Giving birth in water is all the rage as more mums � including celebs such as Charlotte Church � opt to do it in a pool. Cate Devine investigates.

Davina McColl did it. So did Gwyneth Paltrow and Minnie Driver. Brad and Angelina were said to be considering it until they discovered they were expecting twins. Now singer Charlotte Church has joined the fanclub of the hottest trend in celebrity parenthood: water-birthing at home.

Church's mother, Maria, was quoted as saying: "Charl's friend had a water birth recently and told her how fab it was, so she's decided to go for it. Birthing pools are all the rage at the moment and there are lots of benefits, too."

It seems water births are growing in popularity in hospital and at home. All new-build hospitals in Scotland have birthing pools. Edinburgh Royal Infirmary has three and St John's in Livingston has two. In the Lothian NHS area, there were 240 water births at ERI, 40 at St John's and 180 home water births, with parents hiring pools for around £70. The NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde Trust reports 129 water births at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley, 39 at the Princess Royal Maternity, nine at Vale of Leven Hospital, but no home water births.

Although there are no national statistics for home water births, the popularity appears to heading upwards. Michael Heard, spokesman for the Royal College of Obstetricians, says: "More women want to deliver in water when it's a home birth than when it's a hospital birth."

So with the Scottish home birth rate leaping by 14% in 2007, which at 872 is an unprecedented 1.5% of the total number of births that year, the probability is that home water birth rates are also going up.

Gillian Smith, director of the Royal College of Midwives, is a fan. "Women love labouring in water, and in general we're very supportive of them provided that training has been put in place, because they dramatically reduce the need for pain relief, which helps with bonding and feeding and enhances the entire experience," she says. "There is hardly a day when we don't have a woman giving birth in a pool."

Phyllis Winters, team leader of the low-risk maternity unit at Montrose Royal Infirmary, which has won several awards, says that 80% of all births last year were in water. "It's hugely popular," she says. "Water supports heavily pregnant women well and allows them freedom of movement. The temperature of 37C is comforting. Very few women request analgesics other than air and gas."

She says the risk of the baby drowning is minimal. "We wouldn't expect the baby to breath independently until it's brought up gently to the surface of the water and the air hits the receptors in its cheeks. Prior to that, the umbilical cord supplies its air. Babies are not mermaids."

When mother-of-four Ashley Steel of Brechin gave birth to her youngest daughter, Zara, in Montrose last December, it was the first time in water. "It was fantastic. It was the most peaceful and relaxed of all my births. It was just me and my husband John with the midwife popping in every so often. It wasn't like a hospital environment at all. In water there's not so much pain." She believes this positive experience affected her baby, who did not scream or cry when she was born.

"I wasn't distressed and I think that was passed to Zara. She gave a little yelp when she appeared, but nothing major and she is now the quietest, most laid-back of all my children." Ashley tried a water birth for her third child but as she was stepping into the pool the baby's head started crowning, so she had to get out. "The crown impact is the worst part of giving birth and is complete agony. But with water birth I didn't have that."

Being able to move around in the water helps a woman choose her position, which is not possible in a bed. "I think giving birth in a bed is really old-school now. It goes against gravity. If you're lying on a bed you're not helping yourself to push the baby down. In the water you're on your knees and taking the pain away. Delivery came very quickly. I'd recommend it to everybody, including first-time mums who might be a bit dubious."

Dorothy Finlay, consultant midwife of the low-risk maternity unit at Paisley's Royal Alexandra Infirmary, says that of 392 births last year, 129 were in water. This represents a 16% increase on 2007 - twice the growth rate of the labour ward next door, where the 3200 births were an 8% increase on 2007. "I believe that being alert and in control throughout childbirth is very empowering" says Dorothy. "Water births are very gentle because nobody's hauling the baby out. The water pressure blocks the sensation of pain by bombarding the nerves, which helps relax the mum and increases her endorphin happy hormone levels.

"We call it the aquadural' effect because it reduces the need for epidurals and other pain relief. This allows the most natural birth process possible. Being semi-immersed in water supports the mother and lets the pelvis open to the widest diameter. But if you lie on a bed it flattens your pelvis and the baby's head can't rotate."

Lorna Allison's first baby, Katie, now three, was a forceps delivery at RAH after a 16-hour labour, having been unsuccessfully induced when she was two weeks overdue. Lorna, of Houston, almost had to have a Caesarean section but instead had an episiotomy to allow the forceps in, which resulted in lots of stitches, pain and trauma. She had to stay in hospital for a week afterwards. But her son, Ruari, aged three weeks, was born peacefully in the birthing pool after only three hours and she was allowed home with him the next day.

"There was a huge difference between the two births," she says. "I coped with the pain much better this time, even though I'd been anticipating a similar experience because I knew that at 9lb Ruari was as big as his sister. I didn't need any help apart from air and gas.

"When I was labouring in the pool, at one point I got out to walk about. It was only then that I realised how much the water had been easing the pain," she says. "It was such a lovely experience shared with our midwife Elaine Dempsey."

While acknowledging that every baby is different, nevertheless she believes that her own distress was the reason Katie was colicky and restless for the first few weeks. Ruari, by contrast, is very peaceful.

"We have anecdotal evidence that water-birth babies are more placid, and feed better," says Finlay.

But Michael Heard warns that water births are only for low-risk mothers. He says: "Water births remain a popular choice for low-risk mothers who appreciate the lo-tech environment. But they cannot provide satisfactory care for mothers who are high risk.

"The only thing water birth is proven to help with is pain relief and the reduction in consumption of painkillers.

"More research is needed on third-stage management in the pool, as there is currently no reliable evidence that can be used to inform women regarding the benefits and risks of experiencing the third stage of labour under water.

"But there is no evidence of higher perinatal mortality or admission to special care baby units for birth in water."