It's official: Water Birth is the most effective form of pain relief!

Water Birth is the most effective form of pain relief during labour, the health watchdog has said.

And the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) wants to see birthing pools made more widely available.

They believe that childbirth could be improved for thousands of women by expanding the use of birthing pools instead of pain relieving drugs.

"There is a perception that water is just nice," said Dr Julia Sanders, a consultant midwife and member of the group which drew up the guidance.

"But it is the most effective form of pain relief barring an epidural in labour. I would like to see more women using water and fewer women using the types of pain relief that are less effective."

The rules say that midwives and doctors should only intervene if there are problems with the birth and all women should be offered the choice of having their baby at home.

Once in established labour, she should receive supportive one-to-one care.

Women should be told that first labours last on average eight hours, and second labours last on average five hours.

Even if dilation is less than a centimetre an hour, this will not be viewed as problematic unless the women is in great pain and feels the process needs to be speeded up.

Whilst the guidance could mean longer labours for some it should mean fewer medical interventions, which can result in more painful and complicated labours.

Dr Sanders added: "Continuous, supportive, one-to-one care and emotional support during labour is what women want and expect.

"We know that this level of care during labour reduces the number of caesarean section or instrumental birth - such as forceps."

Andrea Sutcliffe, Nice's deputy chief executive, said the aim of the guidelines is to improve childbirth across the UK.

She said: "We want to make sure that every woman's experience of birth is as good as it can be and have used the best available evidence to set a national standard on how midwives and doctors can make labour a positive experience for women.

"Currently the care of women in labour may be varied across the country - these guidelines set the standards of care that every woman should receive."