My water birth: 'She literally just floated up in front of me and I put her on my chest'

Water births reduce pain naturally, so there may be no need for drugs, drips, drains, an IV cannula or a urinary catheter. And it can be less stressful for mum and baby too

Keeva Redmond and her husband Gavin with their four month old baby Chloe who was born in the birthing pool at the Coombe Hospital Photograph Moya Nolan

IN LABOUR, standing beside the Coombe Hospital’s birthing pool this summer, Keeva Redmond asked her midwife: “How does it work?”

While the 32-year-old loved the idea of birthing in water, she had never believed she would have the option and so had not researched it. “I knew about water births through TV shows but I thought it was a thing on telly – something beyond my reach.”