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Did you pee every hour during labor?

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8.2K views 20 replies 20 participants last post by  onandon  
#1 ·
Hi, mommies!

Last pregnancy, I birthed in a hospital, and the post-partum nurse made me drink so much water (if I "did a good job" I would be "allowed" to go home the next day -- gosh, I was naive!) that I couldn't sleep at night because I'd keep getting up to pee. So when my Birthing From Within instructor told me to drink enough water during labor that I am peeing every hour, I felt a little nervous. What if I over-do it, and it becomes an unwelcome distraction?

Did you keep up that much water during your labor--not necessarily just to stay hydrated, but with the goal of needing to empty your bladder every hour? Do you feel that it was helpful?
 
#2 ·
I don't see how it's helpful to make a chart of your urination. Just one more arbitrary issue of control....getting in the way of your normal labor rather than getting out of your head, IMO. I mean, the goal is to stay hydrated so that your energy won't be depleted, right?

In all of my labors, I drank when I was thirsty. Dh and the mw would frequently offer me a drink, and if it sounded good i took it. If it would have distracted me from the work I was doing, I ignored them or pushed the drink away, and they let me be.

I certainly never looked at the clock when I peed! How distracting (and IMO, useless!) that would have been! I DO remember peeing for a looooooooooong time (remember the scene in A League of Their Own, with Tom Hanks??
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) after giving birth. And it felt SO good!! So I suspect I was plenty hydrated during the process, LOL!
 
#5 ·
It's good to stay hydrayed. It's good to keep your bladder empty - and peeing every hour is an easy way to make sure you're doing that. But aiming to drink enough just to make sure you have to pee every hour? Sounds like a hassle, and just one more thing to try and keep track off.
 
#6 ·
I drank to thirst (or when my doula encouraged me to take a few sips and it didn't repulse me at the moment, LOL) and ended up peeing about every hour. I think it had more to do with the baby completely squishing my bladder as he made his way out than drinking a bucket of water though.
 
#7 ·
Drinking to thirst seems appropriate enough. I'm all for asking moms every hour or so if they might have to pee, since a full bladder can lead to problems with birthing baby and/or placenta. With all the sensations of labor, a mom can lose track of the urge to pee...having it suggested generally has been received as a helpful thing. Not that the mom MUST pee every hour...but if I know a mom is drinking plenty, and then she doesn't want to pee in an hour, I do get a bit more active on the issue by the second hour. If this is an intervention, so be it...because I've seen too many women who, at second hour, and with some 'help'--just suggestions on things to try to stimulate/open the urine flow such as different positions, holding baby/belly up a bit w/hands, shower or bath, etc--did indeed pee quite a lot. And then said, basically "wow, I didn't even realize my bladder was so full, with all those sensations down there I just couldn't separate it out!"

And I've also seen a few who did not pee much...and ended up w/distended bladders, painful and a potential cause for problems including pp hemorrhage.

I've also seen women who did not pee much, or only a little bit at a time, and then had a fine birth and pp period....but peed a huge amount after placenta's passage. So, if mom doesn't want to, or can't pee, I don't worry unless I see issues developing over time. Maybe no issues will develop at all! But if they do, especially with placenta or pp bleeding, then often enough getting urine to flow is all that is needed to fix it.
 
#9 ·
Pee often!! I had always heard this and of course it went out the window when I was in labor. I was 9 cm for several hours. My midwife had me doing all sorts of gymnastics to try and out baby's head in a different spot. At one point she felt my belly, said "You bladder's full!!" and drained it (I had pain meds by that point and couldn't get up). Within 10 minutes my son was born! Pee often! Pee often! A full bladder can prevent the baby's descent. Pee often!
 
#10 ·
Heck no. Only drink enough water that your body tells you to...or at least have a midwife who is sensible and won't force to you drink it. Now, I didn't drink enough water during my labor and consequently after the baby was born my blood pressure plummeted to 60/30 and I was in la-la land. My midwife tried to get me to drink as much as possible but she wasn't pushy either. I tried to make up for it by drinking tons of water after the birth, and then my bladder temporarily stopped working and I couldn't pee! So, I'd drank ALL this water and I couldn't pee it out for several agonizing hours. Have some Depends on hand, that's my best advice to you
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#11 ·
I think the main concern as a pp mentioned was a distended bladder. If you pee frequently during labor, then your urethra is less likely to become inflamed; an inflamed urethra may make urination after birth too difficult and then you could end up with a catheter so that your bladder can empty. Ouch!

I think your instructor's thought was, "Drink enough water so that you pee often and won't be catheterized."
 
#12 ·
I had to pee every 20 minutes or so the last month of pg, early labor included!
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At least it felt that way- in reality I might pee three times in an hour sometimes while awake but go 3 or 4 hours at night.

During late labor, the pressure of everything blocked off my urethra and I wasn't able to pee at all for several hours before giving birth, even though my bladder hurt, and then I had a little trouble getting started peeing post-partum, but managed to do so within the first half hour after birth. This same pattern repeated all 3 times for me.

All 3 were born at home- two with a lay midwife, and the 3rd UC, and there was never any pressure to drink any more or less than I wanted to.

Wow- to think I might have been subjected to a catheter had I birthed in a hospital- another reason I'm glad I never had that experience!
 
#14 ·
My doula at my first birth drove me mad with demands for me to drink, eat and pee. I opted to go with no doula and had my midwife been there for my birth, she was specifically instructed NOT to mention these things to me. IMO, you need to listen to your body and eat, drink and pee when your body tells you to. Maybe it is a matter of personal preference and some people like to be reminded but for me it was very distracting, to say the least.
 
#15 ·
I was one who had to pee all the time. We realized later I had a slow leak, but to me, it just felt like always having to go.

One other thought on drinking...I found that I wanted both iced and room-temp water. I had a cup of each with a bendy straw. When I was in transition, I wanted water in between every contraction, but mostly warm water, because the cold water made me feel nauseated.

Amy
 
#16 ·
charting fluids in and out can give you a picture of what is going on- lots of fluids in but nothing coming out may mean that the bladder can be an obstruction to birth/decent and postpartum it can be a cause of PP hemorrhage- not being able to urinate may also indicate damage to the bladder or urethra -- all things a provider should rule out--- and being sure that a woman is drinking and staying hydrated is important in labor- it is akin to watching someone do a marathon and not having any fluids available to them at all--
as for urination every hour- I range from reminding women to urinate every hr to 2 hrs in active labor because I have seen bladders get forgotten in all the other sensations then cause a hold up of decent-- and I want to use a catheter on as few women as possible-- the other thing that happens is women who take up one position and don't move- are often helped by moving around some and going to the bathroom as well as getting their own drinks helps to assure that the baby gets the benefit of a moving pelvis-- instead of trying to figure out how to make certain shifts all on her/his own-- you know like how when you try to pull a tight bracelet or ring off you are moving the object and your body--- just some thoughts
 
#18 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by MsBlack View Post
Drinking to thirst seems appropriate enough. I'm all for asking moms every hour or so if they might have to pee, since a full bladder can lead to problems with birthing baby and/or placenta. With all the sensations of labor, a mom can lose track of the urge to pee...having it suggested generally has been received as a helpful thing.

And I've also seen a few who did not pee much...and ended up w/distended bladders, painful and a potential cause for problems including pp hemorrhage.
My unskilled midwives remembered to make me drink often, but forgot to mention that I should also pee (they also failed to notice my distended bladder when checking my belly). As MsBlack says, I lost track of the urge. It took me too long to push my baby out, and he was born purple. He now has cerebral palsy from birth asphyxia - one of the reasons is because my bladder was undrained - when they put in the catheter (which, by the way, didn't hurt AT ALL) 1.5 hours post birth because I couldn't pee on my own, they discovered that was distended with 1/2 gallon of urine in there, causing a longer labor and lifelong medical problems for my poor son.

So yes, pee as often as you can, and have your midwife remind you.
 
#19 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by aramat View Post
Hi, mommies!

Did you keep up that much water during your labor--not necessarily just to stay hydrated, but with the goal of needing to empty your bladder every hour? Do you feel that it was helpful?
Gee, I have no idea. I just drank as needed, and peed when I needed to. I probably leaked more than peed intentionally. I have problems with my bladder because of two c/s, so I wear a pad sometimes. Late in pregnancy I don't have a lot of control.

Dehydration can make your labor a dysfunctional, but I don't think it needs to be that extreme.

Kiley
 
#21 ·
Oh my, if only I only peed once an hour
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. I felt like I spent my last weeks of pregnancy peeing every hour and then peeing in labor maybe every 10-15 minutes. I stood up in the birth tub and peed in a plastic cup which my doula dumped for me every time. After every contraction I wanted blue or purple gatorade (so much for all that organic recharge I bought) and then water to wash it down.