'Pushing' question

kmt104 · August 2014

I guess when it comes time to push, your body pushes whether you want to or not and you can't control it. Do you feel this sensation/does your body push even with a epidural? You'd think your body pushes when it's ready whether you can feel it or not, so why do they say getting a epidural you push much longer? I'm aiming for a VBAC so I don't have much L&D experience...

HappyCianci · August 2014

I don't know a lot about this, but I have heard that you don't experience the urge to push if you have an epidural. It seems to make sense: if your body is numb, you just don't feel it.

I did not have an epidural with my first, and my body pushed all by itself. I experienced this "involuntary" pushing as baby moved through my cervix and into the birth canal. Once baby was crowning, I did bear down and push him out voluntarily.

Syllessa · August 2014

I had an amazing epidural with my first. I definitely felt the urge to push. I pushed so well that they wanted me to stop and pant through contractions b/c the dr wasn't there yet. My body kept right on pushing.

Emerald27 · August 2014

My epidural had worn off enough that I was able to feel the urge to push, but it was not overwhelming and I did need some directed pushing. I had a "need to poop" feeling but wasn't aware of my contractions, and (correct me if I'm wrong) you need to push during contractions, so the nurse and DH told me when I was having a contraction and should push. DS was very easy to deliver (he was tiny), and only took 3-4 pushes.

Some women can feel neither the urge to push nor the contractions when they have an epidural, and so really need directed pushing. Some can feel when to push. It really depends on the specific labor, I think. I'm pretty sure the ideal they strive for is that women can feel the urge and enough of the contractions to know when to push.

Duder · August 2014

I have heard that with an epidural you it's more difficult to feel if you're pushing effectively or not, and that can lead to pushing longer. I have certainly heard of plenty of moms who had an epidural and didn't have to push for forever, though. I did not have an epidural with my daughter, so I don't have personal experience with trying to push with one.
My cousin just had her baby with an epidural and she said that since her hemorrhoids were so bad the nurse suggested she let the baby labor down without her trying to push for a while once she was completely dilated. She ended up pushing for less than an hour once she did start to try to push and said it was a wonderful experience.

dana2die4 · August 2014

I had the epidural and still had the urge to push. It feels like you have to poop (sorry best way to describe it)

noellemari · August 2014

As a labor nurse, I've seen both. It depends on how dense your epidural ends up being. You may need to be told when to push and you may feel that urge to poop that a few PPs have mentioned. Mine were both epi free, and I definitely had the urge to push.

One advantage with the epi (in my opinion) is the ability to comfortably "labor down". So basically, if you're not feeling anything and are super comfortable, once you're complete you don't start pushing right away (of course this depends what station baby is at). So if baby is still kind of high, You wait and hour or two and let those contractions push the baby down for you. Then you spend less time actively pushing.

amstevens78 · August 2014

I had an epidural with my son and mine took a little too well. I could not feel anything but pressure. But the nurses and doctors told me when to push and I pushed for about an hour to hour and a half. I was very thankful for that epidural though and plan to have one again this time.

Emerald27 · August 2014

I also think it depends a lot on the particular labor, not just epi or no epi. How well/strongly an epi affects mom, the baby's position, and lots of other factors can affect how long it takes to push. If mom has an epi and baby is in a less-than-optimal position, it might take longer because her pushing positions are limited. A mom without an epi can push squatting, on her knees, side, back, whatever works based on baby's position, so that might help.

That said, a dear friend of mine pushed for 6 hours with her first son, and she did not have an epi. I pushed for less than 10 minutes and did have an epi. This is one of those "it depends" questions, because every labor is so different. Certainly avoiding an epi has it's benefits, and being able to push in whatever position comes most naturally and comfortably, and having the guarantee that you could feel the urges at the appropriate times, etc., are real benefits to keep in mind.

AppleGrapeMSTK · August 2014

I had an epidural and was telling my nurses when I needed to push- and I NEEDED to push. It was a sense of urgency. I couldn't even control some of my pushing. My body just kind of took over. I pushed for only 30 minutes. The hardest thing in the world was when they told me to stop pushing and wait for my OB to show up. Fighting the urge to push was more exhausting than actually pushing.

Ravenbaby · August 2014

I had an epidural and didn't know it was time to push. But once they told me I only pushed for @ 10 min.

MrMrsandBaby · August 2014

Exactly what @Di_126 said...the epi takes away the pain but the pressure is still there. I knew exactly when to push and it is a good thing I did since the monitor was not picking up my contractions consistently. I only pushed for 45 minutes total and the most effective pushes (the ones that got cheers from my doctor and nurse) are the ones where I literally felt like I was trying to poop.

GL with the VBAC!

LightBright515 · August 2014

@noellemari‌ is it common where you work to let women actually push in alternative positions?

Klavanga74 · August 2014

With my first I had no drugs at all and I pushed for 90 minutes. As soon as I was 10 cm I had the urge and I absolutely had to. With my second I had an epidural. When I was 10 cm they said that I had the choice to start pushing right away and he may or may not come out quickly, or I could allow my body to do the work and my body would push him down, hopefully allowing me to have to push less. I figured, why not wait? I wasn't in pain. I was able to tell them when it was time to push because there was a tremendous amount of pressure and I knew he was ready to come out. A couple of pushes and he was out. It was day great experience, overall.

LightBright515 · August 2014

Laboring down seems legit..

Waterlilly11 · August 2014

I never felt the urge at all I just for what the nurses told me and the pushing only took about 45 mins out of a 22 hr labor.

noellemari · August 2014

LightBright515 said:
@noellemari‌ is it common where you work to let women actually push in alternative positions?

It really depends on the pain control they choose. Once you choose that epi, the options get limited. Some people cannot wiggle a toe! But we do offer birthing balls and squatting bars that attach to the beds. We have one jacuzzi, but showers in each room. But I've had women in all different positions! Laying over the ball, sitting on the ball, using the bar. And we have monitors that are "mobile" so even if you're on pitocin, you can still walk around the unit. And yes, even pushing in different positions. Squatting and side lying are the most common aside from on the back. Again, it depends on movement. But even with an epi you can push on your side.

Wow....that got long. Sorry!

Mommy2Boys09 · August 2014

With my first I had an epidural and couldn't feel to push. I could barely feel the urge to push. It just felt like a little pressure. The nurse was telling me to push when she saw a contraction on the monitor. It took 2 hours of pushing. With my 2nd my epidural wore off when I got to an 8. I was definitely able to push. I only pushed for about 20 mins. My pushes was much stronger without the epidural.

MorganWP · August 2014

I didn't have an epidural but didn't really feel the urge to push. Once I dilated to 10cm, that's when all the pain stopped so I kind of had a thought of "Oh its over" (even though that was obviously a stupid thought seeing as there was no baby yet) and then the nurse told me to push. She said to push with my contractions and that helped a lot because I felt them more than the "I need to push" feeling. I think I took about 15 minutes.

BreandMikewedding · August 2014

I had an epidural and didn't feel the urge to push. I could feel very light pressure but nothing else. The nurses told me when I was getting ready to have a contraction and to start pushing. I pushed twice. She was 8lb 22 in, so an average baby.

cozybluebear · August 2014

I had an epidural and I could feel pressure down below during contractions. I have had several brain and spine surgeries and my doctors didn't want me putting too much pressure in the back of my head from pushing. Once I was 10cm, they broke my water and then had me lay there for 45 minutes to let baby move down on his own as much as possible. Since I had an epidural, it wasn't painful. I just felt a lot of pressure down below about every 45 seconds with every contraction. When I finally starting pushing, it only took a few minutes. I'm going to talk to my doctor about doing the same thing again.

themiss · August 2014

I have never had a baby (yet) but I know from what I've read an heard, your body just naturally konws how to get the baby out of you. Whether you push or not, your uterus is constantly contracting to move the baby down.

I mean, think about, there are women in comas who have babies without pushing, and they come out just the same.

Maggie6424 · August 2014

I had a bad experience, but my body didn't do anything to help me push. I had no urge to push, just the insane amount of pressure and pain due to my epi not working. Baby was sunny side up, too. I felt that same pressure and pain for about 8 hours before he was born.

vrj0522 · August 2014

I had an epi and definitely felt the need to push. Contraction pain was gone but the need to push was not. I do know that sometimes you need to be told when to push if the epidural blocks the feeling.

jenndub · August 2014

Epidural all 3 times and felt the need to push every time. DD1, I pushed for almost exactly an hour, she was over 9 pounds. DS, I pushed for less than 5 minutes. DD2, I pushed for almost 30, she was sunny side up so it took a little longer.

Eastie156 · August 2014

amstevens78 said:

I had an epidural with my son and mine took a little too well. I could not feel anything but pressure. But the nurses and doctors told me when to push and I pushed for about an hour to hour and a half. I was very thankful for that epidural though and plan to have one again this time.

This was me as well. I couldn't feel the urge to push as well with my epidural, but I think everyone is different. Also, DS was sunny-side up and I pushed off and on for close to 3 hours. It was rough.

rae76 · August 2014

I had an epidural with my first and honestly did not feel the urge to push. But I just did when they told me too. His head was caught on my hip bone they thought and then I vomited and all of a sudden he was almost crowning and they said it was time to push. 3 pushes and he was out and healthy and crying.

With our 25 week stillborn, I had an epidural as well and that time it felt much different than the first. I felt the pressure and then called for the nurse and my body pushed even though I wasn't actively pushing.

So I'm interested to see how this time goes since I had such different sensations the first 2 times.

JessAnnJ · August 2014

I had an epidural. I felt when it was time to start pushing because there was a different sensation that let me know the baby was in position, but I couldn't actually tell when to push and I was definitely doing the pushing under direction of the nurse and while watching the monitor. I pushed for about 45 minutes and they ended up using the vacuum to get DD out because she wasn't budging and her heart rate was dropping. I will never know but I suspect the pushing process would have been more effective without the epidural.

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