Water Birth: an Overview


A water birth refers to a birth where a woman labour’s or births in the water. Technically this can be in any form of water including natural bodies of water, but most usually in the shower, bath or speciality birthing pool. You can have a water birth both at home and in a hospital setting, but both require a level of planning. If you want to learn more about your different birthing options you can read my other blog post Birthing Options Perth to Mandurah, Western Australia - Mother Mother Doula. 


Hospital Waterbirth Options in Perth


Hospital Water Births

While not all hospitals in Perth offer dedicated birth pools, some support water immersion for labour, and a select few 'allow' for baby to actually be born in the water. It's essential to begin conversations with your care provider early in pregnancy if you’re hoping to labour or birth in water within a hospital setting as there are restrictions on location, eligibility and on the day access.


Important Considerations

Access to a birth pool in hospital is never guaranteed. It depends on:

  • Your clinical eligibility and how your birth is unfolding
  • Pool availability on the day
  • Whether a midwife trained in waterbirth is rostered on

Some hospitals may allow you to bring in a hired inflatable birth pool, but this should be discussed and approved well in advance.


Hospital Eligibility Criteria for Waterbirth

To birth in water within a hospital or publicly funded setting in WA, you typically must:

  • Have a low-risk, uncomplicated pregnancy
  • Be pregnant with one baby, in a head-down position
  • Be at least 37 weeks gestation
  • Have a pre-pregnancy BMI between 18 and 35
  • Have no known infections such as HIV, Hepatitis B or C
  • Have clear amniotic fluid (if your waters have broken)
  • Maintain stable maternal and fetal vital signs throughout labour
  • Wait at least 2 hours after opioid pain relief before entering water
  • Be continuously supported — you must not be left alone while in the pool

Source: Having a Water Birth – South Metropolitan Health, KEMH Clinical Guidelines – Waterbirth


Perth Hospitals Currently Supporting Waterbirth

Fiona Stanley Hospital – Family Birth Centre

  • Offers waterbirth in a midwifery-led, low-risk model with continuity through MGP.
  • Referral: Self-referral for South Metro catchment; otherwise via GP/hospital.
  • Family Birthing Centre

King Edward Memorial Hospital – Family Birth Centre

  • Supports waterbirth with midwifery continuity care (MGP). Accepts eligible women state-wide, not catchment-limited.
  • Referral: Self-referral for low-risk pregnancies.
  • KEMH Family Birth Centre

Armadale Health Service

  • New dedicated waterbirth pool since 2024. Limited availability.
  • Referral: GP or hospital antenatal clinic.
  • Armadale waterbirth news

Osborne Park Hospital

  • Offers water immersion and birth pools in select rooms for eligible low-risk women.
  • Referral: GP or hospital antenatal clinic. No MGP.
  • Osborne Park Maternity

Rockingham General Hospital

A pregnant woman receives care during labor with support from birth professionals in a dimly lit room.

Photograph by Sarah Del Borrello, Mother Mother Doula

Home Waterbirth Options in Perth


Home waterbirth is a popular choice for women seeking a comfortable, personalised, and natural birth experience in their own environment. With support from either a Community Midwifery Program (CMP) midwife or a Privately Practising Midwife (PPM), you can labour and birth in water at home with professional care tailored to your needs.


Planning Your Home Waterbirth

  • Care provider: Most home waterbirths are attended by a registered midwife who is experienced in waterbirth. CMP midwives provide government funded continuity of care within the public health system, while PPMs offer private care with greater flexibility. Homebirths that are not attended by a medical professional are known as Freebirths.
  • Cost: CMP services are free to Medicare eligible women, but the program has strict eligibility criteria, while PPM services typically cost around $6,500 out of pocket but are much less constrictive.
  • Birth pool: Some midwives include pool hire; otherwise, you can hire one independently. Consider your hot water system’s capacity to fill and maintain pool temperature or how long your shower can run hot. There's a full list of supplies you'll need at the bottom.
  • Safety and monitoring: Your midwife will bring necessary equipment and closely monitor you and your baby’s wellbeing throughout labour and birth, usually with intermittent doppler monitoring.


Care Provider Options in Perth


Community Midwifery Program (CMP): Publicly funded midwifery-led continuity of care for home waterbirth. Self-referral is required and spots fill quickly. You must live permanently within CMP’s catchment area—approximately 50km north, south, and 40km east of Perth CBD—and reside there by 35 weeks gestation.

Read more and self apply here: King Edward Memorial Hospital - Community Midwifery Program


Privately Practising Midwives (PPMs): PPMs are independent midwives offering personalised pregnancy, birth and postpartum care, including home waterbirth support, across Perth and surrounding areas. It’s best to contact several early in pregnancy to find the best fit, as many book out quickly. Payment plans are often available to help manage the typical out-of-pocket cost of around $6,500, (you will get about $1-3k back from Medicare, depending on your Medicare safety net and place of birth).

Many PPMs hold admitting rights to hospitals such as King Edward Memorial Hospital (KEMH) and Fiona Stanley Hospital (FSH). This means they can admit and care for you as your primary provider during labour and birth if you need or wish.

Find a PPM in Perth here: Privately Practising Midwives in Western Australia | Back to Basics Birthing

Facebook Group: Perth Homebirth Group

People sitting at a dark restaurant table lighting and blowing on hot food with steam rising in a dramatic atmosphere.

Photography by Sarah Del Borrello, Mother Mother Doula

Why are more women choosing to give birth in the water?

Water birth is gaining popularity as awareness and access increase. Unlike the past—when birth images were mostly clinical and limited to textbooks—today’s social media and birth photography showcase the beauty and empowerment of water births. You can also visit my Instagram @mother.mother.doula, where I share my birth and motherhood photography.


Research also supports the benefits of water immersion during labour and birth, which include:

  • Improved pain tolerance
  • Reduced need for pharmaceutical pain relief
  • Increased maternal satisfaction and sense of control
  • Lower risk of perineal trauma and significantly fewer episiotomies
  • Improved newborn Apgar scores

Reference: A retrospective comparison of water birth and conventional vaginal birth among women deemed to be low risk in a secondary level hospital in Australia (researchgate.net) & Water Immersion in Labour and Birth - SNSWLHD


Why Water Temperature is Important

It’s important that the temperature of your bath, pool, or shower stays consistent and close to your body temperature (around 37.5°C), especially as your baby is crowning and being born. Labouring in water that’s too warm can cause you and your baby to overheat, which may lead to an unwanted increase in your baby’s heart rate. Water that’s too cold won’t provide the relaxing benefits warm water offers, and babies born into water that’s too cool may have their gasp reflex triggered too early (more on this shortly). Your midwife will carefully monitor the water temperature throughout your labour.


Safety of Water Birth: Why Your Baby Won’t Drown

During a water birth, the baby is usually born completely submerged. For the past nine months, your baby has been growing inside the amniotic sac, surrounded by fluid similar to water. As your baby moves through the birth canal and is born, the amniotic fluid is naturally squeezed out of their lungs. Your baby takes their first breath or cry when the gasp reflex is triggered by the temperature change from your body to the outside air. Some mothers instinctively blow on their baby’s face to encourage that first breath. This is why water temperature at birth is so important.

If a baby is born into cold water, their gasp reflex may trigger too early, which could cause water aspiration. This is extremely rare, and these babies usually recover fully with medical support. This is where fears and misconceptions about babies drowning in water births come from. While aspiration of water before the first breath can happen, it’s very uncommon, and just like the amniotic fluid naturally present in all newborn lungs, the baby typically expels it and starts breathing independently or with mild assistance.

Research shows that water immersion during labour and birth is associated with improved maternal pain tolerance, reduced use of pharmaceutical pain relief, and higher maternal satisfaction and sense of control. A review by the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RANZCOG) confirms that water birth is a safe option for low-risk pregnancies when attended by trained professionals (RANZCOG Water Immersion Guidelines PDF). Evidence Based Birth also states that water births do not increase the risk of neonatal complications and can reduce perineal trauma and episiotomy rates (Evidence Based Birth Waterbirth Summary).

It’s also important to remember that as long as the placenta remains attached to you, and the umbilical cord to your baby, your baby continues to receive oxygenated blood through the placental circulation system. This built-in respiratory support lasts while the cord is still pulsating, which can be for 5 to 10 minutes after birth. You and your midwife can feel the cord pulsating and wait until it stops before clamping. This is why optimal cord clamping isn’t just about waiting two minutes—it’s about waiting until the pulsation stops and the cord becomes limp and white. For more information on that, see Dr Sara Wickham’s article on Optimal cord clamping: what’s the evidence?.

An infographic comparing water immersion outcomes during labor with pink background and orange header text.
Close up view of person receiving therapeutic massage treatment on purple cushion.
Newborn baby resting skin to skin with gentle support.

Photography by Sarah Del Borrello, Mother Mother Doula

What do I need to have a water birth?

All you really need is a vagina, a baby in your uterus, and some water, but having the right supplies can make the experience much more comfortable and safe.


Hospital Water Birth Supplies

If your chosen hospital has fully equipped birthing pools, you typically won’t need to bring anything. Hospitals using inflatable birth pools should provide a clean liner to ensure hygiene. For built-in tubs, liners aren’t required as surfaces can be properly sanitised. However, you might want to consider bringing the following to support your comfort and experience:

  • A bather top if you prefer modesty
  • Knee pads if labouring or birthing in the shower (gardening knee pads work a treat)


Home Water Birth Supplies

If you’re planning a home water birth, you’ll likely need to supply all the equipment yourself. Below is a detailed list of essentials, along with links to where you can source them:

  • Birth pool: Purchase outright from places like Simply Birth or Earthy Birth, or hire locally—check your local Facebook homebirth group pages.
  • Pool liner: Single use liner suitable for your pool (they must be the exact fit so buy from the manufacture).
  • Tap fitting/connector: To connect your hose to your kitchen or bathroom sink, ensure this fits in advance
  • New food-grade hose: For filling the pool. Check out auto stores/camping shops.
  • Electric air pump: For inflating the birth pool, Kmart Air Pump.
  • Patching kit: Just in case, these often come with the pool.
  • Water thermometer: to ensure your water is the right temperature, Bunnings - Floating Pool Thermometer.
  • 10 towels: for clean up and warmth after birth, buy the cheapest ones from Kmart or source second hand ones.
  • Plastic tarp or liner: To protect carpeted or wooden floors (painters drop sheets work fine).
  • 3 buckets: 1 for rubbish, one for wet items and one for vomiting in
  • Mesh scoop: For removing debris (poop) from the pool, a fish scoop is perfect.
  • Reverse pump: For draining the pool, Bunnings - Ozito Submersible Water Pump
  • Hot water urn: Useful if your hot water runs out quickly (can be hired from catering companies), otherwise some large pots or a couple of kettles.
  • Waterproof flashlight: For visibility if needed, but your midwife will have one on hand
  • Mirror: To see baby’s progress during birth, again your midwife will provide this

More Resources


Clinical Guidelines & Position Statements


Research & Evidence-Based Reviews


Other Helpful Links


About the Author


I'm Sarah Del Borrello, a Perth-based birth Doula and birth Photographer, serving families between Mandurah and Perth. I work with women who want to birth with confidence, autonomy, access to evidence-based care and me informed decisions.


My services include birth and postpartum doula care, sibling support, and birth photography—with a strong focus on homebirth and physiological birth. My second baby was born peacefully at home, in the water. That experience was the catalyst for my work in this space. It showed me just how powerful birth can be when women are trusted, supported, and given the space to birth on their terms.


If you're planning a waterbirth, whether at home, in a birth centre, or hospital, and want someone in your corner who understands both the science and the sacredness of birth, I’d love to support you.

Sarah Del Borrello

DOULA & PHOTOGRAPHER



Perth, Western Australia

hey@mothermotherdoula.com

@mother.mother.doula

First moments of newborn life captured during skin-to-skin contact.

Above image is of me (Sarah) and my second baby, who was born at home in the water. This photo was taken by my Midwife.