A question that I often get asked as a birth photographer and doula is…

"Where can I have a water birth in Jacksonville?"

Laboring and birthing in water is an excellent pain management tool that can help avoid unwanted interventions in birth. I’ve supported many water births over the years and I’ve had two myself, and I can truthfully say that sinking belly-deep into warm water during labor is one of the most powerful forms of pain relief there is. Water birth is getting more and more popular in the United States, and many expecting families in Jacksonville want to know their water birth options.

But first, let’s clarify one thing. There is a difference between LABORING in water and BIRTHING in water.

• LABORING in water, sometimes called hydrotherapy, is using a tub of warm water to ease the pain of contractions before you reach the pushing stage of birth.

• BIRTHING in water, or water birth, is when you actually have a vaginal birth while in the water, either in a specially designed birth tub or pool, or in a regular bathtub.

Some birthing spaces (birth centers and home births) can facilitate both laboring and birthing in water. Other birthing spaces (hospitals) only allow laboring in water, and will require you to get out of the tub to birth your baby.

“Okay, so can I have a water birth in a hospital?”

The short answer is no. Two local hospitals in Northeast Florida will allow patients to LABOR in water, but none currently allow you to BIRTH in water.

Flagler Hospital in St. Augustine (pictured below) has standard size tubs in the bathroom where you can soak during your contractions.

UF North Hospital in Jacksonville (pictured below) has large hydrotherapy tubs in three of their twelve labor and delivery rooms, for you to labor in and then get out of when it is time to push. It is the only hospital in Northeast Florida that has something larger than a standard sized tub, specifically designed for laboring.

None of our other hospitals in Jacksonville have tubs available for laboring in, but all of them have showers for enjoying the benefits of hot water during labor.

As a note, when birthing in a hospital, there may be rules and restrictions regarding whether or not you can labor in water. For example: continuous fetal monitoring is not possible while laboring in water, unless the hospital has a special wireless, waterproof monitor available for you to use. Intermittent monitoring with a Doppler may be an option, but some hospitals may still require you to get out of the tub and on the monitors for a certain amount of time every hour. There may be other factors as to why a care provider would not recommend or be willing to facilitate laboring in water at a hospital. Talk to your provider at your prenatal appointments about what your hydrotherapy options may be.

“Okay, so if I can’t have a water birth in a hospital, where can I?”

If you'd actually like to BIRTH your baby in water, our local options are all out-of-hospital. This means a birth center (a standalone facility, not connected to a hospital, where low-risk patients with healthy pregnancies can birth with midwives) or home birth.

We currently have three birth centers in Jacksonville where you can have a water birth:

• Fruitful Vine Birth Center has two birthing suites with inflatable birth tubs. Fruitful Vine has been a cherished staple in the Jacksonville community for over 30 years, and the midwives there also offer home birth options.

• First Coast Midwifery Birth Center opened in the spring 2020 and has two birthing suites with large built-in birthing tubs. First Coast Midwifery also offers home birth options.

• Transitions Birth Center opened in the winter of 2020 and is Florida’s only CNM/ARNP (nurse midwives, with hospital privileges) and CPM-led (licensed midwives who specialize in out-of-hospital birth) birth center. It has two birthing suites with water birth options. “Transitions Birth Center provides an alternative to childbirth in a hospital. Women are empowered and given control during their labor and delivery. They wear their own clothes, eat and drink during labor, and walk around. The birthing mother labors in a tub, on a birth ball, in a birthing rocker, on a birthing stool, or in any other position that is comfortable for her.”

(Note: the following birth centers in Jacksonville have closed or converted to home birth only in recent years: Birth Center of Jacksonville, UF Birth Center a.k.a. “The Nest”, and Growing Families Birth Center.)

Your other option for a water birth in Jacksonville is home birth with a midwife. We are lucky to have many licensed midwives in our area who offer home birth and all of them specialize in water birth. When you choose a home birth, you can either use the tub in your bathroom, or you can buy or rent an inflatable tub designed for birth. Several midwives and doulas in Jacksonville offer tub rentals with individual disposable liners.

We currently have several midwifery practices in Northeast Florida who offer home birth services. Click here for an up-to-date list of who is currently accepting new home birth clients.

Water birth has so many wonderful benefits. It a safe, non-pharmaceutical pain management option. Water helps you to feel weightless and allows you to move more freely as you labor. You can labor and birth in many different positions in a birth tub, and large tubs can even accommodate your partner to support you. The warm water is a gentle welcome for babies, as they transition from one warm, wet environment to another.

As a Jacksonville birth photographer, doula, and mother to two water birthed babies, I am so passionate about helping families connect with providers who align with their preferences. I hope that you can find a water birth option that is right for you! Birth is beautiful, no matter where it happens!

-Dallas Arthur, Jacksonville doula & birth photographer

Pregnant and thinking about birth photography?

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