More and more hospitals are joining Humanized delivery care recommended by the World Health Organization, which includes the participation of the mother and the adequacy of the physical environment for comfort and safety during delivery.
Among these measures are dilation bathtubs that, according to the experiences of many hospitals, favor childbirth. These expansion baths for parturients have had a very good reception and more and more centers are offering it. This procedure has been shown to facilitate births, shorten them and make them less painful.
The function of bathtubs with warm water is to welcome the mother during the dilation phase, which would help mitigate the pain of contractions thanks to several factors.
The use of hot water during dilation induces women to relax, reduces anxiety by stimulating the production of endorphins, improves uterine perfusion and shortens the period of dilation, increasing the feeling of pain control and satisfaction.
The warm water causes the perineal muscles to relax, so the pain subsides and the expulsion of the baby is easier. This relaxation also reduces the production of adrenaline, which hardens the cervix. This favors that the time that the active dilation process lasts is shortened.
The position taken in the bathtub, sitting and not lying down, causes the baby to press and descend, which also helps reduce the delivery time.
Everything causes the final stage of labor to be reached, the expulsive in better conditions and with less pain, something that will result in the need for less medical intervention, always desirable.
As we see, to the non-pharmacological methods to mitigate the pain of childbirth this "water immersion" is added, and there are also hydromassage showers in some hospitals. The biggest problem I see is its widespread implementation, in times of crisis and cuts, but while we overcome them it is worth talking about their advantages.
Ideally, the approach that professionals make to treat pain in childbirth is individually, so that the woman is informed of the different alternatives available and collaborate with her in her choice.
And among the alternatives (ambulation, massage, expansion balls ...) the dilation bathtub is increasingly imposed in hospitals to facilitate delivery. It will work ...
