# Water birth

**Should we have a water birth?**

Whether you would use a tub or pool in labor, and whether you would plan to actually deliver the baby underwater. Using water for pain relief in labor is different from giving birth in it.

In short: Parents choose between 3 main approaches: No water; Laboring in a tub or shower and birthing out of the water; Planned birth in water. Evidence: experts disagree. Credible bodies or researchers disagree — decide whose guidance you'll weigh. Best settled: during pregnancy.

- Area: Pregnancy, birth and arrival
- Evidence: Experts disagree
- Best settled: During pregnancy
- First published: 2026-10-03
- Last updated: 2026-10-05
- Page: https://www.raisingyourchild.com/topics/pregnancy-birth-and-arrival--water-birth

## Water birth: what are the options?

1. **No water**: You do not use a tub or pool in labor.
2. **Laboring in a tub or shower and birthing out of the water**: You use warm water for comfort during labor and get out before the baby is born.
3. **Planned birth in water**: You plan for the baby to be born underwater.

## Water birth: what does the evidence say?

**Experts disagree.** Credible bodies or researchers disagree — decide whose guidance you'll weigh.

ACOG, with the AAP, says immersion in water during the first stage of labor is reasonable for healthy, low-risk pregnancies, but recommends that birth itself take place on land because data on the benefits and risks of delivering in water are insufficient, and that anyone who asks to deliver in water be told of rare but serious neonatal complications. A Cochrane review of 15 trials (3,663 women) found water immersion in the first stage probably lowers epidural use (43% to 39%), made little or no difference to spontaneous vaginal birth, and found no evidence of increased harm to mother or baby, though the evidence was moderate to low quality and no trial was in a midwife-led setting

Sources:

- [ACOG Committee Opinion 679](https://www.acog.org/clinical/clinical-guidance/committee-opinion/articles/2016/11/immersion-in-water-during-labor-and-delivery)
- [Cochrane, Cluett 2018](https://www.cochrane.org/evidence/CD000111_immersion-water-labour-and-birth)

## What else is worth knowing?

Warm water can ease pain and help you relax in labor. Laboring in water and delivering in water are separate choices, and professional bodies treat them differently. Ask whether your birth place has a tub and what its policy is.

## Questions to ask each other

- Does a tub appeal to us for pain relief, and does the hospital or birth center we are considering have one?
- How do we feel about giving birth in water versus leaving the water for the delivery?
- What would we do if our provider advised against it?

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General information, not medical advice. Two parents can each answer this and compare: https://www.raisingyourchild.com/explore?cat=pregnancy-birth-and-arrival&topic=pregnancy-birth-and-arrival--water-birth