Coached Pushing VS Pushing w/ your body's urges? - Page 2

[Plummeting]

Originally Posted by *MamaJen*

However, directed pushing plus an epidural pretty much means that you'll tear.

I wouldn't necessarily say that. My sister had an epidural and counted pushing, but she didn't tear at all. I, OTOH, had no drugs and pushed however I felt like pushing and I still had a teeny little tear.

I do agree that pushing can be almost some sort of otherworldy experience when you're doing it w/o drugs that prevent you from feeling what's happening and being somewhat in control - as much as a woman can be in that situation, lol. I can honestly say I did not feel any pain at all while I was pushing, other than the perineal pain when DD crowned, which was really, really awful for me. I didn't feel any contraction pain, though. I don't even remember feeling contractions at all during that time - not as pressure or pain or anything. I just pushed and that was all I was aware of. I only had to push for 30 minutes, so that might be part of the reason. I really can't say, since DD is my only child. I do know it's not that way for everyone. I just know that it can feel very empowering and very...I don't know...just so different from anything else I've ever experienced.

[japonica]

I just wanted to pipe up as well for those of us whose kids basically flew out of us. This happened at all my births. Epi-free as well. No time for directed pushing, coached pushing or whatever. Not only that but at all three births I transitioned from 5cm to baby out in minutes. None of my kids took more than 3-4 pushes total to birth. My OB missed my last birth completely. So, that's an eventuality to prepare for as well. It was a shock with my first because I expected to be pushing for hours (as a first time mother), but she was out in minutes after I hit 5 cm. And I tore with all three, so having to do less pushing is not necessarily better. And my last birth, he was out so fast, he didn't get all the fluid squeezed out of his lungs (which would have happened if he'd taken a longer trip through the birth canal) so he had breathing issues his first night.

Just the flip side of the coin...

[Natsuki]

I've always been in control of my pushing - pushing contractions are hard to avoid. With my first birth I was exhausted by the time pushing happened (48+ hour labor...) so my midwife helped me focus. I would say when a contraction started and she would talk me through it, telling me I could do it, encouraging me about my progress. When the contraction was over I would relax and rest until another one came. I really, really needed her active support to work with my contractions because my internal reserves were depleted. But it was all on the timetable of my body's rhythms - not according to a clock.

With DD, I only pushed during pushing contractions except once her head was out, then I wanted to be DONE and used all my energy to push the rest of her body out even though I wasn't having a contraction at that point.

[boringscreenname]

With DS I had an epidural (I was basically forced into it). I started feeling pushy right before they checked me and told me I had dialated completely.

I kept feeling the urge to push as they were setting everything up. After everything got set up the Ob/Gyn had the anesthesiologist come into give me a redose on my epidural. I have no idea why, I wasn't expecting it and didn't ask for it. I should've refused but I was so tired and just wanting it over that I let them.

After that I really didn't feel the urge to push, probably because I was so drugged up. The nurses wouldn't tell me when to push, just said push when you feel like it. When I did push they counted to 10 three times before they had me stop. Which confused me because I was under the impression they would only count to 10 once before having me stop.

I remember complaining that I didn't feel the urge to push and I was frustrated because no one would tell me when to push and I couldn't feel the baby moving down or anything at all. I finally got DS's head halfway out, then they realized he was tangled up pretty badly in the cord. So they asked if they could use forceps to get him out while I was pushing which I agreed to because I was so tired and ready to be done. I'm seeking a home birth for the next baby because my first experience was so frustrating.

[Girlprof]

Just thought I'd mention that while it might be true that *some* (perhaps many) women who have unmedicated births do better without directed pushing, that isn't true for all of us. Everyone's different and every birth is different.

I was totally prepared to hate directed pushing though I'd heard that pushing in general was supposed to be this great relief. For me it was the opposite. Once I figured out how to manage contractions, I was really ok with it, even through back labor. But I had no urge to push and couldn't really understand how to push. This is with no drugs and with waiting a good 45 minutes while I futzed around on my own trying to figure it out. Eventually I did figure it out and during one contraction the nurse counted for me. Then she asked me if I liked that or not - well, it turns out for me, it was incredibly helpful. I could sort of hang on to her voice and know that if I kept pushing while she kept counting, I would make some progress and also be able to stop pushing. Yes, I really hated pushing, LOL. But for me, it would have been a lot worse without the nurse's help.

[boringscreenname]

I wish the nurse would've told me when to push. I think it would've been helpful. Instead I pushed because I felt I should, plus there were so many people just standing around waiting. I did feel the urge to push a little bit, but it wasn't a powerful or consistent sensation. I would push through a contraction, then wouldn't have the urge again for 5-10 minutes.

I still felt like pushing was a relief though, because at that point I was actively working to birth the baby. Until that point I just felt like I was along for the ride just riding out contractions and letting my body do its thing. I still felt that high and on top of the world when DS was born, but I also felt cheated because I had so little sensation and that it was a foceps assisted delivery instead of natural.

I think that with the next baby, if I can go completely drug free and intervention free then it will be that much better. I want to have an all natural delivery and to actually feel contractions, the urge to push, and to feel him coming down and being born. I want to feel everything and let my body do what it was intended to do without interventions or drugs.