To push or not to push, that is the question.

[PrettyCandles]

Is it really possible to 'breathe' the baby out without doing any active pushing?

Surely not?!?!!?!

Not for me, far too breathless already

Am fascinated though, tell more please?

I've seen a few women do this on hypnobirthing videos (called birth breathing I think in hypnobirthing circles - you practice during the last few weeks of pregnancy on the loo!) and I hoped to do this but circumstances (DS not tucking his chin in!) meant that I had to push like crazy to get him out. I think it is possible and hope that I can do it next time - reckon it would be a lot less tiring and much more fun !

i;d like to cough and they pop out, mind you the midwife last time said i made it look so easy and i was 'built to have babies' no idea if thats an insult or a compliment.

Apparently so, but all it means is really that you do not actively push, but let your body take over, if you know what I mean, and stop to follow any urges to actively push...not sure if i explained that well, lol!
nice link about this on Homebirth org.:)

Well, I planned to do this with my last ds, as ds 2 was pushed out a bit to quick in the end, lol...m/w had probs to catch him...but well...never really got to that, as I had no pushing urges anyway and he was stuck, sigh!
This mihgt be a good question to ask on the UK midwifery website...but can't seem to find the link, sorry!

I found when I got to that stage with my 2 that there was no physical way I could stop myself bearing down. When a contraction came I just had to push really hard, it wasn't something I could control iyswim. I suppose my body was doing what it needed to do but I was definitely pushing, not just breathing!

found some interesting research on not needing to push - that the expulsive efforts of the uterus, esp. in multiparous women is enough to deliver without maternal effort

i found that when i had to push, had not control, it started on its own, but i put plenty of effort into it! had no option but to push!

breathed the head out,,,but that;s it!

I did hypnobirthing and the baby didn't slide out by himself, but breathing correctly makes pushing more effective. The effort you put also depends if you have directed pushing (someone telling you to push) or what I call natural pushing (you just following your contractions) When you follow your contractions you don't put as much effort (at least I didn't). I was also able to "zone out" between pushing. It wasn't until the end when I really put effort into it (DS had trouble getting around my pelvic bone). It took two hours, but when I finished I thought only 10 minutes had passed.

lol, I thought this was another elective c-section thread.

fwiw, i'll be going in for my second section in December and am seriously considering getting a "Too Posh to Push" t-shirt made up

I am also doing hypnobirthing and am hoping to breathe my baby out if possible but if I need to push, then push I will.

How did you find hypnobirthing? Did it work for you?

When I was taking the class, I didn't believe what they were doing. It was a lot of hippie type women, and the wording is different. For example, your "water doesn't break" instead your "membranes rupture" and you don't have "contractions" you have "surges". The basic premise is that when you do lamaze type breathing your adrenaline rises and it counteracts your body's natural oxytocin production. When you breathe calmly in hypnobirthing you breathe through contractions and you allow your body to do what it knows to do.

I was amazed at how my body could work through labor and delivery. I didn't think I would trust myself that much. I do need to add that out of the six couples in my class, my dh and I were the only ones to have a vaginal delivery.

I was surprised that when it came to the pushing stage I didn't have to consciously push as my body was doing it on it's own with each contraction. It was a very weird feeling. I think I only put conscious effort into pushing right at the end to get the baby out quicker but am sure it would have come on it's own without me doing that.

Yeah, I have found the classes slightly hippy but I must admit that if all else fails the classes have made me feel completely relaxed about giving worth and taken a lot of the worry out of it for me, so that's a good thing.

Did you need any other form of pain relief and did you only feel "discomfort" rather than pain.
I mean I am quite good at handling pain and am hoping that hypnobirthing will keep me calm and controlled to deal with it but it is nice to hear that it worked for someone else! x

Yes, it is possible. Apparently my mum did it when she had me. I kind of did with DD - my MW told me to pant through the contraction and only push right at the end. Did the job!

yep
breathed my two out, well panted out... yes it was still pushing but not powerful, suck your breath in type stuff.
You feel the burn - the head crown and then you pant and the head comes out, the shoulders kind of slip out and as I gave birth semi upright, gravity took care of most of the hard work

Agree with Indigoblue I did not consciously push with DS3 my body did it, with DD2 I had an epidural and had to be told when to push, nearly passed out with the effort.

I had a very bad tear with dd so I ws terrified of pushing the 2nd time round.

When my ds ws born I don't remember pushing at all - i was too frightened to tear so i just sort of panted and he came out.

Oh and no tear - YIPPEE!!!!!!

I think it's beyond your control. When I had ds, I had a spinal anaesthetic for a forceps delivery, and couldn't feel anything. The doctor said the midwife would tell me when my contraction was coming and I had to push as heard as I could. SO I just screwed up my face a bit and they seemed happy. Perhaps they were just giving me something to do. With dd I felt the pushing, but there was no conscious control over it. I didn't push, but my uterus did.

oh God no. With DS (second baby) I was shaking with the exertion of NOT pushing when the urge came (was waiting for my epidural. HA! No bloody chance)

Mrs Worry,

I didn't use any other pain medication. I had an induction due to medical reasons so I already had an IV, pitocin drip, and fetal heart monitors hooked up. I was not looking for another thing stuck to me.

It also depends on your threshold for pain. I have always taken pain well, so by the time I felt I couldn't take it anymore they told me I was at 10 cm and could start pushing. After that it was fine. I didn't use an epidural just because I feel you lose your control. If your numb, someone else is telling you what to do. I stayed in control of my pushing and the midwife just followed my lead.

So it seems from women's experiences that, if you can detach yourself sufficiently from the urge to push, your body can do the pushing without you adding conscious effort.

Did you find that you had to pant hard to distract yourself from the urge to push, or did the same sort of breathing-through-the-contraction as you had been doing during first stage labour still work during second stage?

BTW, thanks for the link to that birth story - wow!

I had gas + air as well as the hypnobirthing. I did the hypnobirthing because I am a wimp about epidurals (spines+needles = freak out!). My classes were not remotely hippy - but then our instructor was an ex-midwife.

I was told not to push when I was 10cm and initially had the urge (a very very strong urge I might add) because not all of my cervix was out of the way but I didn't pant - I remember just concentrating on fighting the urge but trying to keep every thing relaxed! When it came to actually being allowed to push I didn't have such a strong urge - I have wondered how different it would have been if I had not had to wait.

I pushed but it wasn't 'active' it was an overwhelming urge. I did do some hypnobirthing but when it came to it I chose just to follow my own instincts. The 2nd stage of dd3's birth lasted 2 mins!