But the concept left Wadsworth more than a bit intrigued. And because you're relaxed, I think the babies are more mellow. All three of her children were born in birthing tubs at Monadnock Community Hospital, in Peterborough, N.H., the scene of about 350 water births since 1992.
Some women hate the idea, others love it.
Our main objective is to offer options, to give the person a choice of how she wants to deliver her baby. And the water allows the baby, who has spent nine months in warm, amniotic fluid, to enter the world in a familiar setting. The woman can get in and out of the tub, depending on the length of her labor, and may choose to move to a hospital bed just before delivery. If she does deliver in the birthing tub, the baby is cradled gently by the mother, father or an attending health-care professional and brought to the surface, where the first breath is taken. The number of hospitals practicing water births has increased from about 10 in 1995 to 150 today, Waterbirth International says.