Water births do not increase risk of complications, study finds

In the UK around 60,000 women a year use a birth pool or bath for pain relief in labour. Photograph: Cavan Images/Getty Images/Cavan Images RF

Giving birth in a water bath does not increase the risk of complications for the baby or its mother, a study has found.

Researchers at the University of Cardiff assessed 73,229 records from low-risk pregnancies where a water pool was used during labour across 26 NHS organisations in England and Wales between 2015 and 2022.