A close friend of yours recently had a wonderful experience having a water birth, and then you read online that Kim Kardashian ate her placenta to reduce postpartum depression. It gets you thinking?are these practices safe for your baby and should you try them yourself"
The problem is, a lot of these practices don?t have proven benefits. What?s worse, some can even be risky for your baby.
As a paediatric emergency medicine physician, I have seen many newborns get very sick with bacterial and viral infections, often needing hospitalization and occasionally?time in the ICU. Newborns are among the highest risk children I care for, especially in the vulnerable first week of life.
But with all the information out there, it can be hard to know which practices have been proven to help, and which ones might actually cause harm. A comprehensive research article recently published in the journal Pediatrics reviewed some of these practices and includes the most recent data. Here?s what expecting parents need to know about the risks of these birth practices to decide what?s right for them.
Water birth
In a water birth, part or all of labour occurs while in a birthing pool or tub with warm water.
Water birth benefits
Women often choose a water birth to increase relaxation, decrease pain, and use the support of the water to make it easier to get in a more comfortable position. When asked about their experience with a water birth, research has shown that mothers also felt an increas...