Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Childbirth

Share experiences and get support around labour, birth and recovery.

Flip

Original poster

OBEM - pushing positions

17 replies

kittenstorm · 31/01/2011 23:16

Is it just me or do the majority of women on OBEM give birth on their backs? Aren't we all tokd that's the most difficult way possible? Esp as not all of them are even on epidurals/strapped to monitors.

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

ShowOfHands · 31/01/2011 23:20

Over the last three weeks it's shown women pushing in a pool, on their knees, leaning over the headboard etc.

I don't think it's that biased actually (first series was). It's showing women upright and pushing more and more.

And some women do just like to lie down.

Original poster

kittenstorm · 31/01/2011 23:26

yeah, I posted too soon about this ep :) you're right about the first series tho (which I never saw when it was on, saw it just recently so its fresh in my head)

OP posts:

hastingsmum · 01/02/2011 00:40

I think a lot of women actually give birth lying down though, at least a lot of people I've spoken to. Don't know how they can stand it, the pain was just too much for me....

LaWeaselMys · 01/02/2011 00:49

I gave birth lying down.

I tried lots of positions at MWs suggestion and actually didn't find any of them any better or helpful. Lying down I only had to concentrate on one thing, and that's where I was when it got to the final push point.

I don't see what is so terrible about that? I certainly wasn't in any more pain and had no difficulties.

hastingsmum · 01/02/2011 01:00

LaWeaselMys, nothing wrong with that at all, I didn't mean it was wrong to give birth lying down.
For me lying down was excruciatingly painful, I had to stand up the whole time, nothing else worked.

I think we are all just very different in labour as in everything else.

LaWeaselMys · 01/02/2011 01:04

Oh, I wasn't meaning to be too defensive. I just see it written here a lot that giving birth lying down is terrible and bad for you... and while trying everything out and seeing what you like makes total sense I don't think so many women would given birth lying down if it was really so awful in comparison.

mungogerry · 01/02/2011 07:12

My instinct with my 3 labours has been to be mobile initially, then kneeling, leaning over the sofa for most of the labour (I labour quickly) then kneeling, over the edge of the pool for the rest of labour and delivery. With my last 2 labours, the mw asked me if I could lay flat on my back for one contraction, OMG it was the worst pain I have ever experienced in my life, and this was at about 3-5cm each time and before I was using G+A - so not even very far along! If I had to labour on my back I would ask for all pain relief going.

Luckily I could flip back over.

I think adopting the position your body guides you to is THE best was to ensure baby is in the optimum position, the pace of labour is right for you, and labour progresses as smoothly as possible. For some women that may indeed be on their back, but for 95% I believe it would not.

CrawlingInMySkin · 01/02/2011 08:08

I have had alot of women try to push me to try to give birth on all fours. I have had 2 dc one of which was back to back and pushed out still facing the wrong way.

On both my labors I went with what my body told me to do. I stayed on all fours during cc but as soon as I got to the pushing stage I felt a strong urge to lie on my back. DC1 I tried to push on all fours and crouching and found it too hard. I didn't tear on either of my births and had two short pushing stages 30min and 2min.

I think we are all different and different positions work well for differet people, I think all women should be encouraged to find the position that suits them.

Bobby99 · 01/02/2011 10:10

Some women insist on delivering on their back - I have a friend who was outraged that a midwife tried to encourage her to get on all fours. I was on all fours until my midwife asked me to lie on my back to do an episiotomy, then DD made her appearance before I could turn over again!

On another subject wasn't that male midwife in OBEM lovely? Wish I'd had one like that, he was so supportive to the Polish girl.

KikiJane · 01/02/2011 10:27

He was lovely. My sister had a male midwife when she had my nephew and he was very similar -- maybe they have to work harder to be accepted, so their bedside manner is better.

HumphreyCobbler · 01/02/2011 10:40

they insisted that I had continuous monitoring with ds (for no real reason that I could see other than I wasn't having internals) and I wasn't pushy enough to insist. He got stuck and instead of encouraging me to change position I ended up with a really late stage em c section. He was so nearly born that it was a nightmare sewing me back up, the doctor kept apologising and later revealed that she thought she had sewn my cervix into my womb. Luckily it proved not to be the case.

All this may have been avoided if I had been allowed to move. I really found it SO much more painful on my back.

rain1014 · 01/02/2011 13:11

This might sound really daft , but I felt less exposed laying on my back.
I did try diffferent postions only because my midwife kept asking me to try , but I really didnt like it.
I hated the idea of my ass in the air , even tho I know you could see it anyway , it was just me.
I had both my girls on my back , (the first I did have an epidural.)

I plan on labouring on my back again

orangemarzipan · 01/02/2011 16:37

Just wanted to say that you can get off the bed even if you are strapped to monitors and you're not comfortable on your back.

Just insist that they stretch the wires out from the machine. I couldn't bear being on my back, I just had to stay upright and there was enough length in the wires for me to sit on a birth ball, stand up or lean over the bed. I think they kind of assume you'll stay on the bed when you've got monitors strapped on unless you say otherwise.

KikiJane · 01/02/2011 16:52

It's easier for the midwives if you stay on your back, still and quiet, like a good little girl.

mubm · 01/02/2011 19:44

I've had the same thought watching OBEM. Admittedly, a lot of women I know have given birth on their backs, even when they've spent much of their labour in other positions. I'm another one who was in agony lying down (right from the early contractions) so that is what motivated me to stay upright.

mubm · 01/02/2011 19:45

Forgot to add that most of the women I know who have given birth on their backs have done so by choice (because they've been so tired)rather than being encouraged to birth in this position.

midori1999 · 02/02/2011 11:41

I gave birth to all of my children on my back, although I was in a semi-sitting position. I did try all fours with DC1, but it felt very unnatural.

All easy births, 9lb and 10lb babies being the first and second and my biggest, no tears or stitches, so can't have been that bad for me.

I plan to do the same this time.

Flip