However, sometimes after a long or difficult labor, the pushing stage can be exhausting and uncomfortable. Most women will feel increased pressure in their perineum, rectum, and low back at this stage. For many women, the rectal pressure feels the same as having a bowel movement.
Yes, childbirth is painful. But it's manageable. In fact, nearly half of first-time moms (46 percent) said the pain they experienced with their first child was better than they expected, according to a nationwide survey commissioned by the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) in honor of Mother's Day.
Pushing can be one of the most intense and exhausting parts of the labor and delivery process—and it can take anywhere from several minutes, up to a few hours to push your baby out.
How long does it take to push baby out? In all, delivery generally takes 30 minutes to an hour, but it could take as long as three hours, especially in first babies (second and subsequent babies usually pop out a lot faster), or as short as a few minutes.
Pushing happens during the second stage of labor, once your cervix is completely dilated (open). By pushing, you're moving your baby down the birth canal to the outside world. Your provider, nurses, or labor coach will help you know when and how to push – this can be more difficult if you've had an epidural.
Because you're pushing with the contractions, many women find these contractions less painful than the contractions helping them to dilate. Other parts of the experience may also cause discomfort or pain, including an episiotomy or vaginal tearing.
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists considers 3 hours or more (especially with a first time mom and/or those with epidurals) to be perfectly normal.
Three to four pushing efforts of 6 to 8 seconds in length per contraction are physiologically appropriate (AWHONN, 2000; Roberts, 2002; Simpson & James, 2005). When the time is right for pushing, the best approach based on current evidence is to encourage the woman to do whatever comes naturally.
Some people describe the feeling as being like intense period cramps, others say it feels like a tightening or pounding feeling in your uterus or across your belly, others describe the feeling as being like very intense muscle cramps, while still other people describe contractions as being like the sort of wrenching ...
Deliver in an upright, nonflat position.
There are a number of delivery positions that might reduce the risk of a vaginal tear during childbirth. Rather than lying down flat during delivery, deliver in an upright position. Your health care provider will help you find a comfortable and safe delivery position.
Laboring down is the process of not actively pushing once the second stage of labor and intense contractions begin. Some people wait one to two hours before pushing, which allows the baby to naturally move down the birth canal. Laboring down has risks and benefits.
The second stage of labor starts after your cervix has dilated (opened) to 10 centimeters (about 4 inches), and it continues until your baby finishes moving through your vagina and is born. During this time, you will push or bear down (like you do when you have a bowel movement) to help your baby come out.
As we've discussed, bearing down happens physiologically; therefore, a woman pushes because she needs to. Her body just does it spontaneously. Contractions tend to be quite overwhelming, and not just for the baby. A birthing woman also needs the time frame between contractions to rest and recover.
Pain During Labor and Delivery
Pain during labor is caused by contractions of the muscles of the uterus and by pressure on the cervix. This pain can be felt as strong cramping in the abdomen, groin, and back, as well as an achy feeling. Some women experience pain in their sides or thighs as well.
Common options for coping with pain include massage, water therapy, and breathing exercises. Music and calming smells (aromatherapy) can help relax you. Consider taking short walks and changing positions during labor—moving around can reduce pain.
Labor contractions cause discomfort or a dull ache in your back and lower abdomen, along with pressure in the pelvis. Some women might also feel pain in their sides and thighs. Some women describe contractions as strong menstrual cramps, while others describe them as strong waves that feel like diarrhea cramps.
Every woman experiences labor differently, and there's some evidence that a handful of people do climax while giving birth. Practitioners who work with these women say that the intensity of the feeling is about love related to feelings of relief as well as euphoria at welcoming a baby at long last.
And it turns out that women can get very similar injuries from childbirth as the ones serious athletes get. A quarter of women in the study had stress fractures similar to the kinds athletes often suffer. Forty-one percent had pelvic muscle tears, and two-thirds had injuries similar to a severe muscle strain.
However, there are still times you might be told not to push. Labor is the process that prepares a woman to deliver her baby into the world. Doctors tell a woman not to push during labor because she is not ready, there may be a problem with the baby or she may have had an epidural.
Purple pushing, coached pushing, holding your breath, all mean basically the same thing. Mothers being instructed on pushing causes them to hold their breath and push down into their bottom. Another more normal and less exhausting option would be “breathing or bearing down” working with the contractions.
A C-section is major surgery. The procedure can increase complications for the mother and raise the risk during future pregnancies. Women giving birth for the first time should be allowed to push for at least three hours, the guidelines say. And if epidural anesthesia is used, they can push even longer.
When your baby is ready to begin the journey through the birth canal, your cervix dilates from fully closed to 10 centimeters. This process can take hours, days, or even weeks. But once you hit active labor – about 6 cm dilated – it's usually just a matter of hours before you reach full dilation.
Doctors now know that newly born babies probably feel pain. But exactly how much they feel during labor and delivery is still debatable. "If you performed a medical procedure on a baby shortly after birth, she would certainly feel pain," says Christopher E.
Does delivering the placenta hurt? Delivering the placenta feels like having a few mild contractions though fortunately, it doesn't usually hurt when it comes out. Your doctor will likely give you some Pitocin (oxytocin) via injection or in your IV if you already have one.