title: Effects of water birth on maternal and neonatal outcomes.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Our purpose was to assess benefits and possible disadvantages of water births and to compare maternal and neonatal outcomes with normal vaginal deliveries.
  
  
  METHODS
  This case-controlled study was carried out between January 2000 and July 2001. A total of 140 women who wanted water births were enrolled into the study. Our analysis was restricted to a sample of women with a gestational age > 37 weeks, a normal sized foetus, a reactive admission cardiotocography, drainage of clear amniotic fluid (if the membranes were already ruptured) and a pregnancy with cephalic presentation. Women with medical or obstetric risk factors were excluded. 140 controls were selected from the delivery database as the next parity-matched normal spontaneous vaginal delivery.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A statistically significant lower rate of episiotomies (p = 0.0001) and vaginal trauma (p = 0.03) was detected in the group assigned to water birth, whereas the frequency of perineal tears and labial trauma remained similar in both groups (p > 0.05). A statistically significant decrease in the use of medical analgesia (p = 0.0001) and oxytocin (p = 0.002) was observed in women who had water births. A trend towards a reduction of the length of the first stage of labour was only observed in primiparous women bearing in water, but this reduction did not reach statistically significance (p > 0.05). Manual placenta removal (p = 0.017), severe postpartum haemorrhage (blood loss > 500 ml; p = 0.002) and maternal infection rate (p = 0.03) were statistically significant lower in women who delivered in water. When analysing the postpartum haemoglobin, no statistically significant differences could be observed between the two groups (p > 0.05). No statistically significant differences were detected for neonatal parameters (p > 0.05) between women who had had water births and those choosing conventional vaginal delivery.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, Hospital Rudolfstiftung,  Vienna, Austria. Klausbodner@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Klaus
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Bodner
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Bodner-Adler
authors.forename: Franz
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Wierrani
authors.forename: Klaus
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mayerhofer
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fousek
authors.forename: Anton
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Niedermayr
authors.forename: Werner
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Grünberger
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001317:Austria; D001494:Baths; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D036861:Delivery, Obstetric / Q000379:methods*; D004841:Episiotomy / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008880:Midwifery; D007744:Obstetric Labor Complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D011247:Pregnancy; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014621:Vagina / Q000293:injuries