Effects of Waterbirth

Waterbirth is becoming increasingly popular in the United States and women value the opportunity to have a choice in their birthing method. The purpose of this research is to evaluate how waterbirth affects patient satisfaction and the safety of the mother and neonate compared to the traditional delivery model in unmedicated labor patients. A search for literature was conducted in CINAHL and PubMed databases using keywords waterbirth, waterbirth outcomes, waterbirth safety, and waterbirth satisfaction. Eight research articles which evaluated the safety and patient satisfaction of waterbirth were chosen to be reviewed. Overall, it was found that waterbirth shortens the first and second stage of labor, decreases perineal trauma, elicits positive experiences for the laboring woman, and does not increase the incidence of poor outcomes in the neonate. Hear the presenters explain their project at https://bit.ly/2z1CqxY **This project won the University Libraries Award for Information Literacy.