Giving birth in water is a wonderful experience. Being in the water relaxes your body, reduces the need for painkillers, and is safe for both mom and baby. However, there are not many hospitals in China that can use water transfusion.
Planning a water birth
If you want to give birth in water, the first thing to do is talk to your doctor during your prenatal visit and she will tell you if your hospital has a birthing pool. Some hospitals offer water births, but they may not recommend them. Here are some questions you can ask to learn about your hospital\’s experience with water births:
? How many women use birthing pools each year to relieve pain during childbirth?
How many women give birth in birthing pools each year?
?How many midwives are trained to use birthing pools?
Are there times when the delivery pool cannot be used?
If you insist on using a birthing pool and your local hospital does not have these facilities, or you feel that the hospital\’s water birth technology is not good enough, you may want to consider transferring.
Learn about water birth
Here are some ways to help you gather more information:
Find out about other people\’s experiences: It\’s best to talk to women who have given birth and had water births. You can also talk to women who use birth pools for pain relief and women who have had water births and ask them what they find useful and disliked about getting in and out of the birth pool. At the same time, you should also ask carefully when entering and leaving the delivery pool. If possible, try to learn some of the do’s and don’ts after your baby is born.
Prenatal training courses: These training courses can provide a lot of information about water birth. When booking a class, ask if the class will cover water birth. At the beginning of class, the teacher may ask you questions you want to know. You can take this opportunity to ask her about water birth. The rest of your class will be interested too!
Books: Most of the latest books on pregnancy and childbirth have a section devoted to water birth.
Dad and paternity leave
At present, there are no specific regulations on paternity leave for fathers in our country. However, the family planning regulations of many provinces and cities mention the husband\’s maternity leave provisions. Therefore, you need to consult the human resources department of your unit in advance, or check the relevant documents and regulations of the local family planning department to understand your rights in this regard. If you can enjoy paternity leave according to regulations, it may only be 3 days, or it may be as long as more than 10 days. Most still need to submit the baby’s birth certificate and other relevant documents to the unit.
If you plan to take paternity leave, just like your wife takes maternity leave, you should also tell your boss and supervisor in advance, arrange the work at hand, and try not to interfere with the company\’s normal business processes.
Even if you cannot enjoy paternity leave according to relevant regulations, if your work situation permits, you can consider taking annual leave or personal leave to free up some time to help your wife take care of the baby or take care of the housework. Work every day. Even if there are things you can\’t do about anything, your moral support is very important to a new mother.