What would happen if you didn't push?

[MarkStretch]

Just wondering.....

Your body will push the baby out whether you are conscious or not, when the baby's head reaches a point that triggers your body to push.
Pushing actively before your body is itself pushing can exhaust the mother, and make the tissues swollen which actually makes it harder for the baby to get out - leading to higher chances of Ventouse/forceps, and other medical intervention.
If a medic asks you to push I'd say ignore them. I've given this advice to other pregnant women and after birth they've been very grateful for it.
Best thing to do is stay active, upright (using gravity to get baby into position) and hang in there. Rushing labour/birth in any way is essentially fighting nature doing what it knows how to do very well at the speed that the woman's body requires, thanks very much.

I am so glad I have read this thread. It is so interesting.

I have not experienced the urge to push either; rather an incredibly powerful wave going through my whole body - totally involantary.

I didn't realise it was an actual phenomenon!

Interesting thread!
I had my DD 3 months ago and I didn't feel an overwhelming urge to push either. The midwives kept asking me if the contractions were feeling different and I knew they were asking whether I felt the urge to push and I didn't! I was then distraught at the thought that I would have to wait until I did, I just wanted it to be over! In the end I was told to push and although I started to feel like pushing in the end, it certainly wasn't overwhelming
In the end she came out with one push and I had 3rd degree tears, not sure if this was related to not really feeling like I needed to push or not?

I had an epidural but the hospital's policy was that once you had reaches 10cm with an epidural, you didn't push for 2 hours to allow the babies head to descend on it's own so that when you did start to push it was nearer the entrance IYSWIM.

I waited two hours and then started pushing when the contractions registered on the monitor. He was out in 15 minutes. MW told me his head was about 1cm from the entrance when I started so clearly the body does expel the baby of it's own accord.

Wish I looked into this a bit more before I gave birth. I remember not feeling much like pushing but with the mw's encouragement, and her praising me everytime I did so, together with all the film images flashing through my mind of everyone screaming "PUSH", and what with the panic, I pushed harder than I think I should have done and remember the moment when I ripped, thinking, that's because I pushed too hard.

The other thing that seems to get a lot of emphasis - by mw's and in films, is to breathe deeply. Now, I know there are real benefits to breathing deeply so don't get all yoga on me, but to be honest, at the time, it just seemed like a chore and I wished I didn't have the added stress of having to breath deeply iyswim.

Oh Tinky, my MW was pressing on the top of my bump and saying "breathe to here" and I could have knocked her out! Tink was breech and she was pressing her feet into my cervix in the middle of a contraction!

I had no urge to push with either of my children. Was exhausted after many hours of labour - remember asking with DD1 "if I don't push, will it still come out?" even when asked, I really had no idea what I was doing, kind of screwed up my face and tried to tense muscles, but no feeling of "doing it right". DD1 was 10lb 5oz so I kind of feel justified that I found it such a struggle (episiotomy and ventouse just saved me from C section).
No urge with DS2, but my attempts to push at least felt a bit right this time (and met with approval from (same) midwife. He was even larger! And came out quicker, undaided except for another episiotomy.
Just gas and air both times, so no other factors involved.

I had no urge to push with either of my children. Was exhausted after many hours of labour - remember asking with DD1 "if I don't push, will it still come out?" even when asked, I really had no idea what I was doing, kind of screwed up my face and tried to tense muscles, but no feeling of "doing it right". DD1 was 10lb 5oz so I kind of feel justified that I found it such a struggle (episiotomy and ventouse just saved me from C section).
No urge with DS2, but my attempts to push at least felt a bit right this time (and met with approval from (same) midwife. He was even larger! And came out quicker, undaided except for another episiotomy.
Just gas and air both times, so no other factors involved.

With DS I had an overwhelming urge to push but was told not to by the midwife as I was only 9cm dilated. It was the most horrific feeling ever...and the noises I made !
About 10 mins later the midwife examined me and said.."right you can push now." By that time I had no urge and so spent nearly 3 hours pushing before DS was born.
With DD I felt no great urge just 'pressure'.
I was stood at the time and told the midwife about the 'pressure', she flipped me on to the bed and DD's head was there. She was out in 2 halfhearted pushes but would have been born then regardless.

With my second I didnt push at all - much to the annoyance of the midwife! DD did it all byherself and popped out 4 hours after the first contraction

I pushed with both of mine but only when I felt the extreme urge to first was pushing (once you get the feeling as others have said you just cannot not push) for about 1/2 hour with the first with gas and air but with the second about 5 minutes it was so forceful and as my waters only broke as he was born he was born covered with the ameonic sac it was very surreal but I sure as hell would not say not painful but not exhausting either but I felt that maybe with my first the gas and air made the feeling abit dull.

Hmm, I had be shouted at NOT to push as had incredibly powerful feeling - not even urge but HAD TO to bear down and push - but was only half dilated and had to have gas and air to calm and stop pushing

Then when it finally was time to push - 31 hours into labour so now talk of an EC - a midwife coached me through two hours of pushing whilst holding my breath for some reason so I got a terrible headache (i thought it was about 20 mins though) but with the epidural I had to have by then I couldn't feel a thing. If I can possibly avoid an epidural next time I will because the pain it saved me at the time was offset by the frustration of pushing without having any cues from my body to work with... plus the inevitable trip to surgery and at the end of it, episiotomy and forceps.

Thank goodness you get a baby at the end of it to distract you a little

Just in case no one has said it yet (haven't got time to read the whole thread) not everyone gets an urge to push - eg. me. I was told to push and didn't feel any urge. Did as I was told though. Suffered 2nd degree tearing. Often wonder what would have happened if I hadn't pushed. This happened with 3 of my 5 births. Other two had minimal tearing.

I didn't push DS3. He was huge (10lbs 15) and I could just feel this enormous baby and I really, really didn't want to push him out. The MW stood back, arms crossed whilst I begged DH to pull him out. He didn't of course. I just lay there, quietly whimpering and just felt DS3 sort of slide out with the contractions.

No tears [bucket fanjo emoticon]and the biggest adrenalin rush afterwards. I couldn't sit still, once I'd fed and snuggled him for a bit DH held DS whilst I cleaned out the birth pool and packed my stuff, talking incessantly.

mehgalegs, that's funny! Off topic, I know, but I had bags and bags of energy and an incredible urge to clean after both of mine (regardless of having had the urge to push or not!) While my second was feeding immediately after delivery all I could think about was getting home and cleaning my fridge! Unfortunately, it was 3 days before I was allowed out because my BP had gone so high, and the urge had well and truly gone off by then!

i had involuntary pushing. 3 pushes and my son was born. there would have been nothing I could have done about it if someone had said not to push. the only way I can describe it was like when you have food poisoning - you are going to be sick your body does it for you and theres nothing you can do about it.

I cant imagine having the choice to push or not? But I know every birth is different.