Pushing Question

GBTeacherLady · June 2011

I've seen a lot of different perspectives on pushing during natural childbirth and they all seem to be adamant that their individual technique is the best. Some say you don't need to push at all, but breathe the baby down. My Bradley book says only push at the peak of the contraction, and I've also heard pushing between contractions. I know I'm going to go with whatever seems to be working at the time but mostly I can't imagine having the urge to push and then not.

I know I'll get a lot of different answers but I love hearing from experienced moms. TIA!

monkeyqueen · June 2011

I think you need to do whatever your body tells you to do. A couple of my friends never had an urge to push, so maybe "breathing the baby down" would have worked for them, but there was no way it would ever had worked for me. With my urge to push, it literally forced my body to bear down and push. There was no thought process or method, it was instinctual. Just go with it.

Sharon21 · June 2011

monkeyqueen:
I think you need to do whatever your body tells you to do. A couple of my friends never had an urge to push, so maybe "breathing the baby down" would have worked for them, but there was no way it would ever had worked for me. With my urge to push, it literally forced my body to bear down and push. There was no thought process or method, it was instinctual. Just go with it.

I agree with this. I pushed through my entire contraction and rested in between. I could not have "breathed the baby down" my body just pushed, it was really uncontrollable. Also it felt better to push because that is what my body wanted me to do. I think your attitude to do what feels right at the time is the best way to approach it. Good Luck!

cyprissa · June 2011

My body also pushed on its own....it was a bit like being taken over by some primal force. My midwife made me slow the pushes down so I wouldn't tear and it was one of the hardest things I've done.

AutumnBride929 · June 2011

I never felt an urge to push but maybe that urge that some feel is what just felt as my body pushing involuntarily. I don't know. I never felt like I physically forced any kind of pushing (like you do when you poop sometimes, sorry to be graphic, lol). My body just pushed on its own, I just breathed and relaxed as much as I could and baby was out in two contractions.

katcarls · June 2011

I agree that it depends what you're feeling when the time comes. My body started pushing on it's own and it was kind of uncontrollable. I pushed with the urge and rested between contractions.

Mrs.Greeko · June 2011

With my first I had no control over pushing really. My body was just doing it and I went with it.

With my second I definitely had to puch, but I had more control over it, but it was very much just like an instinct that I needed to push at certain times because that's what my body needed to do.

I think just listen to your body and don't fight against it and you will be fine.

LindseyJW · June 2011

i pushed without contractions for many hours during my first birth (8hrs of pushing, maybe 10-15 contractiosn during that time). it was completely ineffective and i ended up with broken blood vessels in my eyes and no baby (surgical birth).

i had a HypnoBirth the second time, where we learn to "breathe the baby down." this can be a highly effective way to birth. you have to actually practice it though and if you don't know what you are doing, it's not going to work for you. your body may/will still have the urge to push, but if you practice "birth breathing" during that urge, the urge is quelled, the body's "natural expulsive reflex" takes over and birth is achieved gently and more easily than with pushing. i started breathing down when i first got the urge to push, and the strong urge went away, but i could feel my baby moving down. i tested the method by not breathing down for a surge or two, just to see if it was working or if it was just my body's different reaction to this second labor and birth experience. NOPE! it was really the breathing down that made the difference as the urge came back and felt uncontrollable again, until i started breathing the baby down again. i can say the same about the HypnoBirthing labor breathing and visualization techniques as well. they totally work, when done properly.

sschwege · June 2011

LindseyJW:
i pushed without contractions for many hours during my first birth (8hrs of pushing, maybe 10-15 contractiosn during that time). it was completely ineffective and i ended up with broken blood vessels in my eyes and no baby (surgical birth).

i had a HypnoBirth the second time, where we learn to "breathe the baby down." this can be a highly effective way to birth. you have to actually practice it though and if you don't know what you are doing, it's not going to work for you. your body may/will still have the urge to push, but if you practice "birth breathing" during that urge, the urge is quelled, the body's "natural expulsive reflex" takes over and birth is achieved gently and more easily than with pushing. i started breathing down when i first got the urge to push, and the strong urge went away, but i could feel my baby moving down. i tested the method by not breathing down for a surge or two, just to see if it was working or if it was just my body's different reaction to this second labor and birth experience. NOPE! it was really the breathing down that made the difference as the urge came back and felt uncontrollable again, until i started breathing the baby down again. i can say the same about the HypnoBirthing labor breathing and visualization techniques as well. they totally work, when done properly.

It's interesting to hear from someone first hand that 'birth breathing' worked. I spent a lot of time practicing my breathing for surges, but not much time with 'birth breathing.' When I was fully dilated I tried to do 'birth breathing' a few times but found it very uncomfortable. I felt like I either had to all out push or relax during the surges. After reading about your experience I might practice next time and try again, I liked the idea.

wifeofadam · June 2011

Do whatever works for you. For my first natural birth my body took over and I didn't need to do anything. With my others I had to tell myself when to push.

iris427 · June 2011

I just did what felt right. I was surprised by how the urge to push was so strong and took over my whole body. There's no way I could have ignored it or breathed the baby down.

pdilly2b · June 2011

I never got the natural urge to push and basically felt at that point that the contractions were constant (couldn't feel them start or stop - it was just generally overwhelming) so I just pushed and then backed off and listened to my midwife's instructions to keep pushing (ended up with only a minor labia tear on each side). To me, the best part about going med free was the freedom to try different pushing positions. I ended up moving DS down by squatting next to the bed and delivered him on all fours on the bed. I absolutely hated the sensation of pushing on my back and think it would have taken a couple hours to get him out in that position vs. 20 minutes doing it the way I did.

Jodi2008 · June 2011

Yeah, breathing the baby down never would have worked for me. I had to actively push for 4 hours as it was, in every possible position, because he was facing up and was a little stuck. My body just kind of took over and I couldn't hold back pushing, even if I wanted to. You just end up doing what feels right!

kim_and_tony · June 2011

I felt like I had two choices:

1. push- and it hurt much more than I thought it would, even between pushes

2. scream

Everyone liked option 1 the best. I think it was just so intense because baby was crowning when I finally got out of the shower and onto the bed. I pushed sitting up in bed with nurses holding my legs.

ETA: I was totally in control until it was time to push. Until I hit 9 cm you couldn't hardly tell I was in labor.

Jason'swife · June 2011

ditto those who said "listen to your body". I didn't have any urge or desire to push between contractions, but who knows. Maybe you will? Pushing is one of those things that your body just knows how to do. Whatever your technique, you'll do just fine.

tokenhoser · June 2011

I pushed when my body wanted to push. I couldn't have not pushed, and I didn't want to tire myself out pushing when my body wasn't pushing with me.

I asked my doctor and nurses not to coach my pushing, and they respected that wish. I pushed for about 2 hours; baby was OP so I think it took longer than it would have if he was positioned right.

I didn't follow a method. I followed my body and it worked fine.

DaisyJanie · June 2011

I thought I understood breathing the baby down, and was planning on doing that. I also wanted to try pushing between contractions. When it came to it, though, I just listened to my midwife's instructions, and pushed during contractions. Each contraction I would push 2-3 times, usually the one in the middle was the peak and I would push hardest then. I pushed for 2 hours so I don't know that I could have held up if I was pushing between contractions.

cottonlily84 · June 2011

Interesting about the birth breathing. I thought that was more a relaxation technique than an alternative to pushing. I have heard so many natural mamas say the pushing urge was irresistible and they felt relief when they pushed so I'm just planning on following that path. If my body says push then I will. I can't imagine having to push just bc someone tells you you're 10cm and a monitor says you're having a contraction. I think that's when you get in the situation of pushing far far longer than would have been necessary. So I definitely say listen to your own body.

iris427 · June 2011

cottonlily84:
Interesting about the birth breathing. I thought that was more a relaxation technique than an alternative to pushing. I have heard so many natural mamas say the pushing urge was irresistible and they felt relief when they pushed so I'm just planning on following that path. If my body says push then I will. I can't imagine having to push just bc someone tells you you're 10cm and a monitor says you're having a contraction. I think that's when you get in the situation of pushing far far longer than would have been necessary. So I definitely say listen to your own body.

This is what happened with my first birth. I had a very strong epidural and no urge to push, but they had me push with each contraction anyway, doing the whole hold your breath for a count of 10 thing. I couldn't even really feel myself pushing. It's not surprising that after around 2 hours of this, my baby got no lower than 0 station and I had a c/s.

So now I really believe in mother-directed pushing and letting moms with an epidural labor down.

LovelyMommy91 · June 2011

Well luckily for me my son popped out on the first push, but I think you just go with what your body is felling. I kept telling the nurse I had to push and she told me it wasn't time, but I knew it was. I kept telling her I was going to push but she told me not to, eventually after me repeating myself a few times she told me to push so that I could break my water since she saw the bag at my opening. But when i pushed to break my water, then entire bag came out closed and filled with amniotic fluid with the baby still in it.

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