What if you're advised against a waterbirth

 Saturday Love Letter on January 24th, 2026.

Last week’s Love Letter explored the difficulty many women face when hoping to give birth in the water. If you missed it, you can read it here.

This week, I want to talk about what to do if you are advised against a waterbirth:

First, ask for the reasons why. Write them down. Take them home and gather more information. You may discover that your midwife or doctor is basing their advice on opinion rather than evidence. Or you may find yourself outside guideline for waterbirth and discover that the guideline itself is not based on best evidence.

In situations like these, speaking with the consultant midwife in your trust can be extremely helpful.

If you choose to proceed with an out of guideline waterbirth, make sure this decision and the discussion around it are clearly documented in your notes.

Sometimes labouring in the water but giving birth outside the pool becomes the most workable option for your personal situation.

And if, after careful evaluation, you find that waterbirth, or even labouring in water, is not the most sensible way forward, there are some excellent dry land alternatives worth exploring.

Some of the most effective non pharmaceutical options include:

• Aromatherapy
• TENS (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation)
• Sterile water injections
• Squeezing a comb
• Massage and mobilisation
• Hiring a doula

These are all methods I have personally seen help women delay or completely avoid pharmaceutical pain relief.

Tara and I explore each of these, alongside pharmaceutical pain relief options, in Born Through Yoga, the only hypnobirthing programme with a focus on movement for birth.

It takes place at The Little Yoga House in Belfast and you can find the details by clicking the button below.

In next week’s Love Letter, I will talk about common reasons waterbirth plans get derailed and how you can navigate them.

Keep an eye on your inbox.

Sending you lots of love,
Nicole