The first and largest layer has to do with my general outlook on the world. I guess you could consider me to be a neo-hippie. You won't ever find me wearing Birkenstocks, tye-dye, listening to the Grateful Dead or smoking from a bong... but you will find me recycling, choosing organic food when I can afford it, abstaining from certain things in life in favor of a more "holistic" or "natural" approach. This goes for having a cup of chamomile tea as opposed to popping an aspirin for a headache. Why would someone who holds these sentiments close to her heart choose willingly to be pumped full of artificial drugs, give her body over to the insight of a doctor who may or may not have her or her baby's best interests in mind, and sheepishly submit to a medical system which is run from the top-down by greed. I'm not saying that the night-nurse on duty would be cruel, or that the OBGYN I was assigned would be checking his or her watch every five minutes trying to make it to a game of golf they had scheduled... but I am saying that, having worked in the medical insurance field for a time in life, these individuals might have quotas- they might have managerial staff urging them to "clear beds for more patients coming in", or similar situations which may be beyond even their control.
So, that's one of my personal reasons for water. Another personal reason is that I love the sensation of floating in, or bathing in water. I hardly ever shower (I'm really a "bather" not a "shower-er" kinda gal). Relaxing in the tub is one of my favorite things to do, whether morning, noon or night. When I was younger we had an in-ground pool and it was heaven on earth for a hot summer Georgia day. While most kids enjoyed doing back-flips off the diving board, I seriously enjoyed feeling weightless, floating, hovering in the deep end... feeling my body push almost effortlessly through the water-space while I held my breath. I mean, my name is Brooke for crying out loud. Brooke (yes, even with the "e") simply means... a brook. A small stream of water.
Then there are the medical reasons (which I guess technically ARE personal reasons too, since this will be "medically-speaking" happening to me personally). There are so many benefits to both mother and baby for getting in the water. I won't touch on all of them, but some of them include:
*a lower risk of tearing for mother
*a more peaceful transition to the "outer world" for baby
*a reported feeling that the water helped with pain relief
*mother tends to relax better in the water, helping for the contractions to do their job easier
*less gravity means mother can get into those "better for labor" positions better and hold them for longer
In general, it is a really great alternative to pain medication for women who are hoping to avoid artificial drugs. If you're interested in waterbirth, you should check out this link here:
http://www.waterbirth.org
Atlanta currently has two hospitals that do waterbirth (and that's it for now until the new birthing center opens)... Atlanta Medical Center and North Fulton. You have to get in with one of two midwife groups if you want a waterbirth at either hospital (and take a quick class for safety) but that's it! An OBGYN is on call for you at all times if you need surgical assistance or anything that a midwife couldn't do (which really isn't much).
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