What's New
We are excited to have Caring Touch Spa right here at Ob-Gyn Care! Linda Adams, a licensed massage therapist, has joined our office family. We are as excited as she is to be able to offer wellness massage, medical massage and body treatments. These services are performed in the comfort and security of a private medical office. You'll find a relaxing, pampering atmosphere to help you look and feel your best. Let us help you manage stress, reduce muscle and joint pain and achieve deep relaxation. Do it for yourself, you deserve it!
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Contact Us
1505 Eastland Drive, Suite 500,Bloomington, IL 61701
Phone: (309) 662-2273
Fax: (309) 662-2014
Water Births
Water has been used for therapeutic reasons for centuries. Baths, showers and whirlpools have been used to make laboring more comfortable. This community is fortunate to have two hospitals that support women delivering in water. Most women feel comfortable and relaxed taking a nice warm bath. So why not consider laboring and delivering in the tub?
Placing a pool of water in a birth room changes the atmosphere immediately. Voices get softer, the mother stays calmer and everyone becomes less stressed. Water births are believed to be a much more natural and less stressful process for the mother and baby. Many studies show cesarean sections are reduced by 20% and the use of epidurals are reduced by 25%.
The effect of buoyancy created by deep water immersion allows spontaneous movement of the mother. She moves as her body and the position of the baby dictate. This movement helps open the pelvis, allowing the baby to descend also giving the mother more control.A look at the benefits of water births:
- Encourages an easier birth for the mother
- Is the most gentle welcome for the baby
- Speeds up labor
- Facilitates mobility
- Provides significant pain relief
- Enables the mother to assume any position
- Gives the mother a more feeling of control
- Protects the mother from interventions by surrounding her with her own private space
- Promotes relaxation far deeper
- Conserves her energy
- Is highly rated by mothers who have experienced a water birth
- Reduces the need for drugs and interventions
- Reduces blood pressure
- Reduces tearing to the perineum (the area between the vulva and anus)
- Reduces the need for cesarean section
- Reduces epidural rates
- Reduces episiotomies and stitches
When a woman in labor relaxes in a warm deep bath, free from gravity's pull on her body, with sensory stimulation reduced; her body is less likely to secrete stress-related hormones. This allows her body to produce the pain inhibitors-endorphins-that complement labor. Noradrenalin and catecholamine, the hormones that are released during stress, actually raise the blood pressure and can inhibit or slow labor. A laboring woman, who is able to relax physically, is able to relax mentally as well. Many woman, midwives and doctors acknowledge the analgesic effect of water.
During a water birth, you and your baby will still receive the necessary medical care and monitoring needed. There are underwater devices to monitor the baby's heartbeat. IV medications can also be delivered while you are in the tub.
Giving birth to a baby is an unforgettable experience; it brings new life into the world and transforms a woman into a whole new being. Although water births are not for all women, we encourage you to discuss the possibility and other labor options with your healthcare provider.