Gisele Bundchen's Waterbirth: Could it Have Reduced the Risk of Complications?
By Robert Latkany, MDFebruary 02, 2010
Supermodel Gisele Bundchen, wife of NFL quarterback Tom Brady, reports that she gave birth to her baby Benjamin in her penthouse bathtub on Dec 8th, 2009, according to People Magazine. Given this is her first delivery there were many issues at hand. We were more than a little surprised that she chose to deliver at home for a first pregnancy --too risky for our taste, since the risk of a woman dying during home delivery is about twice as high as during a hospital delivery. But the concept of the water birth was intriguing. We wanted to know: do babies born by waterbirth have an increased rate of infection compared to those born through normal spontaeous vaginal delivery without the benefit of the bath? And do mothers who delivery in the bath have decreased rate of tearing or episiotomy than those born without a waterbath?
Zanetti-Daellenbach et al prospectively studied women who had a waterbirth, women who were immersed but then came out of the water for a normal spontaneous vaginal delivery, and women who were never immersed and who had a normal spontaneous vaginal delivery. They found that there was no difference in either maternal or child infection rates among the groups. Women who had a waterbirth required less anesthesia and were less likely to have an episiotomy than women who were never immersed. Infants born during a waterbirth were just as likely to be healthy as those who were born during normal non-immersed spontaneous vaginal delivery.
The encouraging findings about reduced need for anesthesia were backed up by Cluet et al: their Cochrane review concluded that water immersion during the first stage of labor significantly reduces the need for spinal and epidural pain medication and there were no increased adverse events.
Thoeni et al compared first time deliveries in water versus other first time deliveries in traditional beds and found episiotomy rates were far less for water births (0.38%) compared to epesiotomy rates during traditional bed deliveries (23%). They were also found to have shorter first stages of labor, and reduced pain requirements.
Although the results appear to be encouraging, it is important to consult with your own Obstetrician about the smartest and safest delivery method for you and your baby.
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