Dubbo Hospital now offering water birthing services

It was an announcement many expecting mothers around the Dubbo and western region were thrilled to hear on International Day of the Midwife on Friday, May 5.

Dubbo Hospital Nurse Unit Manager - Maternity, Sally Jenkins said the implementation of water birthing was a "really exciting" development for the unit and the hospital.

"Our highly-skilled team are passionate about providing expecting mothers and their families with as much choice as possible, so they can make an informed decision about how they can safely welcome their babies into the world," she said.

"Water birthing has become a popular alternative to more traditional birthing methods, and implementing the service at Dubbo Hospital is something we have been working towards for some time now."

During a water birth, a baby is born submerged in a water bath.

Ms Jenkins said water birthing was very safe for women who have low-risk pregnancies and if labour is progressing without complications.

"All expecting mothers will be assessed prenatally so they can know early on if their pregnancy is suitable for a water birth," she said.

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The option of the water birth will also extend to patients beyond the local Dubbo community, with many expecting mothers from across all areas of the district, particularly remote areas, able to choose a water birth at Dubbo.

Ms Jenkins said water immersion is a technique that they have been using for many years to help relieve pain in the early stages of labour.

"It is highly-effective, especially in the large baths that were installed in the new maternity unit in 2015, the addition of water birthing is the next step in that process," she said.

Women will be provided with the choice of a water birth from the outset of their pregnancy, as they develop their birthing plan. All assessments to determine suitability are conducted prenatally, to ensure mothers and families are well-informed about their options as early as possible.

Dubbo Hospital's maternity team have undergone extensive training prior to the implementation of water birthing, to ensure the service is both safe but also sustainable full-time and long-term.

Ms Jenkins said clinical midwife educator Bethany Riley, also the District's Midwife of the Year, was integral to that training process, which also ensures the team can assist, guide and up-skill any new staff, or midwives who didn't attend water births during their initial training.

"We actually performed our first water birth only a few hours after the announcement last Friday, it was wonderful to see," Ms Jenkins said.

"We're looking forward to supporting more mothers and their families welcome their babies into the world in this way."

Ms Riley said just four hours after the announcement, they were back in the delivery suite to help with their first water birth.

"We were pretty much on cloud nine because it was the most beautiful thing we've ever seen, it was a bloody awesome day," she said.