When submerged in water, the body experiences only 15% of the
effects of gravity, thus reducing muscular strain and pressure
for the pregnant body with the growing demands of the baby.
Water creates a buoyant support for the mother to move in three
dimensions and be in comfortable positions without having to
work as hard to support the weight of her own body. When
immersed in water, the body also needs less oxygen, thus more of
the body’s resources go to healing and regeneration. Floating in
water can remind us of the baby’s experience, stirring our own
deep primal memories of beginning our lives in the watery womb.
Warm water creates a soothing and buoyant medium for a laboring
woman to relax her mind and body and birth her baby with ease.
Waterbirth is a growing trend among women desiring gentle non-
medicated births. The warm water significantly decreases the
tension and pain a woman experiences, thus warm water immersion
in labor is often referred to as an “aqua-dural” by midwives and
doulas. The water can