get out.
They may be there for a coupleof hours.
They may get in several times,totally cool.
Be cautious of water temperature.
A lot of times we might bewarming it up over time.
Sometimes we might have weinclude nice dim lighting.
(13:46):
With that we can include music.
Some people have little candles.
You know battery poweredcandles they can put around the
tub.
So do something to make yourwater experience like.
Add to it that's music, dimlights, touch, massage, drink
for sure.
Maybe it's something lovely totaste, a refreshing drink to
(14:08):
hydrate and keep cool.
Um, maybe there's music isplaying as well.
So you can take that powerfultool and add a lot of other
powerful components to it.
Um, I'm trying to think of somefun tub experience which we
have.
Sometimes the water breaks inthe tub and you can see a little
kind of puff of fluid which isamniotic fluid.
Sometimes there's meconium fromthe baby in the tub.
(14:31):
We can see that in the water.
Or the mom has a bowel movementin the water.
A lot of places birth centers,hospitals are going to be
prepared to take care of that.
They usually have a little netthat they'll just get rid of
that.
But consider the water as a tool.
Some people are, like I saidbefore, are, bath takers.
If that's already a tool intheir life, it's going to be a
(14:53):
really nice tool for labor.
Other people don't take bathsvery often but it still can be a
pretty powerful tool for them.
Sometimes in the shower we mayhave a birth ball.
You can sit on the birth ballin the shower.
You can kneel on some towelsand kneel onto the birth ball,
kind of lean onto the birth ballthat way to get kind of
creative Again, depending on thespace you have.
(15:13):
Whenever I get to a labor spaceI'm going to check it out and
see what kind of bathroom are weworking with, what kind of
lighting are we working with,what's our water situation,
what's available to us?
If I'm at a home birth, I'mgoing to check that out.
Some people have beautiful,awesome home birth tubs.
I got to admit, when I'm inanybody's house for any reason,
I see a good tub, I'm like, ooh,that's a good place to have a
(15:37):
baby.
But some home tubs are verysmall and don't work as well.
But a good, nice, deep gardentub is going to be pretty,
pretty awesome.
Some hospitals have jets, somehome tubs have jets.
Some people like them, somedon't.
That adds a sound component.
Some people like that kind of awhite noise.
Other people find itdistracting.
But consider, consider watershower or bath as a really good
(16:01):
coping school tool.
Use it strategically.
Use it for later labor usually,or early labor if you need to
kind of relax and rest duringthat early phase of labor.
Hopefully this has been helpfulto you.
Hopefully it's been a good tool, something you can consider and
to use during your birthingtime.
See what your options are.
You may need to ask for a tubroom at certain hospitals.
(16:22):
Some hospitals have one tubroom.
Some have a shared tub for allthe rooms, others have a tub in
every room.
So kind of see what it isyou're working with and as you
get into it you know what youroptions are.
But it's a great option to haveand I want you to know, even if
your water's broken beforehand,you can still get in the tub.
It is totally fine to do so.
Good luck to you with use ofwater.
(16:43):
It can be a pretty great tool,pretty powerful tool.
Hopefully that helps in yourlabor preparation, as you
prepare for the work and theawesome awesomeness of bringing
a baby into the world.
Best to you.
Hopefully you can go out today.
Do something kind for someoneelse, even if it's just a wink
or a nod to a stranger, or callup an old friend.
(17:05):
Make a human connection today.
That will bring joy to you andjoy to them.
Good luck to you and I will seeyou next time.
Again, this is Angie Roziersigning off with the Ordinary
Doula podcast with Angie Rozier,hosted by Birth Learning.
Speaker 1 (17:39):
Episode credits will be in the show notes Tune in
next time as we continue toexplore the many aspects of
giving birth.
Welcome to the Ordinary Doula Podcast with
Angie Rozier, hosted by BirthLearning, where we help prepare
folks for labor and birth withexpertise coming from 20 years
of experience in a busy doulapractice Helping thousands of
people prepare for labor,providing essential knowledge
(00:37):
and tools for positive andempowering birth experiences.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
Hello and welcome to the Ordinary Doula podcast.
I hope that you can findsomething useful through
listening to these episodes.
Kind of my design in doing thispodcast is to help all people
gain some tools as they preparefor labor, for childbirth, for
breastfeeding, for the firstlittle bit of postpartum, which
(01:07):
is kind of a big shift in life.
So not everyone can afford adoula.
I realize that it's kind of aluxury item.
There are more and more ways tocover doula services.
Some states have Medicaidcoverage.
Some insurance companies coverdoula services.
You can cover them with healthsavings or flex spending
accounts in many cases.
(01:27):
But my goal is that everyonehas the access to what you might
be able to prepare with toempower you along your birth
journey.
So one thing I want to talkabout today as you may know,
doulas have several differentspecialties and one of them is
comfort measures that can beused during labor, or coping
(01:50):
skills, some different tools.
There's so many tools availableto use during labor.
A lot of people just think, oh,I'm just, you know, grin and
bear it, we've got to getthrough it.
Or they go in without a plan.
They don't have things to do,things to try things to um, to
test and to use.
So today we're going to talkabout one of my favorite gosh.
(02:12):
I have a lot of favorites, Idon't know if I can say that,
but one of the uh yeah, it's afavorite, it's a favorite tool,
a very powerful tool, a veryeffective tool, a very popular
tool, and that is the use ofwater.
So it's also known ashydrotherapy.
This could be water in the formof a tub, it could be water in
the form of a shower.
(02:32):
But we're going to talk aboutdifferent ways to use
hydrotherapy, when to use it,why to use it, how it works,
kind of some differenttechniques you can use in and
around and surroundinghydrotherapy, or the use of
water during labor.
So kind of water has a prettyimpressive impact.
It's also kind of been calledMother Nature's epidural or a
(02:56):
water dural, because it can bepretty effective.
So water can be used atdifferent times during labor and
you kind of want to strategizewhen to use it.
I'm going to talk about earlylabor and why we would or would
not want to use the use of watershower tub during early labor.
So early labor as you know, theearly labor phase can kind of
(03:20):
come and go.
It can be a little mysteriousin that we're wondering is this
it?
When is it going to take off?
So many people are anxious forit to take off, like I can't
wait to get going.
And they get going.
You're like, wow, I wish Icould go back to the chill time
of early labor.
But early labor, whencontractions might be sporadic
or spread out or kind of shortor not very intense.
(03:44):
If we use water in early labor,it can be very effective at kind
of just mellowing mellow labor.
So why would we want to do that?
Well, it kind of depends onyour energy levels and the time
of day.
If early labor begins at 8pm,we're going into the nighttime.
You're probably, hopefully, ina couple hours.
(04:04):
The idea is to lay down, go tosleep, get some rest.
So you may want to strategizeand use labor as a comfort tool
to kind of relax things duringearly labor so you could take a
bath before you lay down and tryto get as much rest as possible
.
However, if early labor isstarting at 6 or 7am, you may
(04:24):
not want to take a bath.
If you had a good night's sleep, you want to maybe move around
a little bit more.
Um, do some things to encouragelabor rather than to kind of
really relax through it.
So be strategic about when youuse water in early labor.
Now, a shower shower can beused at any time, of course.
Um, sometimes it's a nice resetto to use a shower.
(04:46):
If you think about thesensations that are occurring
during use of water, there, ofcourse, is moisture happening,
right.
So whatever is being touched bywater is being moistened.
Um, so that can be good for um,we'll talk a little bit later
about, like preparing of thetissues for stretching.
In late labor, there'stemperature involved.
(05:09):
Typically it's warm or hot.
I don't really know many, toomany people who take super cold
baths or showers, but sometimesthat water does cool off and
that can feel good too, aspeople take a long bath or
something.
And actually studies have shownthat the natural cooling of the
water in late labor helps withthe extraction of placenta if
(05:30):
baby is born in the water.
So, and people kind of warm upand that cooler water as it
cools off can be a nice tool inearlier labor, or, sorry, in
later labor.
So water has a temperature toit and that is controllable,
right?
Some people they want it hotter, they want it not so hot.
I've had people in such hotshowers.
(05:51):
They look like they're baking,like they're just red as can be.
Their skin is red and that'skind of what they want.
You know they're like no hotterhotter.
In some hospital settings wehave a challenge with getting
hot hot water coming out of thepipes, or it takes a while
anyway for it to warm up.
So be aware of yoursurroundings and if you're going
to use water to prepare forthat, so get the water going.
(06:13):
Honestly, sometimes it takesseveral minutes in a hospital
for that water to get as hot asit can be, which isn't usually
as hot as you want.
At home we sometimes havelimited hot water use.
Like it might be super hot, butit's going to run out.
I was at a home birth a fewmonths ago.
It was a water birth and thismom was just loving the hot
water.
She was in a bath with a showerrunning on her.
(06:35):
That was her main copingmechanism.
She was leaning on it superstrong.
It was working very well, butwe ran out of hot water so we
had to kind of give it a break.
Do something else before we gotback to the hot water.
If you have a tankless waterheater, awesome, all the better.
You're not going to run out ofhot water.
So we have temperature.
And then a very impactful partof hydrotherapy is tactile
(06:56):
sensation.
So water, whether it's in ashower or, even more so, in a
tub, the body is submerged.
Water is gonna be touching somany places right, like when you
submerge in water.
Just I want you to feel, if youknow, some people are bath
takers, they love taking a bath,other people don't.
But kind of sense, when yousubmerge in the perfect
(07:18):
temperature water hopefully it'sa nice deep, you know, pool or
tub where you can get reallywell submerged just kind of
imagine that sensation thatcomes over your whole body,
right.
Water's touching your toes,your legs, your buttocks, your
stomach, your back, like you canmove in the water and there's a
buoyancy that comes to thewater that a lot of people like.
(07:38):
It kind of takes off some ofthe pressure that we feel as a
heavy baby is in the pelvis andmaking their way down.
So some really cool physicalsensations there to water.
So strategies to use water inlater labor.
I kind of like to save that toolin my back pocket for when
things get tough, like ifsomebody is just swimming along
(08:00):
nicely through labor.
They're coping really well.
I'm not going to say, hey,let's get in the tub.
You know, I'll kind of waittill maybe they're struggling a
little bit, maybe things aregetting a little bit intense,
and then we can use that toolwhen things are getting more
intense, because it is soeffective.
I've had, I love if I couldwrite a little recipe for labor.
(08:20):
It would be to get in the tub.
About seven, eight centimeters,spend transition in the tub.
That buoyancy, that warmth,that moisture, we're preparing
the tissues to stretch, we'rebringing blood flow to the area.
The tactile sensation of wateris phenomenal.
And then we if you're nothaving a baby in the water we
get out of the tub and most tubs.
(08:41):
You are going to be doing anice big step over the side of a
tub.
If it's at home it might be ashorter step.
If it's a birth pool, that's apretty high step which is so
good for the pelvis at thatpoint as we're helping a baby to
navigate.
So the movement even of gettingin and out of a tub can be
helpful and I wish most peoplelike wish they could.
(09:02):
If they want to spend timeduring transition in the tub
because it's so effective.
Then we get out and we push.
You can even push, startpushing in the tub.
Some providers, some hospitalsstaff, get pretty nervous about
that.
But again, if you're gonna bepushing for one, two, three
hours, it's probably fine tostart pushing in the tub and
then to get out of that tub andcontinue on, just smoothly, move
(09:24):
right into that pushing phase.
That's a great place to spendthat time.
So how can other people helpwhen someone's in the tub or in
the shower?
I've gotten pretty soaking wetbefore at births, for sure, um
and helping people.
I've had partners, you know,get in this a swimming suit or
um, get soaking wet themselvesas they help in a shower or a
tub.
So sometimes rubbing the back,that's like with fingers, with
(09:46):
hands, having a nice big cup topour water over.
Sometimes the temperaturecontrol can be interesting in
that the tub can make you prettywarm.
So sometimes we want to standup to cool off like a quick
stand up.
Again, great movement, greatgravity, use of gravity there,
but standing up can cool you offpretty quickly.
(10:06):
Sometimes people are cold.
They get cold when they get out, you know, if their shoulders
out and their shoulders, theirshoulders cold.
So there's that you want to beaware, if you're helping someone
in the tub, to kind of be awareof temperature sensations and
some people are much moresensitive to temperature changes
and sensations than others.
But be aware of temperaturecontrol and helping someone with
(10:29):
a nice cup of water pouringthat over them adds a tactile
sensation to places that mightnot be submerged in the water,
that are not very good forsubmersion.
We can add more tactilesensation and temperature
(10:52):
sensation with a cup of waterthat we're pouring over the
belly, over the back.
It adds kind of a nice rhythmto it and gives the partner
something to do.
Always, always have something todrink when someone's in the
water, because they warm up.
You can burn a lot of calories,you can burn off a lot of.
You're sweating some peoplewill sweat in the tub.
So have drinks ready.
(11:13):
I always have a cold drinkhandy and we're going to offer
it quite often when somebody'sin the tub, also because they
warm up, I'm going to have somecool washcloths, even ice cold
washcloths, sometimes rightready near the tub.
So maybe a little bowl of waterIf you're at the hospital, a
little emesis basin or somethingwith, or a little basin, a
(11:34):
little tub with ice water in itand three or four washcloths in
that.
Those are going to warm up assoon as they're on the body.
They're going to warm up, sohave them always at hand to be
cold.
Maybe you put them on the neck,maybe put them on the forehead,
maybe some people hold them intheir hands, but our access to
someone in the water does change, right, like we can't access
them for double hip squeeze aswell, but still try to get
(11:57):
access to the back when you canAlso use other things in the
tubs, things such as towels,pillows.
Some people will want somethingdepending on what kind of tub
they're in.
Some rentable tubs or birthingtubs are going to be nice and
soft all the way around, even onthe bottom, so we're going to
be comfortable leaning on thatanywhere we are.
(12:17):
Other tubs have some realhardness to them, so we might
want to be ready with towels forforeheads or knees or back if
the person's semi-reclining.
So sometimes positions in tubsshift.
Of course, very common peoplemight be kind of semi reclined.
We a lot of times like to avoidsemi reclined or reclined during
labor, but in the tub a littlebit different rule because we're
(12:40):
buoyant so it's not terrible tospend some time, if desired,
kind of semi-reclined Sitting toa side.
Sometimes people lean withright shoulder, left shoulder,
kind of elbow up over the edgeof the tub.
They'll have their right hipdown, their left hip down or
switch between the two.
A lot of people, however, willkneel in the tub.
They will kind of kneel.
(13:00):
They're nice and submerged.
If they have a good spot tokneel over.
They'll kind of drape theirarms, elbows over the edge of a
tub and let their spine be long,kind of let the belly hang in
the water.
The knees may be spread outwide, but movement in the tub
can be good too.
So encourage someone in the tub.
If it's you yourself, kind ofconsider moving every few
(13:23):
minutes also in the tub.
Some people get in the tub andspend 20 minutes and they're
done also in the tub.
Some people get in the tub andspend 20 minutes and they're
done.
That's it.
Other people get in the tub anddon't want to get out.
They may be there for a coupleof hours.
They may get in several times,totally cool.
Be cautious of water temperature.
A lot of times we might bewarming it up over time.
Sometimes we might have weinclude nice dim lighting.
(13:46):
With that we can include music.
Some people have little candles.
You know battery poweredcandles they can put around the
tub.
So do something to make yourwater experience like.
Add to it that's music, dimlights, touch, massage, drink
for sure.
Maybe it's something lovely totaste, a refreshing drink to
(14:08):
hydrate and keep cool.
Um, maybe there's music isplaying as well.
So you can take that powerfultool and add a lot of other
powerful components to it.
Um, I'm trying to think of somefun tub experience which we
have.
Sometimes the water breaks inthe tub and you can see a little
kind of puff of fluid which isamniotic fluid.
Sometimes there's meconium fromthe baby in the tub.
(14:31):
We can see that in the water.
Or the mom has a bowel movementin the water.
A lot of places birth centers,hospitals are going to be
prepared to take care of that.
They usually have a little netthat they'll just get rid of
that.
But consider the water as a tool.
Some people are, like I saidbefore, are, bath takers.
If that's already a tool intheir life, it's going to be a
(14:53):
really nice tool for labor.
Other people don't take bathsvery often but it still can be a
pretty powerful tool for them.
Sometimes in the shower we mayhave a birth ball.
You can sit on the birth ballin the shower.
You can kneel on some towelsand kneel onto the birth ball,
kind of lean onto the birth ballthat way to get kind of
creative Again, depending on thespace you have.
(15:13):
Whenever I get to a labor spaceI'm going to check it out and
see what kind of bathroom are weworking with, what kind of
lighting are we working with,what's our water situation,
what's available to us?
If I'm at a home birth, I'mgoing to check that out.
Some people have beautiful,awesome home birth tubs.
I got to admit, when I'm inanybody's house for any reason,
I see a good tub, I'm like, ooh,that's a good place to have a
(15:37):
baby.
But some home tubs are verysmall and don't work as well.
But a good, nice, deep gardentub is going to be pretty,
pretty awesome.
Some hospitals have jets, somehome tubs have jets.
Some people like them, somedon't.
That adds a sound component.
Some people like that kind of awhite noise.
Other people find itdistracting.
But consider, consider watershower or bath as a really good
(16:01):
coping school tool.
Use it strategically.
Use it for later labor usually,or early labor if you need to
kind of relax and rest duringthat early phase of labor.
Hopefully this has been helpfulto you.
Hopefully it's been a good tool, something you can consider and
to use during your birthingtime.
See what your options are.
You may need to ask for a tubroom at certain hospitals.
(16:22):
Some hospitals have one tubroom.
Some have a shared tub for allthe rooms, others have a tub in
every room.
So kind of see what it isyou're working with and as you
get into it you know what youroptions are.
But it's a great option to haveand I want you to know, even if
your water's broken beforehand,you can still get in the tub.
It is totally fine to do so.
Good luck to you with use ofwater.
(16:43):
It can be a pretty great tool,pretty powerful tool.
Hopefully that helps in yourlabor preparation, as you
prepare for the work and theawesome awesomeness of bringing
a baby into the world.
Best to you.
Hopefully you can go out today.
Do something kind for someoneelse, even if it's just a wink
or a nod to a stranger, or callup an old friend.
(17:05):
Make a human connection today.
That will bring joy to you andjoy to them.
Good luck to you and I will seeyou next time.
Again, this is Angie Roziersigning off with the Ordinary
Doula podcast with Angie Rozier,hosted by Birth Learning.
Speaker 1 (17:39):
Episode credits will be in the show notes Tune in
next time as we continue toexplore the many aspects of
giving birth.
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