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Stanley T. Zengeya
Great Western Hospital, United KingdomTitle: Neonatal outcomes following delivery in water: Evaluation of safety in a district general hospital
Abstract
Introduction
Giving birth in water has increased in popularity over recent years, with potential benefits in
terms of maternal comfort and decreased rates of instrumental delivery. Some concerns have
been raised about possible adverse neonatal outcomes, including hypothermia and respiratory
distress. There is not currently, however, a clear consensus in the literature. This study sought
to assess the safety of delivering in water for low-risk vaginal deliveries in a District General
Hospital in the United Kingdom.
Methods
Prospectively collected hospital data was obtained for all deliveries between 1 April 2014 and
31 March 2016 at the Great Western Hospital, Swindon. The dataset was limited to full-term
babies born by unassisted vaginal delivery following spontaneous labour; 3507 babies were
included in the analyses. Pre-specified outcomes included neonatal unit admission, Apgar
scores, and temperature after delivery.
Results
During the two-year period studied, there were 592 waterbirths and 2915 non-waterbirths.
There was no significant difference in rates of neonatal unit admission between waterbirths
and non-waterbirths. One-minute Apgar scores were slightly higher among those born in water
(P = 0.04); this difference attenuated by five minutes of age. There was no difference in
temperature after delivery between the two groups.
Conclusions
An evaluation of safety in a District General Hospital has demonstrated similar postnatal
outcomes among babies born in water, compared to those born on land. Further work
examining longer-term outcomes would help assess whether this persists beyond the newborn
period.
Biography
Stanley T. Zengeya is working at the Department of Paediatrics in NHS Trust, United Kingdom
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