Evacuating bowels in labour (TMI!)

[BillBrysonsRucksack]

Ummmm, so basically last time I did a poo when I was pushing .

So my questions are: how common is this and how likely is it to happen again? Anything I can do to prevent it?

I think it's very common! I suppose you could try making sure your bowels were empty before lanour - in the old(er) days they used to administer enemas - but I suspect your best bet is to accept that it might happen & rise above it...

Very, very and no.

Dont worry about it!

OOH yh how about a Daz enema like my mum had in the olden days??!!

I bet like 98% of people in vaginal birth do it.
But don't worry, apparently you get massive chronic farts after giving birth by CS, really, there is no dignity in childbirth.

Oh good, not just me then!

I haven't seen any threads about this and it's taken me ages to pluck up the courage to start one!

Aw, Bill, I did a poo in labour too! I've never posted about it personally because it is a total non-event in my mind - nothing I could do about it, happens to almost everyone, & whoever was down at the business end has seen it all before!

I honestly don't think there would be much you could do to prevent it, and i do think it is common.

I have no idea if i poo'd or not, but to be honest, while in labour i couldn't have cared less! I would have poo'd on someone's head if it would have helped get DD out quicker

Thanks iskra. I felt very embarrassed by it (for no sane reason) and haven't felt able to ask anyone else about it!

@ aims

Another poo-er here What pissed me off hugely was that in my antenatal class the midwife said it was a myth that people poo in labour and that it very rarely happens. Why on earth would she lie about it? Anyone who believed her and then pooed in labour might feel worse about whereas it's better to know that it's completely normal and nothing to be ashamed of.

TBH that midwife was a complete idiot. She hid the forceps from us because she didn't want us to be "frightened." Em isn't it more frightening when someone hides something from you?

i shouted out very loudly, that's not the baby it's a poo, (in case they put a nappy on it obviously).

over keyboard @ manitz

Thanks for making me feel so much better about this everyone!

Not sure if I did or not, but I certainly felt like I was going to.

I remember reading once that it was commonplace for my mum's generation to have a 'pubic shave and enema' except I read it as a public shave and enema and have never been able to get the image out of my mind!

I think a bit of poo is preferable to a public enema. (Though Chuck D might disagree )

My aunt's a midwife and she says more people poo than don't.

It's utterly, utterly normal and the midwife will deal with it.

@LadyWellian

Normal to poo - I would guess most women do.

Birthing pools tend to have a little fishing net nearby, or some sort of sieve - what do you think that's for?

WriterofDreams - I agree, idiot midwife you had there - real cheek to not let you see the forceps ffs - I'll decide what I'll find frightening and I'd like to make the choice of whether I see something or not, what with me being a grown up and all, thanks very much.

I pooed in 2 of my labours, and didn't poo in 2 of them. So I'd say you have a 50% chance of pooing. And the midwives will not care one jot.

I didn't poo for either. For both, my body had cleansed itself quite thoroughly before the main event.

I remember worrying before my first birth when people said I wouldn't care whether I pooed on not. I could not imagine what sort of state I'd be in if I really didn't care whether I pooed! They were right of course.

have a look at my birth story here I did a poo inthe corridor and DH informed this afternoon that someone else's husband was walking past! Which I find very funny, poor man.

Your body is usually very good at 'self cleansing' before but the reality is you make feces even when you aren't eating so they will invariably be forming during the timescale of a typical labour. I know I pooed during the 2nd stage but I doubt there was much in the way of quantity, I obey knew because I smelt it - th muscles used in pushing baby out are exactly the same ones you'll be using for the dreaded post natal poo.

First labour no second labour yes.. Dp was more bothered than the midwife they have been there seen it all before

Yep, I pooed too during both deliveries, I am planning on poo-ing again with DC3 too! In fact, I might just write it in my birth plan - give the midwives something to chuckle at!

First baby no, second baby o boy o boy... DH said he could handle the blood gore and screaming but the huge pile of s* nearly made him pass out!! I didn't give a damn at the time but was a bit when I remembered! Did so much that when I had my bath afterwards I kept finding streaks of it in random places like my foot!

Seeing it put my ex off sex with me forever. Lots of men stop fancying their partners when they see all the blood, pain and poo etc. Kinda takes the romance out of any relationship.

Sucarol, I am guessing that's why he is your ex.
DP saw everything, including checking my poor infected mangled fanjo afterwards and it didn't put him off in the slightest. :)
On the poo subject, I had been constipated for a few days prior to giving birth so I most certainly did poo in labour.