Avoiding instruments/episiotomy! Suggestions...

[MissingMyHeels]

I am seeing my consultant tomorrow morning to discuss my birth plan etc and potentially discuss induction. I was booked for a El CS on 28th Feb but a few weeks before my consultant (at a different hospital) decided I could labour naturally as he believed my hairline fractures had healed. Great!

I am now overdue and have been really thinking about what I want/don't want in order to talk things over with my consultant. Is it possible to request a CS at the point of them cutting me or deciding to get the instruments out? Or at that point is it just up to them what they do or too late indeed for a CS?

Oooh loving the positive stories! Especially yours Klaw - I'm going to hope that is what happening to me [crosses fingers and thinks lots of dilating thoughts]

Have another appointment this afternoon at the hospital for CTG and another cervix check.

Soooooo..... how did it go?

Kekouan is right about position... if you recline back you are sitting on your coccyx and so you have to actually push uphill to get baby out. If you are standing or on all fours you give your pelvis the chance to open up to 28% more!!! This allows baby to pass gently down the birth canal and so if you are not actively pushing you should find that your perineum has a chance to slowly and gently expand. Coached pushing (Valsalla (sp)) can contribute to more tears.

Pant to stop baby from coming too fast, but if baby is being pushed out involuntarily, as in the foetal ejection reflex, then I would think that chances of tearing/needing an episiotemy and forceps should be greatly reduced.