First time mom here who has changed my mind throughout this pregnancy on my ideas of how I want to deliver. Based on my mother having a 36 hour labor with me with back labor and her mother having a 36 hour labor with her, and my sister having complications that resulted in 2 c sections with both her pregnancies, I've decided that I would like to seek out a midwife/doula. In doing my research I became interested in water births and wondered why the majority of hospitals weren't really offering them. And I also learned that most/all hospitals will not allow you to deliver the baby underwater, just labor in the tub due to not enough research to support if it is safe for baby.

According to what I've read up on about birthing centers with certified licensed midwives that offer water births, the success and happiness rate of mom's delivering healthy babies (drug free) seems to be an overwhelmingly positive experience.

I never for once thought I'd try to be one of those "tough" women who would choose an all natural birth that is not necessitated by meds. As a matter of fact I have always thought that I would happily opt for the epidural but I am not feeling confident in the current medical care I am receiving at my OB/GYN office and I find that they shuffle me around to several doctors in the practice, are impersonal, rush through appointments and are unorganized with my paperwork, confusing my 20'week scan with my sugar test appointment. I'm just not impressed with he hospital either after talking to others who had babies there.

It's scary for me to take the leap and go for the birthing center at 7 months but I have a gut feeling that this could be what's best for the baby and me.

I'm just curious if there are any other moms out there who have had a water birth either their first time or after s hospital birth and what the experience was like. Any positives-negatives about it?

I'm beginning to get anxiety about the labor, even starting to have nightmares about the pain. Also curious if water birth is getting to be more common. I know that c-sections are!

Over it

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