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LA CROSSE, Wis. (AP) — Mayo Clinic Health System-Franciscan Healthcare plans to end the option of water births because of two national physician organizations that believe the practice can have adverse effects on babies.
Thirty babies were born under water last year at Mayo-Franciscan's La Crosse hospital. Women will still be able to use immersion while in labor to help manage pain, but the hospital will stop offering underwater births as of Sept. 1, said spokesman Rick Thiesse.
A committee of the American Academy of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American Academy of Pediatrics issued an opinion last year that water births should only be used in clinical trials. It recommended the actual delivery should be out of the water because of the higher risk of infection for the mother and child.
The committee said the safety and benefits of immersion during delivery itself "have not been established, nor has there been any benefit shown to women or newborns."
Mayo-Franciscan based its decision to stop offering water births solely on the committee's opinion and not because of any complications at the hospital, Thiesse said. The decision also was made with patient safety in mind, after obstetrical and pediatric experts studied the issue, he said.
"We recognize that many patients have appreciated having water births as an option for their delivery, and may feel disappointed by this decision," he said. "Again, concern for the safety of the newborn was the primary consideration when making this decision."
Water births have increased in popularity over the past three decades, partly due to the theory that the practice is less stressful for babies because the water is similar to amniotic fluids in which they have been growing, according to the American Pregnancy Association.
Gundersen Health System plans to continue water births at its affiliated hospitals in Tomah and Viroqua, the La Crosse Tribune (http://bit.ly/1NsAVVw ) reported.
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Information from: La Crosse Tribune, http://www.lacrossetribune.com
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