Waterbirths - the background story

More and more hospitals are offering women the chance to use a birthing pool to ease the pain of labour, and even to give birth in. Dr Michael Odent is familiarly known as the obstetrician who introduced the concept of birthing pools and home-like birthing rooms in the 1970s.

How long has waterbirth been around?

Like many people, you may think that waterbirth is a 20th century invention but, according to world-renowned natural childbirth pioneer Janet Balaskas, there are tales of generations of women in the South Pacific giving birth in shallow sea water. In her latest book, The Waterbirth Book, Janet says "Since the beginning of recorded history humans have used water for the relief of pain and relaxation." She adds that women in particular have used water for centuries for the relief of menstrual and labour pains.

The first recorded incident of this took place in 1805 when a French woman was encouraged into warm water by her physician after labouring for 2 days. However, it wasn't until over 150 years later in the 1960s that a Russian researcher Igor Tjarkovsky began to look into the therapeutic effects of water and later installed a glass tank in his own home for mothers to labour and give birth in. Then in the 1970s, French obstetrician Michael Odent began using water in a French hospital for labouring women. Initially, he installed a blue plastic paddling pool and found the warm water reduced the need for painkillers in the women.

The first waterbirth, in 1977, was more by accident than planned. Michael Odent recalls, "One day a mother-to-be had not been in the water for long when suddenly she had two irresistible contractions, and the baby was born before she could feel the need to get out of the pool."

Over the next seven years, more than 100 births took place in a pool and the practice gained popularity, which continued throughout the 1980s and 1990s.