Active birth/ staying upright: your experiences please!

[BCCmum]

Hi, I'm due Sat 7th June, so been thinking alot about how I the birth will happen.

I've read alot about/spoken to other mums who say staying upright and walking around can accelerate the labour and keep things moving.

Is this possible right through to the actual birth? What happens during the delivery? Does it actually help with the pain? Your experiences please?

Nervous newbie mum x

Oh, Lord, no, Winky. She was alive and well. I don't give a toss how she got out. Just laughing at myself for all my pompous pre baby "well of course you must be upright. It makes sense!" and then my damn wobbly legs made a fool of me... (and none of the replies here have been pompous, by the way - just me before I knew anything at all).

I couldn't for the life of me stay upright. The MWs kept trying to get me on all fours, or leaning forward, and I just couldn't do it. I particularly remember not being able to find a good position on the bed, it was very frustrating. At the time all I remember thinking was, no, I want to sit back and push back into the bed, but now I wonder whether my arms and wobbly legs weren't up to holding me upright, I was fecking knackered and starving by the time I got to pushing.

I dunno that, for me, it would've made that much difference anyway. I could feel ds's feet under my ribs, he was having a nap the whole time and his head wasn't anywhere near my beautifully dilated cervix.

You guys have had me cracked up laughing! The stories are great! Thanks again for all the response, couldn't believe it when I signed in and saw all the new comments! I'm a new MNer and never thought that I could feel so much support from this website, its fab!
I'm told that keeping upright and walking can stimulate going into labour too so I'm trying my best to keep active now too, but it aint easy with all these messages to read! LOL
Cheers ladeeez!

Good luck, BCCmum. I do hope you didn't take my wailing seriously. DD's birth was fab - bloody hurt - but fab all the same. I may try to do things differently if I get to have a next time, but wouldn't change a thing of hers. One of my favourite things to do is idly daydream and remember bits of it. I do remember at one point an advert on TV - a smoking cessation thing - saying "Are you pregnant, or thinking of becoming pregnant?" - I, mid-contraction, shouted "DON'T!!!". MW, consultant, and DH cracked up laughing at me. Also remember consultant and DH watching Deal or No Deal between contractions...

i wish i had been better informed back then, albeit only 6 yrs ago. I had spd tho, and couldn't stand, or bear any weight, which was a total mare.

i stayed upright throughout (including delivery) with my 2 and expect no 3 (due any day) will be similar.

with ds it wasn't planned to happen that way, but he just popped out mid contraction which was slightly alarming (and I did need stitches). Second time round i didn't really give midwives much choice! I got them to hoist bed up as high as it'd go and stood at the side of it leaning onto a pile of pillows. I had a chair under me/beside me that i'd slump down on from time to time between contraction, but otherwise stayed standing.

However, I'm not sure how much longer my legs'd have held out for. I was getting very tired (esp with no2 as it was through the night) and neither of my labours were more than 3 hours.

Good luck!

Message withdrawn

I second doing what feels right at the time - and being alowed to do what feels right at the time.

I needed to be on all fours when I gave birth the 2nd and 3rd times - but the hostpital midwives were having none of it I did manage it with with my 3rd (home)birth though

Ha, Pruners - I was soooooo in love with the idea of a water birth - hopped in all keen, hopped out after 10mins, hated it, SO uncomfortable!

I wanted active/upright the first time round and found as I'd taken in too much gas and air I couldn't move and just ended up laid on the bed!! Second time however it all went a bit too quickly for me to overdose again so I managed to get up on my knees and hold onto the head of the bed. I would recommend it as it definitely helped with the pain relief but especially with the pushing stage as gravity is giving a helping hand!!

All this aside though, you just have to do what you can do and what feels right at the time. Just go in thinking you've got to do whatever it takes to get lo out. Good luck and hope all goes well x

DD1, (hospital birth) I ended up strapped to a hospital bed. Labour 4 hours, pushing was very, very difficult.

DD2, (homebirth) wandered around more, felt tired so moved to an upright all fours position (kneeling, in a sense). Labour 2 hours, she flew out!

DD3, (homebirth) wandered around until I started to bear down then went to all fours to slow progress a little! Labour 1 hour. Cuppas a plenty and music ensued

Just went with what felt right. No conscious decision involved. (Apart from hospital birth, to me, that just felt wrong!)

i walked around a lot during labour, bending over things during contractions - bed, windowsill, birthing ball anything to hand really

towards the end really knackered so perched on the edge of the bed and stood up with each contraction

but for the actual pushing bit on bed on all fours hanging over the back as softer than kneeling on floor and i had somewhere to collapse exhausted once it was all over