What’s Hydrotherapy?

Hydrotherapy (laboring in water) can reduce pain and increase relaxation during the first stage of labor. Clinical guidance supports offering immersion during the first stage for healthy, uncomplicated pregnancies, with appropriate infection-control and monitoring. 

A Cochrane review of water immersion in labor found reductions in epidural use and possibly shorter labors, with no increase in adverse outcomes in low-risk settings. Policies vary by facility; ask about protocols and candidate criteria. 

Professional bodies caution that underwater birth (delivery in water) has insufficient evidence and has been linked—albeit rarely—to serious neonatal complications; many recommend exiting the tub for the pushing/birth phase unless a unit has explicit protocols and parents accept the risks.