Can we talk about pushing?

FarmvilleLover

This isn't something they have really taught in the classes I've taken. Is it really like the kind of pushing you do when you're going #2?  I really hope I'm one of the lucky ones that doesn't poop while giving birth lol.  I wonder what the likelihood of that is anyway.

janbrady

For me it wasn't, it was more like when you push pee out. Hard to explain, but the pushing was more in the front/middle instead of the back (if that makes sense). I still pooped I think, although I never saw it or smelled it, but the nurse wiped stuff away.

I also made sure to try to keep my face relaxed. I didn't want to pop blood vessels!

FarmvilleLover

So, will my body just KNOW how to push right?  Yikes, I bet this is one of those things I'll find out when the time comes.

Sawyerplus1

FarmvilleLover:

So, will my body just KNOW how to push right?  Yikes, I bet this is one of those things I'll find out when the time comes.

Yep, you'll just find out when the time comes. With DS the urge to push came very naturally and strongly (natural birth), but that actual pushing was a bit of a challenge. I remember the MW had to put her fingers in and give me a place to focus on pushing because I wasn't quite doing it right. In the end it only took an hour, but pushing definitely had a learning curve for me.  

December192009

Just from my own personal experience - your body will know what to do, but you have to also be careful w/ your pain medication if you decide to use it. With DS1 I had an awesome epidural but I "labored" for 18 hours and pushed for 2 hours. I really couldn't feel anything. My doc said I was doing well, but it was extremely frustrating b/c it took so long. With DS#2 my epidural didn't work at all, but that was good b/c I was able to feel my progress a lot more and pushed him out with about 5 pushes or so. Not having that area so numb really allowed me to feel the progress. Don't worry, not everyone poops - I didn't!  In case you were just wondering how it's done, you take one need breath, chin to chest and curl up and push as hard as you can. 

PhysChic7685

The urge to push and what you do in response comes rather naturally.  My nurses didn't want me to push when I first started feeling the urge (I wasn't dilated enough, I think), but after that, I pushed whenever I had the urge.  I apparently pushed really hard, though, because they were going to give me an episiotomy and I had a really good push that resulted in a 2nd degree tear instead--they weren't expecting that much progress from one push.

Angelrelic

I felt the urge to push even with an epidural, given i had to kinda concentrate on it, but it was kinda llike pooping or peeing.. same idea slightly different muscles. Your body totally just kinda directs the energy, i think it helps if you've done kegals so the muscles are more, conditioned (thats probably not the right word.) I think if you don't over think it you'll do fine, which is strangely my advice about breast feeding too! 

JKB1986

I had an epidural with my first and I did not feel the urge to push nor could I tell if anything was happening when I was pushing.  I did what I read before hand and pushed like I was trying to have a bowel movement and the only reason I knew I was doing anything was because the doctor told me I was.  This time around I'm determined to go med free and I'm really looking forward to feeling that natural urge to push and hopefully feel the progress I'm making!  Epidurals work differently on everyone so you really won't know how it'll feel until the time comes.

hillbillysunshine

I don't think pushing like you're going #2 is accurate.  But it's hard to explain. Don't worry, your OB and nurses will work with you and will let you know when you're pushing the way they want.  You tinker with it until you have an effective push going.  I don't think it's something that can be taught beforehand.

And, FWIW, I didn't poop with DD#1.

ETA:  The UGRE to push will come naturally.  Pusshing effectively may not but don't worry.  Many women need assistance from what I've heard from friends, family (including my cousin who is an OB) and even my own experience.

valerie.kingsley

Ok I'm going to throw this out there because I'm curious as well, but it's extremely TMI so I'm sorry!  After DH and I have sex, and I go to the bathroom to...ya know...rid myself of his evidence...I actually push out of my vagina.  I hate getting up an hour or so later and having a surprise rush of DH's evidence that I left behind, so I take going to the bathroom after very seriously and literally push everything out.  I'm not pushing as if I were peeing or pooping because it's all in my vagina...is that how I should push to get the baby out?  Some times I think nurses and doctors say to push like your having a bowel movement because it is so hard to explain how to push from your vagina if that's not something you're used to doing, and considering pushing like a bowel movement also affects your vagina, I think it's the easiest way to get us to focus on the right area.  I've always done kegels because I'm weird like that, so maybe it's like a PP said that it's easier to discern if your kegels are more "conditioned"?  But I'm not going to assume this until someone who's done it before says that it is like that lol

AB25840

I thought it felt exactly like going #2! And your body does know when to push it felt like my body was pushing on its own with out me lol

Ivana_Stolichnaya

Well, when I was pushing I had a ton of pressure on my tailbone and the sensation was all in my butt.  Visualize trying to poop out a soccer ball..that was the feeling.  So yeah, pushing to me was like trying to go #2.  The nurse even told me to push like I was having a bowel movement.

It wasn't until the "Ring of Fire" time that I really felt most of the pain, burning and stinging in the vag area.

I had an epidural too, but they turned it off for the pushing.  It was described to me like this.  If you're numbed up from an epidural, there's no way to tell how hard you're pushing.  You may feel like you're pushing hard but in reality you're really not.  You really need some of the sensation back to feel the pressure to push.

I felt the pressure, it's like a strong BH mixed with pressure in the pelvic floor muscles.  Just like how you feel a BH coming on, your stomach starts to tighten up, that's your queue to start pushing.  Your monitors will also start reacting and the numbers will start rising before you feel it coming on too.

When I was pushing I had a bar that went up and across the edge of the bed.  I could put my feet up on the sides of the bar.  We wrapped a towel around the top of the bar and I pulled on that while pushing.   I also had handles that came out of the side of the bed and I pulled on those while pushing....like I was rowing a boat.  I pushed hard for 2.5 hours and could barely get her to crown, I was on oxygen and starting to lose steam.  The nurse gave me a caffeinated soda to try and give me a sugar/caffeine boost but I was exhausted.  The Dr. then got out the vacuum and that was the most painful part.  My daughter barely fit, I would have been there for another hour pushing if the vacuum wasn't brought in.

After giving birth, besides having a swollen, sore vag. and bottom area.  My entire body felt like I had been hit by a truck.  My stomach, torso, shoulders and arms were sore...like I had just spent 2.5 hours rowing a boat upstream.  So stay on top of your pain meds because when those wear off you will be in a world of pain.  I was sore for a few days afterwards.  I can't speak for the women who push three times and the baby's out...but if you're going past an hour of non-stop pushing...get ready for a sore body afterwards.  I was caught off guard by that with my first child.

EllasMommy2010

I pushed like I was taking a big poo.  It was effective for me since it only took 7 pushes to get her out.

NicoleWright8

Pushing felt like going #2 for me. That's also what the urge to push felt like. I had so much pressure in my perineal/butt area that I actually thought I legitimately had to get up and go #2 when it was really just time to push. I have a friend who was so self-conscious about pooping on the table that she kind of held back with her pushing. She tore really badly and swears this was the reason why.

FWIW, I wouldn't worry about pooping on the table. My dr told me that if you poop that's how you know you're pushing right.