I think there are many factors that influence pushing and each woman is just so different it's impossible to predict how things will go. That said, here are some generalities I've seen:
*epidurals make pushing last longer because you don't have (or not as much) that sense of I HAVE to push, where your body just takes over and you go along for the ride. Yes, it happens and yes, this happens to unmedicated women too, but over all the chances are higher with an epidural.
*epidurals make pushing take longer because you are limited in movement to assist the baby's descent.
*Epidural make pushing take longer because you are more likely to be getting frequent vaginal exams to find that you are 10 and therefore they encourage you to start pushing (I have had awesome labor nurses that encourage clients to "labor down" and leave them alone until they are feeling pushy or feelings of pressure changes)
*unmedicated births tend to have faster pushing stages due to the reverse of what's listed above: able to feel the desire to push and there fore can tune in on how/where to push more easily, able to move to assist descent and you are more likely to be the one to inform your care provider that you are ready to push than having routine vag exams.
Other things like the position of the baby, the position of the mother, the size of baby and mother all influence the pushing phase.
All that said, my first birth was an unmedicated 7.5 pound posterior baby with a nuchal hand pushing on a birth stool for about 15" from her being high to out. I would rather had a little less intense experience but at least it was over quickly. My second was 9 pounds, posterior, pushed on hands and knees, about 10 minutes all pushing, no real break between contractions. I would rather have like 30" pushing with breaks and slightly less intense. Some women describe pushing as pleasurable and that fascinates me, it was not my experience!
*epidurals make pushing last longer because you don't have (or not as much) that sense of I HAVE to push, where your body just takes over and you go along for the ride. Yes, it happens and yes, this happens to unmedicated women too, but over all the chances are higher with an epidural.
*epidurals make pushing take longer because you are limited in movement to assist the baby's descent.
*Epidural make pushing take longer because you are more likely to be getting frequent vaginal exams to find that you are 10 and therefore they encourage you to start pushing (I have had awesome labor nurses that encourage clients to "labor down" and leave them alone until they are feeling pushy or feelings of pressure changes)
*unmedicated births tend to have faster pushing stages due to the reverse of what's listed above: able to feel the desire to push and there fore can tune in on how/where to push more easily, able to move to assist descent and you are more likely to be the one to inform your care provider that you are ready to push than having routine vag exams.
Other things like the position of the baby, the position of the mother, the size of baby and mother all influence the pushing phase.
All that said, my first birth was an unmedicated 7.5 pound posterior baby with a nuchal hand pushing on a birth stool for about 15" from her being high to out. I would rather had a little less intense experience but at least it was over quickly. My second was 9 pounds, posterior, pushed on hands and knees, about 10 minutes all pushing, no real break between contractions. I would rather have like 30" pushing with breaks and slightly less intense. Some women describe pushing as pleasurable and that fascinates me, it was not my experience!
