Infection Infection can occur from two sources. One source is germs the laboring woman might carry in or on her body and the other source is germs that might be present in the pool or water. Because birth always involves the release of body fluids, researchers have looked at the potential for infection. During birth, a laboring mother will lose fluid from the bag of waters, pass urine, blood, and sometimes stool. Fluid from the bag of waters and urine are usually sterile, that is, there are normally no germs in those body fluids.
Blood can carry both bacteria and viruses.
Stool usually carries bacteria and other types of organisms. Current research indicates that most germs cannot live very long in warm, chlorinated water. Since city water has chlorine in it to kill germs, and city water is what goes into our tubs, the chance of infection due to water contamination is remote. Also, if there are bacteria or viruses in body products or fluids, the amounts are thinned out with exposure to a large tub of water and that makes the germs less able to cause infection. The tubs go through a thorough cleaning process with special cleaning products that kill germs after each use and tests are done periodically to make sure no bacteria that cause infection remain.