N/A
Completed N=186
Hospital Waterbirth Trial to Measure Maternal and Neonatal Outcomes
Pregnancy Related
Source: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05175599 ↗
Enrolled (actual)
186
Serious AEs
0.0%
Results posted
May 2026
Primary outcomePrimary: Number of Women Using Intravenous Narcotic Analgesia and Epidural Anesthesia — 26; 26 Participants
Summary
This study aims to explore outcomes of waterbirth in comparison to conventional land birth for low-risk healthy women and neonates in a hospital setting in Milwaukee, WI. This study hypothesizes that women who labor and birth in water will use less pain medication, have a shorter labor, will be more likely to initiate breastfeeding prior to discharge, will not experience more negative outcomes, and will experience greater satisfaction than women who labor and birth on land.
Outcome Measures
| Outcome | Result | p-value |
|---|---|---|
| PRIMARY Number of Women Using Intravenous Narcotic Analgesia and Epidural Anesthesia |
26; 26 | — |
| SECONDARY Median Time of Labor Duration |
480.0; 360.0; 26.0; 26.0; 9.0; 12.0 | — |
| SECONDARY United States Birth Satisfaction Scale-Revised (US-BSS-R) Score |
33.00; 29.50 | — |
| SECONDARY Number of Reported Maternal Adverse Outcomes |
2; 7 | — |
| SECONDARY Number of Patients Breastfeeding |
30; 67 | — |
| SECONDARY Number of Neonatal Adverse Outcomes |
3; 6 | — |
| SECONDARY Number of Patients With Neonates With Instrumental and Cesarean Deliveries |
1; 3; 2; 3 | — |
| SECONDARY Number of Patients With Skin-to-skin Contact |
27; 68 | — |
Eligibility Criteria
Inclusion Criteria
- Prenatal low-risk, healthy, adult women (greater than or equal to 18 years of age), including:
- Able to speak and understand English
- Women with a singleton gestation
- Able to ambulate with no mobility restrictions (i.e., no difficulty getting from seated to standing)
- Less than class III obesity (BMI 4500gm) or intrauterine growth restrictions (<10th percentile), or other condition that requires continuous observation and/or activity restrictions
Labor inclusion criteria:
- Greater than 37 weeks and less than 42 completed weeks gestation in vertex presentation
- Not hypertensive or febrile (two blood pressures 140/90 four hours apart; two fevers of over 100.4 one hour apart)
- Category 1 fetal heart tones (obtained on a 20-minute admission external fetal monitor strip)
- Amniotic sac may be intact or ruptured. If ruptured, amniotic fluid must be clear.
Exclusion Criteria
- Women will be excluded from the study if they do not meet above inclusion criteria or they will be further excluded under the following circumstances:
- Known need for cesarean section
- Participant may be excluded from the study at any time at the discretion of the birth attendant (reason for study exclusion will be documented but will remain in the study group previously selected based on intention to treat).
Data sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT05175599). Outcome figures and adverse-event rates are extracted automatically from the registry's posted results and are provided for clinician reference, not as a substitute for the primary publication. Informational only — not medical advice.