A Gentle Welcome for Your Baby

Riverdale Community Midwives whole-heartedly supports and encourages the use of water for all or part of your labour and birth. Water immersion during labour can provide considerable pain relief and help you stay relaxed while coping with contractions. Upon entering the tub, you will experience increased mobility, a feeling of privacy and a renewed sense of control. “Water babies” are often noted to be calmer due to the gentler transition to extrauterine life.

For birthing people, water birth is associated with fewer drugs and medical interventions. For babies, there are fewer postpartum transfers to hospital and fewer hospital admissions during the first 6 weeks postpartum. 

A water birth can be planned either at home (in your own bathtub or a rented pool) or at the Toronto Birth Centre; St. Michael’s Hospital offers jacuzzi tubs for water immersion during labour only.