In the hospital, I’ve seen women told again and again that once they’re in active labor, they shouldn’t use the bath because it “raises the risk of infection.” They’re not wrong. Water immersion does slightly increase infection risk but the increase is very small. Large reviews (including Cochrane) show no significant increase in maternal or neonatal infection with water immersion compared to land birth, with overall infection rates remaining well under 1% in both groups. On the plus side? Water