Why are women still encouraged to lie down when in labour?

[Moomin8]

If TV programmes are anything to go by this is what you see time & again. Obviously if it's an induction you don't have a choice. But when I had my first baby 18 years ago, the staff got me lying on a bed right away, my Labour didn't progress well and I ended up with a cascade of intervention, PPH and all around traumatic experience.

With my next two babies I was determined it wouldn't, couldn't be like that again. I stayed upright & didn't lie down and it was still painful but it wasn't traumatic and I didn't struggle to push the babies out.

I'm pregnant again now and just wondering why so many media presentations of childbirth show women lying down and looking stressed? You need gravity to dilate, if you lie down you have to push uphill.

Or are most hospitals aware of this now?

I was desperate just to be in bed and not move for an inch. It was the only comfortable position for me. The doctor was surprised but let me stay as I wanted

@smeerf I've been induced too but was told I'd need to monitor on if the dreaded syntocinon drip was in and would therefore have to lie down. Luckily the first bit of the induction put me in rapid labour!

If your experience is different with more interventions, please let me know how to handle the hospital as I'm quite likely to have another induction this time. I think knowing what to say / do is important.

Yeah, don't get me started on midwives trying to force examinations! Irritating as fuck.

Men (ObGyn consultants) usually decide and their edicts filter down.

But I suspect most midwives would go with the woman's choice. Is that right these days?

Oh right, I didn't get to the drip, I think it's pessary > gel > drip and pessary worked for me so no monitoring required.

Forced examinations? I had to BEG them to check me as I felt like I was needing to push and no one seemed that bothered as I wasn't scheduled to be checked for another 15 mins 🙄. Surprise, surprise, guess who was 9cm?

I can't see why anyone needs to check you anyway if you're feeling the urge to push 🤷🏻‍♀️

You should push with the contraction or you risk tearing. So I have been told.

Push push - don’t push - push - Nono don’t push - I don’t think mums really pay attention by that stage.

I was adamant I wanted to be standing or on all 4s. I gave birth on my back and that's because I couldn't physically get off the bed due to the pain!

Women need to be explained to that they have a choice & should be asked for consent for any procedure that happens, that they have the right to refuse or question anything that they don't feel is right. Too many women are treated as though they don't know their own minds, too many doctors & nurses expect patients to treat them like gods who cannot be refused at any time. Part of the classes before birth should be an explanation that mothers have a right to question & refuse anything that happens during giving birth.

I was forced to lie down with first - heartbeat being monitored
2nd and 3rd - also forced to lie down despite with 3rd asking to change positions, albeit in a foreign language with no-one to advocate for me

I hated lying down I felt like I could feel the pain more. I stood and walked around for as long as I could I would of happily gave birth standing but was told in the end I had to lie down.

Yes I think it goes back to it being ‘easier’ for the doctor.

Sure, giving birth on your back is appropriate in certain situations like instrumental deliveries etc, and of course some women will be happiest and most comfortable like this even in other scenarios... but it does seem to be the ‘default’ unnecessarily when other positions can be very helpful.

I think there’s also that element that the woman is very submissive and disempowered in that position whilst the dr ‘does all the work and delivers her baby for her’ sort of thing

The midwifes tried to coax me up out of my lying down position with my first but I didn't have the energy afte 40 hours. With the second I just didn't want to. I have strong legs but I just couldn't imagine myself being able to stay upright for that so didn't even try.

I'd had no pain relief (not being brave, everything made me feel nauseated and I'd've rather been in pain than sick). At the end the pain and sensations were utterly overwhelming and I had no energy for anything but lying down and focussing on getting the baby out.

I wasn't encouraged to do anything in particular. I was exhausted after a long latent stage and no sleep for almost 30 hours so I wanted to lie down. I then had an epidural to give me some rest before pushing. I didn't find pushing that hard on my back.

Both children I was forced to be on my back. With dd2, the pain was unbearable in my back but they were awful and claimed the baby needed constant monitoring which could apparently only be done with me on my back.

No doctor wants a labouring woman to lie flat on her back. It causes serious compression of the vena cava, restricting the venous return to the heart and dropping cardiac output, restricting blood flow to the baby.
Women are encouraged to take up whatever position is most comfortable for them. If they require epidurals or monitoring, we put them on their side, sit them up, or put a wedge under one buttock to tilt them far enough sideways to roll the uterus off the vena cava and relieve the compression.
In modern labour suites, you’ll see women in pools, on all fours on mats, on birthing balls, on bean bags, sitting up in recliner chairs, or in a variety of positions on beds.
Lying supine is only required for examinations, episiotomies, forceps deliveries or stitching.

No doctor wants a labouring woman to lie flat on her back

Such an overgeneralisation. There are some doctors who would prefer women to be flat on their backs - its an indication that they "know their place".

I kept being flipped onto my side so they could check on the baby so in the end just gave up. Moving in the end stages was not easy, so I just stayed where they put me tbh.

Hands and knees is a good alternative to standing or squatting. Doesn’t use as much energy but you aren’t on your back.

It’s such a personal thing. I’d spent weeks watching hypnobirthing videos and so was quite fearful of ending up stuck on my back because of all the evidence that it makes things harder. So when I was actually in labour I stayed on my feet/birthing ball despite being on the syntocinon drip and attached to monitoring wires. 90 mins of this saw me dilate by 1cm. Then I needed to lie on the bed to have a scalp monitor attached to baby’s head, stayed there for 30 mins for a rest and in that time dilated from 3-10cm, start to push and I then pushed her out on my back in 15 mins only getting a tiny tear. So although I understand the science behind it, my body seemed to prefer not using gravity .

I was induced but didn't have to lie back?
I ended up kind of sitting half up in the end but I was on my knees most of the time