No urge to push during unmedicated labor: experiences? Causes? - Page 2

[BanditaMamacita]

With my first, the urge to push didn't feel much like I had imagined. I guess it was an urge to push, bc I had been breathing through my last few contractions to avoid holding my breath and bearing down. It felt natural to bear down with the contractions, but it just didn't feel like the undeniable urge to push that I had envisioned. As dd got lower, it become more a crystal clear urge to push. Maybe there's a difference? I don't know.

With my second, I went through a wildly rapid transition and suddenly there was a head in my vagina and it would have been impossible to resist the urge to push... He was coming whether I pushed or not, but resisting it felt TERRIBLE. I assume that was more of a FER type experience tho... He came out in just one push once I stopped resisting.

[Teensy]

I never felt the urge to push with DS #1. I had been in labor (the kind with painful, you can't sleep through them, contractions) for over 36 hours. I pushed for over 2 1/2 hours before he was finally born, but never felt the urge to push (definitely wanted to be done with that hell called labor at that point though!).

Now DD, on the other hand, I felt the urge to push, the nurse told me to wait while she ran down the hall to get my OB, but there is NO WAY I could have not pushed. I definitely understood at that point what an "urge to push" felt like. DD was born in just a few pushes.

[Devaskyla]

My "urge to push" is that it hurts less than not pushing. That's the closest I've ever come to an "urge"

[rozziemama]

Jaime: I haven't posted in a while and I was actually looking for something else on the site but saw your question and had to reply. I gave birth to DS (my first) one year ago (11-3-09) and with it being his birthday was flooded with memories of my labor with him.
It was all natural, as I'd planned.
I got to the hospital and was 8 cm dilated and thought "wow - this is going to be fast!" but then ended up pushing for (NO JOKE) 5 HOURS.

As I reflect on my experience now, I really do not recall ANY urge to push. He was head down and i had no back labor or anything so I think he was in the correct position, according to my midwife at least - but I really didn't feel the urge to push. I think that's why it ended up lasting so long.
I know I was so lucky that the hospital allowed me to push as long as I did. The reason for it was that his heartbeat never faltered - strong the whole time, and it looked like I was making "progress" - but I really wish that I'd felt empowered enough to say that I wanted to wait.
I never EVER felt the urge to push.
Next time, if there is one, I will insist on waiting.

[flapjack]

Originally Posted by Jaimee

It seems like quite a few of your experiences have to do with the bag of waters. I guess it now warrants mentioning that my midwife artificially ruptured my membranes when I was at 8cm. Dd's heart rate was a bit elevated and I had the choice between breaking my water or transferring to the hospital for fetal monitoring. Of course, I chose to have my water broken. Dd's heart rate dropped into the normal range and no meconium was present. But those contractions came on hard and strong after that. I also did a hypnosis program (HypBirth), which had been working beautifully for me up until that point. After my water was broken I lost focus and things just started to HURT! I wonder if perhaps dd got a bit misaligned because of the early rupture of membranes- leading to no urge to push. My midwife this time (we are in a different state and have a different midwife!) said she rarely sees a reason to break a woman's water and sees benefits in pushing the baby out still in the sac. So maybe this philosophy will help as well!

I would still love to hear more experiences, but I'm so grateful for all the stories posters have shared so far. I'm really excited to talk to my midwife about all this and hopefully get some reassurance that at least I will be more in control of my labor than last time.

In retrospect, would you still say "of course" you chose to have your waters broken? If you're in that situation again, would you make the same choice?

My DS2's waters were broken during an internal when I was roughly 8cm dilated. Labour stalled, and within 2 hours I was getting strong encouragement to get mobile, to sit on the toilet, think about pushing (I had the same midwives as with my first birth, where I sat on the toilet thinking about poo for 2 hours then had a baby. Neither of us had forgotten.) I do not know why or where the timeline came in, but I felt that there was one, and I wish that I had identified her concerns and transferred to hospital. As things turned out, he was born in military position, presenting with both shoulders at once, got stuck for just under two minutes with a turtling head, and then after birth I haemorrhaged. Continual monitoring would have given us the peace of mind to wait things out, and I do believe that if we'd waited, he'd have changed position just enough to get his shoulders through more easily.

All my others have been homebirths, but there are occasions when I've second-guessed the decision not to transfer with DS2.

[tessie]

I felt a bit pushy at around five cm (I think) but not at 10cm. I said I couldn't go on, the midwife had a quick look and told me she could see the head. I only consciously pushed a couple of times but had no urge to do so. Something must have been happening though as she was out in 8 mins.

[Serenyd]

No urge to push w/ my first, but had an epidural. 2nd baby, no urge to push, baby's head was buldging at my perineum, tried pushing but felt like he was stuck, got on hands and knees at the suggestion of my doula, and easily pushed him out with a single push/contraction, but never felt "the urge." This baby, felt like I had to have a BM, went and sat on the toilet, and tried to go, and baby moved down and I continued to feel pushy and pushed her down and out easily. I think #2 may have been malpositioned, possibly. Also had primarily back labor w/ him.

eta: This last baby is the closest I have had to having an "urge" but nothing overwhelming - I was still choosing to push, it wasn't my body forcing it.

[StrawberryFields]

Well, I sort of did not have an urge to push with my ds. My midwife told me that I was ready to push and since it was my first I was like, ok, well, I guess... I didn't have anything to base it on. So I pushed and pushed but it felt weird, I felt like it was really a lot of work and I was kind of confused. I ended up transferring to the hospital. In the car on the way there the real urge to push hit and then it was a completely different experience!! So in hindsight I realized that I was coached into pushing before I was ready.

[emaye_to_2]

I did not have any urge to push with my first DS. I was in labor eight hours when my water broke. We went to the birth center and then I spent another five hours in the tub with incredibly painful contractions and back labor. No one ever checked me. Finally someone checked me and said it was time to push. I pushed on a birth stool very awkwardly for 2.5 hours. I didn't feel like I was making progress. My son was born in the water and ended up having complications.

My second birth was very different (3 hours total!) but I still didn't have the "urge" to push. This time, when we made it to the birth center, midwife checked and said I was complete and to try pushing. I thought OK I'll just give pushing a little try to see what happens. And baby flew out!