{"id":75414,"date":"2024-04-19T15:28:16","date_gmt":"2024-04-19T21:28:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/?p=75414"},"modified":"2025-03-17T13:20:32","modified_gmt":"2025-03-17T19:20:32","slug":"water-birth-was-a-peaceful-perfect-choice-for-mom-and-baby","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/water-birth-was-a-peaceful-perfect-choice-for-mom-and-baby\/","title":{"rendered":"Water birth was a peaceful, perfect choice for mom and baby"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>
\"Courtney
Courtney Wittwer with her newborn son, Porter. A lifetime swimmer, Courtney loved having a peaceful water birth. Her labor was much shorter than with her first child, and she did not need medications. Photo by Cyrus McCrimmon, for UCHealth.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Courtney Wittwer had a very challenging delivery with her first baby.<\/p>\n

The mother-to-be was more than a week overdue, so her medical team in California \u2014 where she and her husband were living at the time \u2014 eventually induced her. The medicine worked very slowly, so Courtney and her providers waited and waited. Altogether, she was in active labor for 38 hours.<\/p>\n

Thankfully, the outcome was wonderful. Courtney and her husband, Cory Wittwer, finally welcomed a healthy, beautiful baby girl on June 14, 2022. Baylir is now on the cusp of turning 2.<\/p>\n

When the couple was expecting their second baby, Courtney, 30, dreamed of a much shorter, more peaceful birth experience.<\/p>\n

The Wittwers met in Colorado in 2016 and moved back recently when Courtney was 20 weeks pregnant. She immediately began researching birthing options.<\/p>\n

A lifetime swimmer, Courtney decided she would love to give birth in the water.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can swim for hours and can lose myself in the water,\u201d Courtney said.<\/p>\n

She started swimming competitively at age 5 and continued swimming part way through college, specializing in freestyle sprint events. She later enjoyed long open water swims in northern Colorado lakes like Horsetooth Reservoir in Fort Collins and Carter Lake in Loveland.<\/p>\n

As Courtney pondered birthing options, she learned that midwives who support patients at UCHealth Longs Peak Hospital in Longmont<\/a> were resuming water births this year for the first time since 2019.<\/p>\n

Courtney chose midwife Ana Williams<\/a> at the CU (University of Colorado) Center for Midwifery in Longmont<\/a>, a faculty practice of the University of Colorado College of Nursing<\/a> and University of Colorado Medicine<\/a> on the Anschutz Medical Campus<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Courtney got to be the first patient to enjoy a water birth in a large inflatable tub at Longs Peak Hospital this year.<\/p>\n

\"Courtney
Courtney and Cory Wittwer are the proud parents of Baylir, left, and Porter, right. They have moved to Estes Park where Cory works for the town. Photo by Cyrus McCrimmon, for UCHealth.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u2018Mom, I did it,\u2019 new mom exclaims after serene water birth<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The experience turned out to be just what Courtney hoped for: utterly serene, natural and beautiful. With minimal help from her midwife and nurse, Courtney let her body lead the way. In a darkened room with peaceful twinkle lights and aromatherapy candles, Courtney floated and shifted positions frequently, letting the water soothe her as she worked through each contraction.<\/p>\n

Just three hours after arriving at the hospital, she gave one last, big push, felt her baby\u2019s head emerge, then gently eased the infant out of her body and to the surface.<\/p>\n

She and Cory quickly learned their baby was a boy \u2014 a surprise they had saved for the birth. Thrilled, they named their baby Porter.<\/p>\n

\u201cMom, I did it!\u201d Courtney exclaimed seconds after Porter\u2019s arrival. Along with Cory and her medical team, Courtney\u2019s mom had been there to support her during labor.<\/p>\n

Not only did the Wittwers get to welcome a healthy new baby into the world. Courtney also got to experience the peaceful birth she had imagined.<\/p>\n

\u201cWater is almost a second home to me. It\u2019s very relaxing for me to be in the water,\u201d she said. \u201cI had seen water births on Instagram, and that sounded more exhilarating and natural to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her husband, Cory, loved seeing how happy and calm his wife was the second time.<\/p>\n

\u201cCompared to the first birth, it was completely the opposite experience,\u201d Cory said. \u201cGoing in, I didn\u2019t have many expectations. I knew she wanted to be in a tub.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut it was the most peaceful, primal experience,\u201d Cory said. \u201cIt was natural, and there was more emotion because she wasn\u2019t exhausted.\u201d<\/p>\n

Water births decrease pain, shorten labor and reduce C-section rates, among other benefits<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"Courtney
Courtney Wittwer with daughter Baylir, left, and son, Porter, right. Photo by Cyrus McCrimmon, for UCHealth.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Williams, who is a certified nurse-midwife and a lactation consultant, said Courtney did a beautiful job.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe got into the tub. She pushed. She let it happen. We were there if she needed more support,\u201d said Williams, who has been a midwife for 28 years.<\/p>\n

Like many patients who give birth in the water, Courtney felt empowered both during her labor and after the birth. That\u2019s typical of a water birth, Williams said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe really trust the body and the baby. If people need interventions, we can intervene. Otherwise we give a lot of space for the birth to evolve naturally,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Along with Longs Peak Hospital, midwives with CU College of Nursing clinics also support patients who are giving birth at UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital<\/a> and UCHealth Highlands Ranch Hospital<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Williams said there are many benefits of water births, including:<\/p>\n