Friday, March 29, 2024 Mar 29, 2024
59° F Dallas, TX
Advertisement
Publications

WATER BABIES

By Patsi Aucoin |

IDEAS Glasnost gynecology? From Russia with love comes a new birthing method whereby the mother reclines in a bathtub or hot tub during labor, and generally chooses to remain there for the birth. The basic idea is that a fluid environment is less painful to the mother and more natural to the newborn fresh from its private sea.

The idea is catching on; already, a third of the babies delivered at Family Centered Maternity Care, a licensed birthing center in Oak Cliff, are delivered underwater. The comfortably old-fashioned house has recently added a portable hot tub to its footed bathtubs to meet the demand. Owner/midwife BARBARA COOK says “almost everyone” gets in water during labor, and about a third stay there for the delivery. The baby is “caught” as i( arrives, sometimes by the husband, and placed at the mother’s breast.

PAMELA BELL. 40, a Dallas psychotherapist, read a book about underwater delivery and was immediately taken by the idea. “I knew this would probably be my only child and I wanted to do it right. I planned to go to Santa Fe, where they do a lot of water births, until I found out about the center in Oak Cliff.” A single parent. Bell said she never had second thoughts during her 25 hours in labor. She nursed the baby while still in the water.

GRACE PAVLOVSKY, 27, a Fort Worth chiropractor, also approver “During contractions I would tell my husband where a twinge was. and I just had to lift up a little bit for him to relieve it. It’s like being in a lounge chair. I tried lying down on a bed when I first got there. I don’t see how you can have a baby like that.”

Related Articles

Image
Arts & Entertainment

Here’s Who Is Coming to Dallas This Weekend: March 28-31

It's going to be a gorgeous weekend. Pencil in some live music in between those egg hunts and brunches.
Image
Arts & Entertainment

Arlington Museum of Art Debuts Two Must-See Nature-Inspired Additions

The chill of the Arctic Circle and a futuristic digital archive mark the grand opening of the Arlington Museum of Art’s new location.
By Brett Grega
Image
Arts & Entertainment

An Award-Winning SXSW Short Gave a Dallas Filmmaker an Outlet for Her Grief

Sara Nimeh balances humor and poignancy in a coming-of-age drama inspired by her childhood memories.
By Todd Jorgenson
Advertisement