Breathing baby out vs. pushing

[BubsMom17]

I personally think, at least here in the US, that the whole practice of counting while pushing comes from the vast number of women who receive epidurals and can't feel what is going on down there. I know many women do get epidurals and don't have a problem, but many women say they had a hard time pushing because they had no feeling down there.

I had a natural labor, and in my experience, once the pressure of having to push kicks in, there is really no stopping it... they kept telling me NOT to push cuz I wasn't dialted enough, but it happened very soon after that. My body was ejecting him and I couldn't help it. They finally told me it was OK to push, but no counting or anything. They just let me direct myself when it came to that, and he was born in 3 contractions. Pushing was the LEAST difficult part of labor for me. Even with a labial tear, it was nothing compared to transitioning from 7-10 cms.

 

[Kiss08]

I personally think, at least here in the US, that the whole practice of counting while pushing comes from the vast number of women who receive epidurals and can't feel what is going on down there. I know many women do get epidurals and don't have a problem, but many women say they had a hard time pushing because they had no feeling down there.

I had a natural labor, and in my experience, once the pressure of having to push kicks in, there is really no stopping it... they kept telling me NOT to push cuz I wasn't dialted enough, but it happened very soon after that. My body was ejecting him and I couldn't help it. They finally told me it was OK to push, but no counting or anything. They just let me direct myself when it came to that, and he was born in 3 contractions. Pushing was the LEAST difficult part of labor for me. Even with a labial tear, it was nothing compared to transitioning from 7-10 cms.

Yeah, I've heard awful things about the transition stage. Definitely the part of labor I'm most scared of..

 

[BubsMom17]

Yeah, I've heard awful things about the transition stage. Definitely the part of labor I'm most scared of..

It is what it is! Everyone is different. Once my body hit transition, it was very fast! I went from 7-10 cms in an hour. It was super intense, but I just kept hearing my mom tell me to let my body keep doing it's job and soon it would be over. I just let my body do what it did. I just relinquished control. It hurt like nothing else! But, it was soooo worth it, and I 100% plan on doing it again with #2.

 

[wmom]

It was my plan to do hypnobirthing but turned out the only breathing technique I actually found very useful was the surge breathing. Right from the get go the nurse knew from my birthplan that i wanted to do hypnobirthing so she just waited patiently beside me (no pressure). I was breathing the baby down for what seemed like a long time but I made little progress so finally i turned to the nurse and said to her: tell me how to push (I just wanted the baby out at that point). Pushing felt so right after. It was self directed pushing so i pushed everytime i felt a surge come on and in no time my baby was out . I'm thankful that no stitching was required.

 

[SarahBear]

I'm doing hypnobirthing techniques to have my baby and one of the big things with hypnobirthing is breathing your baby out, not pushing/forcing it out.

I'm having my baby in a hospital in the US. All they ever talk about is pushing. How have people found medical professional react to not pushing? I feel like I'll get pressured.. I'm sure it's different at every hospital and with different staff there but I'm just trying to get a general idea of others' experiences.

All I can say is, don't go into the birthing experience with a particular expectation. In the end, the best thing to do is to follow your instincts. Also, some babies will come without active pushing, but generally speaking, pushing is necessary. What you want to do is work with your body, though, not against it. For the first part of the pushing stage, my midwife had not arrived (home birth), but believe me, you DO push, even if not actively. Once she got there and checked things out and gave me the all clear, pushing was clearly what my body wanted and needed to do. Now, I could have decreased a little tearing if I had slowed down when I felt the tearing (didn't know it was tearing at the time), but there's no reason to NOT push. That's how the baby comes out!

Basic message of the post: Don't go into labor with expectations of how the baby is going to come out. Follow your instincts, even if it contradicts "hypnobirthing."

 

[MrsSmartie]

I think sometimes the Mongan method HypnoBirthing can be a bit confusing with not saying push and saying not to pusj as the body has a natural urge to bear down. Sometimes when women do end up pushing they feel that they haven't done it right, which is not true! It is just about following the body's natural urges but still breathing deeply and often. I definately pushed a lot! Nobody told me to and it wasn't directed but sometimes I did hold my breath a bit to do a long push, never longer than was comfortable though. Sometes my midwife did say to do 'one more if I could' just to move baby forward a bit as my 2nd stage was not quick but that was just encouraging, no direction. Whatever feels right is perfect. So exciting! I wish I was doing it again. The total rush of meeting your baby, I felt like I had taken ecstacy for the first two days! X

 

[Smiler82]

ps. gross, but i practiced whenever i needed to poo- it's a similar thing!

Tee hee this is what I do I think it does help you to get your head around the idea because it helps you to see that if you just breathe through what your body is doing naturally, it will get on and do it with minimal input from you.

If anyone is a musician then it helps to think of the birth breathing as circular breathing, so you're breathing all the way down, but never to the point where you're out of breath entirely, then you breath in again and start again. I think it's about going with the muscles - by this stage it'll be the top muscles of your uterus pushing down in order to get the baby out. I'm sure many people will feel the urge to actually push, but as long as you're doing it because it's what your body is telling you to do, rather than having someone stood next to you ordering you when and for how long then that's the main thing. The problem with the whole 'bearing down' thing is that when you push hard, you actually make the muscles in the birth canal contract, so the baby can't get through as quickly or easily. Which is the same when you're sat on the toilet haha

 

[BunnyN]

I have read a few birth stories from women who really did never get the urge to push but usually your body will take over anyway. I didnt want directed pushing but had a long labour (38hrs) and the midwife was worried because she knew it was a big baby and I had very irregular weak contractions and she thought I was getting exausted and was starting to talk about hospital (it was a home birth). I just went with it and followed her instructions and I didn't feel it spoiled the experience for me. Pushing took an hr. I think I would have been fine without direction but it probably would have taken longer. She found a good balance between telling me what to do and letting me do my thing. I was happy with how it went in the end.

 

[babyface15]

I did the mongan hypnobirthing course also and has planned on using birth breathing. But my baby was posterior and I defintely needed to push her out. In fact I was pushing for 6 hours lol! But I found the time to fly by and it was so manageable, pushing had no pain. I had a birth plan which stated no counting during contractions. So the Dr and nurse just let me push when I felt a contraction come and hold as long as I could. They did encourage me to keep going and let me know when I was pushing productively which as it turned out I really appreciated.

as for transition, I had nitrous oxide for this stage (im in Canada) & it was so useful. I actually recall transition as being enjoyable. I didn't think it was an option here as no one talked to me about it, but when I asked they said I could use it! gl!!!!

 

[babyface15]

oh and while I was high as a kite on the n.o. I started pushing automatically when the time came. some births will require pushing, others may be fine to just relax the baby out.

 

[XJessicaX]

Honestly, with my 2nd I didnt actually push! My body violently did it all for me! Only had a 2 minute second stage so there was NO way I could control it and breathe! The only way to describe it is like when you are being horribly sick, that out of control strain your body does to empty the stomach where your eyes feel blood shot and everything tenses up. Involuntary pushing is like that!

 

[Kess]

As for me - I didn't "push" at all... my body pushed I mean, I never had an urge to push like I was on the loo or any thing, but my body pushed which felt like being sick downwards (for want of a better explanation). Having said that, I had a home birth, and the midwives never once told me when/how to push. I'd also stated it in my birth plan that I didn't want any direction during pushing.

This was what it was like for me. Exactly that "sick downwards" feeling, and I never consciously pushed prior to crowning.

I plan to not push during crowning and birth of the head - is that what they're talking about?

Will push as I feel the need prior to crowning. No directed pushing.

Funnily enough, getting LO's head out was the only time I had to actively push! It was a bit of a tight fit.

Yeah, I've heard awful things about the transition stage. Definitely the part of labor I'm most scared of..

You may not feel transition, I didn't. I have spoken to several others who didn't feel it (all water births I think).

 

[solitaire89]

You may not feel transition, I didn't. I have spoken to several others who didn't feel it (all water births I think).

my transition was a fantastic visualisation where I was my belly... If you read mybirth story it makes sense, just as the big swan wings do, but I can assure you I didn't hAve "transition" like they say

 

[sarah1980]

I think you'll need to state very clearly up front that you are not going to accept managed pushing (or "purple pushing" as it's so aptly called). There are a lot of women and sadly medics too who believe that the baby just won't come out unless the woman actively pushes. The reality of it is that if you were in a coma, your body would push the baby out without any active input - this is the foetal ejection reflex. This isn't to say that the urge to push is wrong at all I hasten to add!!

As for me - I didn't "push" at all... my body pushed I mean, I never had an urge to push like I was on the loo or any thing, but my body pushed which felt like being sick downwards (for want of a better explanation). Having said that, I had a home birth, and the midwives never once told me when/how to push. I'd also stated it in my birth plan that I didn't want any direction during pushing.

Being sick downwards that just sums it up exactly! You just can't stop it.xx

 

[Rebaby]

Yep, it was just like "vomiting downwards" for me too!

First time I had a hospital birth with epidural (although it had mostly worn off by that point) and had "coached" pushing with lots of people yelling at me what to do and when, I hated it, it didn't feel right and I got really frustrated.

Second time, home birth with no drugs, and I had a one minute second stage, which was basically the time from me saying to everyone "the baby is coming" and the student midwife saying "ok, try to just blow this contraction away" so I blew and there he was, on the sofa. My body did it all without any effort from me whatsoever. Totally different and wonderful and for me made the difference between a 2nd degree tear with lots of stitches (first time) and a 1st degree tear needing no stitches (second time) and just generally a better experience all round!

I did specifically write on my birth plan for my second birth something like "NO COACHED/DIRECTED PUSHING UNLESS THERE IS A CLINICAL NEED (i.e. to get baby out faster)" because it was important to me to be able to push when and how I wanted, but in the event it was irrelevant anyway as he had his own ideas!

 

[madasa]

Sorry I haven't had chance to read all the replies yet, so sorry if this has already been posted!

During each surge, you'll focus on breathing through it, breathing out any tension in your muscles to let your uterus work as efficiently as possible. When the time comes to nudge baby down and out, the "breathing the baby out" is just an extension of this. You breathe down with pressure, just enough pressure to satisfy your pushing urge. You're still "pushing", and still doing it as and when your body needs, but you do it in such a way that you keep breathing and keep your body as relaxed and open as possible

You'll robably need someone with you who can be your advocate and make sure the people with you know what you need from them. Write a birth plan and make sure it's clear in there, too. It's worth having a look round the unit where you are planning to ave your baby and ask lots of questions. If you get the feeling they won't be supportive, trust your gut and shop around for a new provider.

 

[ttc bubby no2]

With my first I pushed him out as that I just what I thought you do. 2nd time was a home birth in water and I was assuming I would push but then when I got to the stage that I felt like I had to push my midwife told me to "just breathe him out", I thought that was a crazy idea but did what she said and the next minute he was out!

The breathing out method was much better for me. DS1 was about 7.5lb but I had a 2nd degree tear compared to no tearing with the bigger (9lb) baby.