Strong Evidence Confirms Skin-to-Skin Contact After Birth Should Be the Global Standard
A newly updated Cochrane Review affirms what midwives, birth professionals, and parents have known for decades: immediate skin-to-skin contact between mother and newborn offers one of the most powerful starts in life. Placing the naked baby on the mother’s bare chest within the first hour after birth helps newborns adapt to life outside the womb—keeping them warm, calm, and connected while supporting vital functions such as breathing, heart rate, and blood sugar regulation.
Empowering Birth: Agnes Ndunguru’s Waterbirth Revolution in Tanzania
In Arusha, Tanzania, midwife Agnes Ndunguru is leading a quiet revolution in maternal care. As the country’s first Waterbirth International–certified provider, Agnes is transforming birth culture through her work at Audentia Maternity—offering gentle, evidence-based care to women across East Africa. From hosting Tanzania’s first-ever waterbirth certification training to partnering with Barbara Harper for landmark workshops, Agnes is reshaping what’s possible for mothers and midwives alike.
Water birth: A systematic review and meta-analysis of maternal and neonatal outcomes
At Nebraska Medicine – Bellevue, several certified nurse-midwives and staff completed Waterbirth International’s online training to expand safe birthing options for their community. Their commitment to gentle, physiologic birth is already making a difference for families—offering pain relief, freedom of movement, and calmer transitions for newborns.
Bringing Waterbirth Into Practice: Nebraska Medicine – Bellevue Leads with Training
At Nebraska Medicine – Bellevue, several certified nurse-midwives and staff completed Waterbirth International’s online training to expand safe birthing options for their community. Their commitment to gentle, physiologic birth is already making a difference for families—offering pain relief, freedom of movement, and calmer transitions for newborns.
Expanding Comfort and Choice: Waterbirth at Parkview Randallia Hospital
In August 2023, Waterbirth International Founder Barbara Harper led an in-depth, on-site training at Parkview Randallia Hospital in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Since then, the Family Birthing Center has fully embraced waterbirth as a safe, evidence-based option for low-risk births. With staff trained in WBI’s comprehensive protocols and portable hospital-grade tubs now in use, more than two dozen families have already experienced safe, satisfying waterbirths—right within the hospital.
Transforming Hospital Birth from the Inside Out: Aurora Sinai Medical Center’s Waterbirth Suite
Waterbirth International is proud to celebrate Aurora Sinai Medical Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin—where Barbara Harper’s consultation and training helped shape a fully integrated waterbirth suite. Led by CNM Emily Malloy, every birth care provider at Aurora Sinai has trained through Waterbirth International, creating a model of safe, gentle, and family-centered birth within a hospital setting.