No pushing necessary? - Page 2

[Lynski]

Originally Posted by RedHen4

Babies #4 & #5 I think I willfullly pushed because I wanted that baby OUT! I think many moms feel like it's finally something we can DO to make the pain be over.

That was pretty much my experience w/ dd. I didn't have any huge urge to push. It was a conscious decision because the pain was incredible. I remember clearly thinking "maybe I'll try pushing" because I couldn't think of any other way to deal with the pain. I did, and it felt right (although not good by any stretch.) I could feel her move down so I rushed to get her out to get out of the pain. Three pushes later she was out. I think this time I won't push if I don't have that urge, maybe then I won't tear.

[greenthumb3]

Originally Posted by female18-

What would happen if you didnt push? I read somewhere the body will naturally get the baby out during contractions without the mother being told to push. What does this mean?

I never felt the urge to push during ds's labor...so if i hadnt pushed when they told me, he still would have come out?

Im really confused.

I have heard about women who were unconscious for delivery and their bodies' still expelled the baby and placenta, without the mothers' conscious efforts. Bodies are amazing!

On another note, my friend who teaches Hypnobirth classes talks about "breathing" the baby out, rather than a concentrated pushing effort. It worked for her with her third baby.

I have had pushing urges with my two boys. Both times it was involuntary (kind of like the involuntary reflex one has when one throws up...not that unpleasant, but similar to it in that it just happens) and then these sounds came out of me that I couldn't resist: groans and low sounds. My body definitely took charge and went with it. I didn't have to "think" about pushing, it just happened. Both those births were unmedicated and assisted by midwives.

[greenthumb3]

Originally Posted by prancie

You may not have been given enough time to feel the urge to push. Often a woman's body will rest after full dialation is achieved and contactions will stop for a short while. In the hospital you are instructed to push as soon as you reach full dialation, but your body may have been intending to hold off a few minutes.

: I have heard that part of labor called the "rest and be thankful" stage. I did experience that resting part for both of my sons' births and perhaps that allowed me to go on and feel the urge to push.

[mama_nym]

WIth my first hospital birth I was told to push as soon as I reached 10cm - and I was no where near ready to push. 35 minutes into pushing they mentioned c-section. 40 minutes into pushing my body took over and got the baby out. My pushing was barely accomplishing anything, when my body took over, baby was out within 5 minutes.

WIth my second hospital birth, I dilated quickly and when I reached 10cm I had a slight urge to push. THe OB was still on his way so I was encouraged not to push. I just rested through each contraction and then 20 minutes later announced to everyone that I was pushing NOW, like it or now (my body was). I didn't give much effort at all to the pushes, my body did most of the work and Z was out within 7 minutes (all 9.5 lbs of him).

With my third child, birth center waterbirth, she was in an odd position and the *first* time I had the urge to push I had to actively push and move around to get her into a better position. When she made it past my pubic bone, my body took over and she was born shortly thereafter.

WIth my fourth child, a homebirth, I didn't do any pushing whatsoever - my body did all the work to birth my 10lb 14oz babe! It was 7 minutes from when my body started pushing to when he was in my arms - and few minutes of that was my body taking a break between getting the head out and the rest of the body out! (His labor and birth were completely pain-free.)

It will be interesting to see what happens with this babe - I'm expecting to just relax through contractions, maybe walk a bit, spend lots of the time in water, and let my body do its thing!

[SublimeBirthGirl]

Don't Push the River, it Flows by Itself
by Laura Shanley

[flapjack]

I have long rest and be thankful stages. With ds1, my midwife gave me a couple of hours and then got me up on my feet moving around and up and down the stairs to try and get baby to descend to the point where the fetal ejection reflex (the thing that makes your body push) kicks in. With ds2, we didn't try that and I consciously pushed- HUGE mistake. Enormous. He presented with both shoulders together, which was more excitement than I wanted, and then I haemorrhaged because my uterus had NOT been receiving signals that this was a good time to clamp down and contract. IMO, the two were directly linked (actually the three. My waters were broken during an internal and so he got locked into the malpresentation.) and if I had used fetal positioning to try and stimulate strong contractions, I could have avoided the PPH.
DD, her head crowned before I started pushing. I was lying on my back (flat), kind of corkscrewing and rotating my hips and trying not to have a baby (long story). Her waters broke just before she started descending. With DS1, his waters broke as he was half out.