err . . . uh . . . pooping during childbirth

[QueeTheBean]

: I just gotta know how common this is. Not that *I* : have any experience with it myself (ahem ahem) : :

[nikirj]

That sheepish smilie is looking really psychotic...

Anyway, no I didn't with either of my babies. I thought I would with DS but it turns that the sensation is common when you are delivering a baby in a posterior position - I didn't feel like I was going to with DD. But both times I did not. I would have been embarrassed for a moment but I would have gotten over it. Both times my body cleaned itself out pretty decently during early labor, and I didn't have another BM for several days after birth (good thing that wasn't a 'requirement' either place I gave birth).

[thepeach80]

I did, I'll admit it! I would have never known except for DH and I had talked about it before hand and laughed about it and when it happened he looked and me and I just knew what had happened. It was funny really. The nurse cleaned it up and never said a thing b/c I'm sure she she's it a lot. The nurse in our childbirth class said if you poo, they know you're pushing in the right spot.

[mimim]

I pooped a bit with both births and I didn't care really. I would have prefered not :LOL but at the time my attention was definitely elsewhere.

[jessikate]

Yeah, I did. I was so far gone in transition that I didn't give a crap, pun intended.

[mama2m&m]

i did not and would have noticed because i watched my dd being born in a mirror. no room for error there LOL. i may not have been embarrassed at the time but i would have been afterward. even though it's common and i guess they've seen it a lot but i would have been mortified after it was all over. during the birt itself i was so focused on labor that i didn't even mind being naked in front of complete strangers LOL. and i'm quite modest. it's a beautiful and empowering time.

[Threefold]

I did and didn't care a bit, though I was irritated at dh for being so sure to point it out to everyone. Come on, this is your child's birth, not an episode of South Park.

[Jane]

Pooping during second stage is a good thing! If there's anything left in there, effective pushing will bring it out. It's a great sign!

Lots of women get diarreah as labor heats up and there's nothing left anyways. But even an enema isn't a guarentee.

I think it's something that's really important to discuss with your birth team ahead of time. For instance, you and your husband might agree to not discuss it afterwards. It's kind of mortifying to have him mention it to your friends afterwards.

[Quirky]

I did, quite a bit, and was totally mortified. : Next time if I'm not cleaned out during first stage I will do an enema....I was far gone in labor land, but not so far I wasn't embarrassed by it!

[Kiki Runs]

I did not. Like a pp, I was pretty much cleaned out looooong before I got to the point of pushing. (And when I say loooooong before, I mean it: I was pretty much all cleaned out 24 hours before I started pushing) Plus, I wasn't "allowed" to eat while in labor (hospital birth, I used up all my backbone resisting other "helpful" interventions long before I got hungry), so had no opportunity to re-supply. lol

I also looked in a mirror, so I'm pretty sure that I'd have seen anything.

Unfortunately, after all that, I ended up w/a c/s, and was "supposed" to poop before I could be released from the hospital. I regained my backbone by that time and told them that had I been given food when I begged for it during labor, I'd be able to produce for them. However, since I wasn't, I had nothing to give them, and they were more than welcome to come pick it up at my house if it was THAT necessary. No takers on that offer.


My neighbor and I were just talking about this today, and she did poop while pushing. She also ended up w/a c/s (not an emergency one, either), and can remember a nurse coming into recovery to wipe her butt AFTER the c/s. WTF??? What about a sterile operating room, people? Not to mention common courtesy not to let a new mama sit around for an hour with poop on her butt?!?! She said they wiped the poop off the delivery table/bed/whatever it's called immediately, but apparently thought it'd be okay to just leave her covered in doo. Priorities, people!!

[homemademomma]

most of the women i've seen labor have pooped while pushing. . . and it was never a big deal. .. scoop it out of the water w/a little fish tank net, clean it away w/a chux... no one cares! i think i pooped while i was pushing, but i never asked, so ill never be sure. ..

[grnbn76]

I don't know, and don't care if I did! I've had three, and it was never mentioned, and I never saw it in the mirrors. But if I did, really, a little poo never hurt anyone. Then again, I only pushed twice with each baby, so I don't know if I even had time to poop!

Sickeningly enough, now I'm curious. I'm doing a UC this time, so I'll be the only one who will clean it up. Hmm....great. Now I'll be looking for it!

[ian'smommaya]

yes i did and i didnt know it except the midwife said o.k. lets get you cleaned up and i said huh? and well you can imagine the rest. i didnt care thou, if i would have i wouldnt have given birth in front of like a dozen ppl.
maya

[neveryoumindthere]

I regained my backbone by that time and told them that had I been given food when I begged for it during labor, I'd be able to produce for them. However, since I wasn't, I had nothing to give them, and they were more than welcome to come pick it up at my house if it was THAT necessary. No takers on that offer.

:

and to the OP, nope but i would be horrified

[SamuraiEarthMama]

i've seen many midwives and nurses at work (being a doula), and i have to say that they are very matter-of-fact about it. they often just wipe the little bits up as they go about doing perineal support or changing warm washclothes or whatever... i'm certain most of the mamas didn't even know, and if nobody told them, it wasn't a big deal at all.

it's just part of the blood, sweat and tears of birth, and part of the letting-go we must do to allow our babies to pass through our bodies. if you want a poopless birth (just as likely as a sweatless or painless one, imho), then schedule your section!

k

[Breathless Wonder]

I voted other, because I did, during one of my births, and I was too uncomfortable to really care much, beyond the few seconds right after it happened.

[Jennifer H]

I expected to and I did. Seems that those midwives and L&D nurses I know have said it is almost 100% even if women don't know they do. Nurses deal with a lot worse!

[Kiki Runs]

Originally Posted by SamuraiEarthMama

if you want a poopless birth (just as likely as a sweatless or painless one, imho), then schedule your section!

k

Wow. Maybe I'm really PMSing, but this seems kind of....flippant? I DID have a poopless birth, and I also DID have a section.

I promise, I would have pooped all over the place if it would have helped me avoid the section, but one has nothing to do with the other.

FTR, I am glad I didn't poop, though I wouldn't have fainted of embarassment if I had. I would have accepted it as part of the process, albeit not the prettiest part, lol.

[cottonwood]

Pooping is really common. You're probably more likely to poop than not. My first two births I don't know -- I had severe diahhrea with my first (damn castor oil) and I'm sure that cleaned me out. And all my attention was focused on trying to push all of my insides out (damn notion that women should start pushing at "complete".) My second was under water, and I don't remember anyone scooping anything out, so if I did it wasn't substantial. My third I was *very* aware that something was about to come out and told my husband to run and get some toilet paper. It wasn't like having a regular bowel movement, though, just a little spotting.

[sincitymama]

I voted no, but would have been embarassed.
Dh and I knew it was pretty common and I was actually kind of expecting it, but if it happened neither of us noticed. And I asked him later, he said nope, and he was there watching the whole thing.
I've known a few who did and knew about it. They all said they didn't care at the time but thinking about it later they kind of cringed at the thought of everyone there seeing them poo. I think I'd have felt the same.