Baby Born In Heated Birthing Pool Dies Of Legionnaires' Disease

[sugarfree irony]

A baby died of Legionnaires’ disease just weeks after being born at home in a heated birthing pool, according a study published this month.

The deadly form of pneumonia is caused by legionella bacteria which thrive in warm water in places such as hot tubs.

While the baby’s death is the first case in the U.S. linked to a water birth, similar cases have been recorded in the UK and France. There may have been more non-fatal cases that have not been reported.

The baby's death in January this year in Texas highlights the dangers of waterborne pathogens in water births at home.

Two weeks before the due-date, a licensed midwifery center had delivered a collapsible hot tub to the home and filled it with water from a private borehole well.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...s-disease-contracting-home-birthing-pool.html

 

[WannaBeMaybe]

So -are they saying the water sat there for 2 weeks before the birth?? Yuck! I don't even leave our kids pool with standing water for that long - and it's not heated to bacteria growing temperatures. But, since babies don't arrive 'on schedule', I can see why it was readied before hand.

That being said, I know of lots of people who use birthing pools for delivery and they have all gone very well. I hope the least that happens is some awareness is created so the chances of this happening again are minimized.

 

[cubby]

With the water standing for so long (how long would it take to fill, if filled when she went into labor?) and it being filled from a WELL, that is what made it so dangerous. We have a well and I won't drink the water from it and when my youngest was born I didn't let him drink it either. Too much stuff in a well that might not ought to be in there. If you're perfectly healthy, it might not make much of a difference if you drink it or not, but if you're not healthy, I wouldn't take that chance.

 

[HopelessOptimist]

Being a huge advocate of least invasive pt care, some times I just hang my head. As much as I want to get on a soap box, imma take a deep breath and just say the same reason you should use sterilized water in a netty pot is applicable to the water birth scenario. Not every baby takes their monumental transitional breath the same and the risk for water aspiration is added to the already abundant risks posed with childbirth. So unless you can guarantee the sterility of tub, water, pt (impossible due to the expulsion of various fluids and possibly maternal fecal matter) I would never personally endorse them. Yes, I am hypervigilant if anything :shrug:

 

[Sudonim]

Bleh they let a baby be born in well water?

Even the best well filters don't catch all the crap in the water. It's why most people with wells don't drink their water or have extra filtration systems installed for the drinking taps. It's no wonder the baby died.

 

[Dutchesse]

Yikes. I could never handle water birth. The thought of sitting there in my own fluids and stuff creeps me out.

But they left the water for two weeks? I mean...even if you don't know about legionalla, wouldn't you want clean water? Gross.

 

[myra manes]

The parents-to-be were idiots ..

 

[LurkinLion]

Hot tubs, like swimming pools, should be shocked (hyperchlorinated) immediately after filling and regularly after that. Additionally, levels of chlorine or bromine are supposed to be maintained at a consistent level in order to prevent the growth of bacteria. That means consistent treatment, either manually or with a dispenser. Somebody didn't do what they were supposed to do to take care of that tub, and then went ahead with a birth in it. That's sort of like butchering dead animals on the kitchen table for two weeks without ever cleaning it and then letting the mother hop on up and give birth in the filth.

 

[JackBurton]

Hot tubs are disgusting, as are the people who frequent them.

These new age dipshit parents who use mid wives and give birth underwater should be committed or even charged with crimes, putting their kids in harms way like that. Shameful.