Water as non-pharmacological pain management in labour

The use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) in maternity care has risen over the past two decades. An increasing number of women seek non-pharmacological pain management during labour and birth. The use of hydrotherapy-or water immersion-during labour offers women a naturalistic approach to pain relief, and may prove more beneficial than conventional pharmacological pain management. The practice of midwifery incorporates the promotion of physiological birth, and the use of showers and warm baths or pools provides women with an opportunity to experience the natural process of birth, while providing alternative comfort measures to women who opt for nonpharmacological pain relief during labour and birth.