Bringing Waterbirth Into Practice: Nebraska Medicine – Bellevue Leads with Training

At Nebraska Medicine – Bellevue Medical Center, a thoughtful and strategic approach to physiologic birth is reshaping how families experience labor and delivery. With the guidance and training support of Waterbirth International, the hospital has successfully integrated waterbirth into its care model—broadening options for low-risk birthing people in a clinical setting.

Several of the hospital’s certified nurse-midwives and clinical staff completed Waterbirth International’s online Waterbirth Certification Course. Designed and led by WBI Founder Barbara Harper, the course equips providers with the protocols, safety standards, and clinical evidence necessary to offer waterbirth confidently and responsibly within hospital systems. The flexibility of the online platform made it possible for providers to complete the training on their own schedules while gaining direct access to decades of global experience in waterbirth implementation.

The results of this training are already visible. Birthing tubs are now in regular use at Bellevue for both labor immersion and waterbirth, offering patients increased comfort, reduced stress, and a lower reliance on pharmacologic pain relief. In a recent feature published by Nebraska Medicine, midwives and patients alike shared how the introduction of waterbirth has enhanced both the physical and emotional experience of birth.

“Waterbirth supports the physiologic process of birth,” shared one of the certified midwives. “The freedom of movement, buoyancy, and relaxation help families move through labor in a way that feels safe and supported.”

This type of institutional commitment—to training, to safety, and to patient-centered care—is at the heart of Waterbirth International’s mission. With the proper education and systems in place, hospitals like Nebraska Medicine – Bellevue are proving that waterbirth can be a safe, accessible, and evidence-based option within even the most structured medical environments.

As hospitals across the country seek to expand meaningful options for childbirth, Waterbirth International remains a trusted resource—offering expert-led training, proven clinical guidance, and a vision for the future of birth that is both safe and deeply human.

🌐 Read the full patient story from Nebraska Medicine: Water birth provides benefits to mom and baby