embarrassing Q: do they give you an enema during labour?

[asparagusaddict]

just been talking to my mum about labour and one of the things she mentioned is that they give you an enema to avoid any embarrassing poop incidents with all that pushing...

is this true though, or is it something they used to do but don't anymore?

i just wondered as i keep reading things about where women have had number 2's pop out during labour...

i love my husband to bits and we are both totally comfortable around each other with toilet things etc but i still feel it would traumatise me beyond belief if i disgraced myself like that while delivering his baby!

if they don't give you one, can you request one? or can you buy some to keep in your house to use when you first go into labour?

and, if you did use an enema, how can you be sure you won't accidently birth the baby while on the toilet?

i know this is a totally stupid question and i probably won't care when it gets to the day but i've been reading about how you need to be as relaxed as you can be during labour i want to minimise as much stress and anxiety as possible!!!

[ILikeToMoveItMoveIt]

Oh, have just thought of something else.

At the pushing stage if you feel like you need to poo, that is GOOD. It means the baby is well on its way. Don't be scared to push because you think you are going to poo yourself, because if there was poo to come out it would have probably come out before then.

[MustHaveaVeryShortMemory]

showofhands - I am rofl at the thought of you marching through the flowerbeds...

asparagusaddict As everyone has said, no they don't give you an enema. Not even sure that if they did it would guarantee no num 2's. Anyhow it doesn't happen to everyone. You probably wouldn't notice if you did and nor would he. You can keep a long top on, the midwives are discreet. I was covered with a sheet until the last possible minute.

It is NOT a 'disgrace' if it does happen though. It's just the baby pushing the contents of your intestines down as it descends. Please don't let this be something that worries you because it honestly wont be an issue.

[kylesmybaby]

not sure about not noticing it - god i was fully aware by the smell. also had a trainee sitting right ''there'' - poor man didn't even move.

[Bunsouttheoven]

When I arrived at hospital dp was sent to get my bag from the car, one midwife said she was going off duty. By the time dp came back from the car & new midwife came in I had fully stripped off & was on a mat in the middle of the room, head down arse & fanjo in the air (pointed at the door). The midwife said 'oh, hello then, that's not a greeting I get everyday'. DP said it was a bit of a shock since he had only popped out for a minute when I had been fully dressed
& only able to move at a snails pace.

My point is you will not care about pooing, nakedness, blood, fluid, nothing except getting the baby out. I could have been in the middle of a supermarket & it would not have made a jot of difference, birth is all encompassing & totally primal.

[madwomanintheattic]

lol, another german cs victim patient here. they also give you an enema afterwards before you are allowed back onto solid rations and out of bed. tis not like the uk where they discharge you within 24 hours lol... there are many many many sitzbaths to be undertaken prior to release... although the chamomile douches are strangely soothing.

with the two vbacs i definitely pooed in one of them. i know this because the consultant (still shuddering to think of it) stuck his finger up my back passage to help everything on its way. i had never ever had a single pile before that point, and i did not thank him. (he was a bit desperate as he was trying everything he could think of to save me having another section... ds1 was back to back and he needed to get (ulp) both hands in to try an internal rotation) at the time i couldn't have given a damn. it's unlikely he remembers my face or name tbh, and i imagine the parade of fanjos blurs into one across the years...

[shonaspurtle]

I did, and high as a kite on gas and air made a joke to dh about it re: him not telling anyone. The midwife gave me a very stern look. It was obviously not to be spoken of and she was super efficient at whipping anything away quick smart.

If it hadn't been for my addled brain I don't think dh would have been any the wiser.

[sophiejoandbump]

I think they used to always do it, but I think you CAN have one if you want to, but they dnt make you have it anymore.

x