Pushing for HOURS??

dojo1

I was snooping in 0-3 month board and they were talking about their labour experiences... Several moms pushed for hours.. One woman said she pushed for seven!  Please reassure me that pushing that long is not normal.

jkfranklin

I pushed for 2 1/2 hours with DS. He was all crooked in there and I sucked at pushing. The norm I've seen with reading tons of birth stories is around 30 minutes to an hour.

westrose

7 hours! I have heard that an hour or two is pretty normal especially with your first. It takes you awhile to figure out what you are doing especially if you have an epi. 

snoangel79

From what I have seen (I work in L&D) first time mom's usually take about 1.5-3 hours on average (they can obviously go longer/shorter but this seems the average. Since I consent people during my work hours to donate cord blood, we look at mom's that either are close and would probably deliver before we leave (we don't have 24 hour collections unfortunately due to funding), and mom's that have had previous pregnancies seem to take 30m-2 hours normally or less for pushing...

TrendyTina

It's normal to push for an extended amount of time if you get an epidural because you likely won't feel the urge to push. It can still happen without an epi, but is a lot less likely. Also, a lot of hospitals try to get mothers to start "practice pushing" before they are ready which extends the time pushing. Just because you reach 10cm doesn't mean you are ready to push at that moment. I plan to wait until I cannot NOT push. Usually self-directed pushing where you wait until the urge is uncontrollable will result in a much shorter amount of time spent pushing.

vermont7

When in labor with my daughter, midwife said the average is about 2 hours for first time labors. I ended up pushing her out after 30 minutes, she was face up and had a major cone head. 

gisa886

I pushed for two and had one hour of zero progress. I am not looking forward to pushing again. 

Patella1129

I pushed for 2 before my OB used the vacuum to get DS out.

A few weeks later a mom from my church had her 9 lb. 11 oz. baby at home with no meds.  I asked my friend who is a doula to help me wrap my mind around how that would work.  She said that a lot of times with big babies and home births, they don't have you really push until it's too unbearable not too.  She said your body will expel the baby even without you pushing, so maybe then meant she was in that pushing stage for 7 hours, but not actually doing the pushing for that whole time. 

laurack

at my birth class, she said 1.5-3 hours is the normal window of time though of course it could be much faster.

She said, when you need to push you will know- it will be impossible to NOT push. (this is of course if you have not had the epi, as then you might not feel the nerves being stimulated etc.)

I'm hoping the pushing doesn't last 3 hours, it sounds like it will be exhausting!

DevonPow

I think I remember them telling me that average is 2 hours for a first time mom...Mine was under 30 minutes though, with an epi. I had no urge to push or pressure at all (man, I loved my epi), the nurse just watched my contraction on the monitor and told me when to start each time (I also had a tiny "window" open through my epi - a little spot less than an inch on my belly where I could still feel when the peak of a contraction was, but wasn't painful - and that helped tell when it was time to push). It felt like only a minute or two at the time.

Monicagail1

wilburbud:

That is not normal. National Protocols are all changing due to safety concerns that the ACTIVE pushing stage should not last more than 3 hours without the team reassessing the status of labor. Now, It CAN potentially continue if youre making progress, but if you've been pushing that long, it means they started you pushing too soon, or there is something not allowing baby to come through the birth canal, be it inadequate pelvic space, inadequate pushing, shoulder stuck, babys position, ect..

Noone should be pushing for more than 3 hours without a reassessment and discussion with their birthing team.. thats not good for baby..

Yeah..I was thinking that 3-4 hours would be the absolute max most doctors would allow someone to push even assuming the baby is tolerating it well.  And honestly, if you're REALLY pushing, you'd be exhausted by the 2-3 hour mark.  I doubt you'd make it to 7.  Maybe this "7 hour pusher" has a different definition of pushing?

In my (limited, purely anecdotal) experience 1-2 hours is probably average for a FTM.  I got lucky and only had to push for about 45 minutes with my first, and I was exhausted with that.

Cin8-14

I pushed for nearly 3 hours (actively) until my OB gave me the option of vacuum or c-section. I chose the vacuum. I have been educating myself on how to avoid the vacuum this time around because a 3rd degree tear and the aftermath of pushing for 3 hours made my recovery HELL. In that education process I have asked my OB practice about their standards of practice and they will not let their patients push for more than 3 hours. Don't worry, everyone's labor and delivery is different. Sometimes reading others' birth stories can be more scary than motivating.  

irish625

I just asked my doctor about when they would start to consider a c/s and he said after about 2-3 hours of pushing or no progress being regarding dilation.  To me 7 hours seems excessive. 

Wildlandwife

I only pushed for 30 mins with DD.

PinkPeony6210

I pushed for 2.5 hours with Ella...it was exhausting!

Mrs.Teddy

I pushed for 30 minutes with L.

An interesting observation from an L&D nurse. I read a lot of birth stories on here and it sounds like often as soon as someoen is 10cm/fully/complete they set them up pushing. This is NOT the norm where I practice. I am not sure if its Canada or just my hospital. But often once a women reaches 10cm (ESP with her first baby) we let her labour down, we let her body/contractions/time bring the baby down further into the birth canal. This often prevents excessive pushing, it means more waiting but would you rather wait and for an hour or two or push for those hours and still have the baby at the same time? Pushing can be exhausting for mom and baby so we try not to prolong that part of labour.

One doctor jokes not to start pushing until you can see the ears, obviously this isn't realistic but she HATES when the nurses set the patients up too early, they end up exhausted and needing often interventions (like vaccum of forceps). If at all possible maybe advocate and ask if you can wait to push, esp if you have an epidural and your comfortable.

Dilating is only part of the process, the baby come down is the other important part that often sounds like it isn't always considered.

mrsadamc 05

I discussed pushing with my dr before hand (at my 36 weeks appointment).  She told me she does not let patients push for more than 2 hours if they are not making progress.  

It took me 40ish minutes to push DD out.   

in my life

I pushed for about 2 hours. I think most FTMs push for a longer period of time then in subsequent births.

CAMbaby

Wow, this all sounds horrible! I will be the odd one out. Two pushes and DD was out - nurse even had to tell me to hold off because she was coming out so fast! I am hoping it goes as fast this time around!!!

MsCat19

I pushed for a half hour - and if I didn't have the epi, I have a feeling I would have shaved a few off of that!

pensparade

I pushed for about an hour and 15 min. It felt like 3 hours.

Becky19

I pushed for 30 minutes.

MsNessa

I pushed for about 2 1/2 hours.  I didn't start until my body & DD began pushing on their own, so I know it was time.  It just took a while to keep the progress I was making.  I'd push her down and then she'd go back up a little.

Honestly, it didn't feel like that long.  When DH told me afterward how long I pushed for I almost didn't believe him.  My sense of time was way off during labor/birth and it felt like I pushed for half an hour.  Yes, it was tiring, but I was so focused on what I was doing, I never stopped to stress out about how long it had been.