Mother praises new water birthing facility

The first woman to have a water birth at Busselton Hospital says she is thrilled the service will be available at the new Busselton Health Campus.

Geographe resident Meg Hartley welcomed her second child, Clare, through a water birth on July 29.

Mrs Hartley said she got a taste of the experience during the birth of her first child, when she used a bath for pain relief.

“My first labour was very long and when I was in the bath it was instant relief,” she said.

“I heard through word-of-mouth there would be water births at the new hospital so when I fell pregnant again I thought, ‘I’m too early’.”

Mrs Hartley didn’t want to have a home birth so she asked the hospital, without much hope, if she could have a water birth.

But the hospital staff supported her and she was able to hire an independent midwife who provided the birthing pool.

Mrs Hartley said she was extremely happy with the outcome.

“I got into the water and I felt more in control and less vulnerable,” she said.

“I was managing my own labour; no one was telling me to push.

“And for the baby I think it’s a calmer entry for them — from water into water.”

WA Country Health Service South West regional director Grace Ley said midwives and doctors needed specialist knowledge and training to care for women who wanted a water birth and also needed to be comfortable with the practice.

“In preparation for Meg’s birth some ground work was initially required and this included setting up meetings with stakeholders, reviewing of hospital guidelines, and purchase of equipment and staff training in moving a woman from a birthing bath in an emergency, ” she said.

Water births will soon become much easier for women to access, with two purpose-built birthing baths to be included at the new Busselton Health Campus.

Ms Ley said the WA Health Department had developed guidelines for the use of water for labour and births in 2009, in collaboration with the Women and Newborn’s Health Network.

“This guideline has been developed in response to increasing consumer demand in Western Australia, ” she said.

Mrs Hartley said she was thrilled local women would now be able to choose to have a water birth.

“It’s awesome. I wouldn’t do it any other way,” she said.

I was managing my own labour; no one was telling me to push. And for the baby I think it’s a calmer entry for them — from water into water. Meg Hartley

Click here to go mobile with iNFOGO - local everywhere