I LOVED [Lois Wilson's] article! [Issue 2:23] I am a
childbirth educator, strongly in favor of not telling women
when "it's time." In class, someone inevitably asks "How do
you know when you're in second stage?" or "How do you know
it's time to push?" and I get to get on my soap box!
I had one hospital birth with an epidural and I was told
"it's time" when I got to 10 cm. But I was so deadened I
couldn't push at all. I asked for more time and for the
drugs to be turned off. Two hours later I was still
deadened, but the nurse insisted I try again. I pushed for
2-1/2 hours more and was thoroughly exhausted by the end.
I'm still surprised I wasn't sectioned.
Because of the myriad things I didn't like about that first
birth experience, I became a CCE and have had two subsequent
homebirths. Never once was I checked and told "it's time"
(nor "it's not time"). In fact, I haven't had a vaginal exam
(VE) in labor since my first birth! And guess what, both
those home-born babies were born in less than 30 minutes
from the first urge to push!
I teach my students to listen to their bodies and push when
they feel ready. I warn them about the issues that may arise
if they have a VE and tell them to think carefully about
what they will do with the information they get from that
exam. As long as baby is doing OK, do they really need to
know? Or can they trust their bodies to tell them when "it's
time"?
I also make a point of telling my students (most are giving
birth in the hospital and need empowering resources even if
they don't have a natural birth) that if they have an
epidural and they can't feel their urge to push, then they
should ask "What station is the baby at?" Since the urge to
push typically occurs around +2 to +3, pushing prior to that
can be a big waste of time and energy (unless of course
there seems to be a medical reason to hurry the birth). And
once pushing starts, at least in my area, there's often a
time clock that starts ticking, and anything over 2-1/2
hours of pushing is almost a certain vacuum or cesarean.
I'm all in favor of the practice of leaving women to their
own instincts until real pushing begins. There's nothing
like it. It's the most powerful part of birth, the most
transforming, the most creative. I hate to see anyone get in
the way of that awesome process. But I love to see a woman
doing HER thing, birthing HER way, and feeling so energized
afterward!
-Marci O'Daffer, CCE
Reprinted from Midwifery Today E-News (Vol 2 Issue 24 June 14, 2000)
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