Enema question

[ErinMSB]

I'm considering using an enema when I go into labor to avoid any embarassing incidents. (I know many people will say it's not a big deal, but I pooped with DD and I'd like to avoid it this time with an even bigger audience.) Does anyone have any suggestions or recommendations? I've never used one before and I had no idea there were so many options!

[WTHamI?]

Originally Posted by ErinMSB

I'm considering using an enema when I go into labor to avoid any embarassing incidents. (I know many people will say it's not a big deal, but I pooped with DD and I'd like to avoid it this time with an even bigger audience.) Does anyone have any suggestions or recommendations? I've never used one before and I had no idea there were so many options!

If you do opt for it I would use just warm filtered water. All of the other ones including saline are harsh and irritating.

[Galatea]

You might not need one as often going into labor naturally starts with a giant diarrhea. This happened to me with #2 and so no pooping. With #3, I took some Benadryl to sleep once my water started leaking, and though I did get 4 hours of sleep before waking up in labor, I think I missed my pooping window, so I won't do that again.

[MegBoz]

Originally Posted by Galatea

You might not need one as often going into labor naturally starts with a giant diarrhea.

Yup, that happened with me too.

Also, even if you do an enema, it's no guarantee that you won't poop while pushing, unfortunately. Just some things to bear in mind.

I was mildly uncomfortable at the thought of it as well - funny enough, I was more worried about DH seeing me pooping! I figured all the nurses at the hospital & the MW see women poop all the time, so that didn't bother me.

As I started pushing, the MW put a warm compress on my backside & I thought I had pooped a bit & she was wiping it away. Nope! She was applying warm compresses to help my perinium stretch! Of course, if I HAD pooped it would have been whisked away immediately, so there's another bonus of the compresses.

[Funny Face]

I did a fleet enema at the very start of labor with dd and didn't poop.

I had one available but forgot about it with ds and I did poop. I might do it again this time as pooping in a waterbirth is even less desirable to me than on dry land where the midwives can easily clean it up. It does't guarantee I won't poop but maybe it will lower the chances.

Just make sure you administer it very slowly, that it's room temperature and you stop if you feel any cramping.

[cileag]

While I totally get the not wanting to poop in front of people, my other main concern is deliberately dehydrating yourself---enemas can be irritating and continue to give you diarrhea even after you've "gotten it all out"---since the GI tract is irritated, it just keeps going so to speak when you eat new food, and I would hate to see your body rejecting food you might need during labor. I agree with just using warm water though.

[Funny Face]

Originally Posted by cileag

While I totally get the not wanting to poop in front of people, my other main concern is deliberately dehydrating yourself---enemas can be irritating and continue to give you diarrhea even after you've "gotten it all out"---since the GI tract is irritated, it just keeps going so to speak when you eat new food, and I would hate to see your body rejecting food you might need during labor. I agree with just using warm water though.

This can be true too.

I think knowing your general bowel habits (for lack of a better description) is important. I've had to do enemas at various times before and I've never had a bad experience. It's always brought about an immediate, gentle bowel movement and nothing more. Take into consideration that hormones might change that in labor though.

Another option would be to do a suppository to empty out any stool that is in the colon. That is what is usually expelled during the pushing stage. If your body continues to empty out the rest of the bowel on it's own due to labor then so be it.

Sorry, if that's TMI. I'm a nurse.

[P.J.]

I asked my MW about it, not b/c I would've been embarrassed to poo, but because I was planning a water birth and my stools are often loose, even moreso during the pregnancy, and I didn't want watery poop in the water necessitating us getting out. She advised me that enemas could make you poop even more, as an above PP mentioned.
Go for it if it'll help you feel more confident and focus on the task at hand. But just be prepared for anything. Al my friends I asked about it said when it happened they were so intensely focused and in the experience of pushing the baby out that they either didn't notice or could not have cared less.

[Belle]

I was laboring on the toilet when I began pushing. All the poop went in there. Then I made a mad dash for the birth tub in between contractions. I'm sure I pooped in there too, because the fish net was thrown out when the birth was over but nobody mentioned it to me.