In harmony... Miss Motha assists at a delivery

In harmony... Miss Motha assists at a delivery

Hospital Doctor,

Volume C10 No 34, 13 September, 1990

An Obstetrician who delivers babies under water is hoping the method will become more popular now she has clocked up 150 successful births.

Senior registrar Miss Gowri Motha of Whipps Cross Hospital, North London, claims the method – and the prenatal singing classes she holds – brings contentment all round.

‘We find the mothers who have babies in water are more relaxed and their children appear to be better adjusted,’ she says.‘We use no painkillers – just relaxation and self-hypnosis.’

Miss Motha – a follower of water-birth pioneer Michel Odent – has to put up a 2ft deep pool for each delivery. ‘We would like a more permanent facility but that is not likely until we get more water births. Some 5,000 babies are born at Whipps Cross each year, so we have quite a way to go before it becomes normal.

Hospital Doctor, Volume C10 No 34, 13 September, 1990

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