# Pushing before fully dilated?



## Say (Feb 19, 2009)

I guess this is sort of a random question I have.

My baby was posterior and born sunny side up. I dilated very, very slowly. My body started pushing violently at the end of my contractions when I was in transition and at about 8 centimeters. It was pushing so hard that I was throwing up at the same time. I had absolutely no control over it. My midwife told me to sit on the toilet and just 'go with it.' She thought it was great! My daughter was born several hours later.

A friend of mine just had her baby a few weeks ago, also with a midwife. She wasn't allowed to push when the urge came over her because she wasn't at 10. She said not pushing was one of the hardest things she's ever done. In my case, I had no control over it. I don't know what would have happened if I had been somewhere other than home or with a different midwife.

I'm curious about the differences in our experiences. Are there different schools of thought when it comes to pushing. Why not push if the urge is there? Why the differences in attitudes? Surely women didn't have people poking around inside of them a century ago telling them they were 'okay to push' or 'not.' Animals don't have anyone telling them they're fully dilated.

Thoughts? Answers?


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## CrunchyChristianMama (Dec 5, 2008)

You might find this article extremely interesting!

http://www.midwiferytoday.com/articles/ruleof10.asp


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## littlebb (Apr 15, 2009)

That's interesting. I know my MW doesn't encourage pushing by any means before full dilation, but if the urge is uncontrollable, that's a whole other issue. I know she told us about a recent birth where her client was at 8 or 9 centimeters and had the same feeling (her baby was also sunny side) and my MW offered to hold the lip of the cervix (I'm sure there's a term for it, but it escapes me). She took her up on the offer - it kept her cervix from tearing. I know my MW's main concern with pushing too hard too soon is tearing both of the cervix and the final delivery.


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## larzanna (Jan 23, 2008)

I just had my first on May 6th.
My body was pushing before i was complete, i only had a cervical lip so i was almost complete. What ended up happening was since my body was pushing the lip ended up swelling. I spent 3 hours like that trying NOT to push. The MW tried to hold it out of the way...it just was not working. I ended up transfering (not an emergency) i was just exhausted and the lip was going nowhere since i could not relax.

So i guess from my only experience i would be worried about the cervix swelling if you push before its out of the way.
But i guess that could have just been me and by body being weird.


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## Mamatoabunch (Sep 23, 2007)

W/ my first HB I pushed when desire came. Midwife did not check if I was fully dilated. My last 6 were UC. I pushed w/ desire w/ ever one of them. Two I know I was not fully dilated. How much not to "10" I don't know. I felt cervix around baby's head. I pushed w/ desire and all was fine.


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## fruitfulmomma (Jun 8, 2002)

Quote:

You might find this article extremely interesting!

http://www.midwiferytoday.com/articles/ruleof10.asp










I read this article a few days after my last one was born. I have *always* felt the urge to push before "full" dilation. And yes, most hcp's are going to tell you to wait. My midwife told me to go with it this time when I was about 8 1/2. I think the other midwife was a bit nervous about that. But I did it anyway and no tears.

So basically I have decided from now on I am going with my body's instincts!!!


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## snowmom5 (May 8, 2008)

Some of the PPs sound like they might describing the fetal ejection reflex, which I believe is something very different from pushing in response to an urge. I think it may be important to distinguish between the two in the context of this "10" issue. It's unclear to me from the article which one she was talking about. (And I also wonder whether there is an in-between, that would be the "uncontrollable" urge to push.)

When I had the reflex happen to me, it did not seem at all like I - or my body - was bearing down. It felt like different muscles altogether - not my rear end (which I had been concentrating on relaxing as much as possible so that I could dilate). I could tell the difference because eventually I decided to join in, and push along with the bizarre thing that my body was doing (I wanted the ring of fire to be over LOL). I often wonder what it might have been like if I hadn't done that little bit of pushing at the end along with the reflex - would it have merely meant another 5 mintues until baby was out? Might I have torn less? I don't know. (This time I aim to find out; I hope I'm lucky enough to experience the reflex again.)

Shortly before I experienced the reflex, the doc had checked me, I was at a 9 with a little lip. It wasn't long after that the reflex began. The doc was in the room and I managed to whisper "I'm pushing" to alert them to what was happening (talking is next to impossible for me during labor) (even though I wasn't actually pushing in the sense that I had ever known it, I figured it was the best information I could give them in two words). Then my water broke and she thought she had better put on her gloves lol.

I have been wondering whether there is some additional mechanism involved with the reflex such that a little bit of cervix, being less than 10, gets out of the way by itself. Something hormonally driven, since the reflex seems to be.


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## TzippityDoulah (Jun 29, 2005)

naking...

at my UC i pushed before i was dilated. I HAD to push. i trued not but it didn't work so i went with it. there is much thought that trying to hold back agains the feeling to push is what creates cervical swelling, not pushng before dilated. (he came about 15 minutes later with minimal tearing and no cervical swelling whatsoever. and I was pushing HARD! with all of my might b/c my body kept telling me to even though I didn't want to)

sometimes pushing is what causes the last part of dilation. I have read SO many brith stories where mom was forced to not push b/c she wasn't full dilated nd they ended up transfering b/c labur wouldn't progress ir the swelled really badly. but I think many time that when we hold back against what our body is telling us to do loud and clear, that bad things happen. "10" means nothing. it's just a guiideline we made up. our cervix has no cae of it meets our expectations anyway. so we can either go with what our body is doing, or try to do it our own ways. if a body is telling them to PUSH! and they have to fight hard against the feeling, I think nothing good comes of that.


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## brendaziz (Aug 6, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *HennyPenny* 
naking...

at my UC i pushed before i was dilated. I HAD to push. i trued not but it didn't work so i went with it. there is much thought that trying to hold back agains the feeling to push is what creates cervical swelling, not pushng before dilated. (he came about 15 minutes later with minimal tearing and no cervical swelling whatsoever. and I was pushing HARD! with all of my might b/c my body kept telling me to even though I didn't want to)

sometimes pushing is what causes the last part of dilation. I have read SO many brith stories where mom was forced to not push b/c she wasn't full dilated nd they ended up transfering b/c labur wouldn't progress ir the swelled really badly. but I think many time that when we hold back against what our body is telling us to do loud and clear, that bad things happen. "10" means nothing. it's just a guiideline we made up. our cervix has no cae of it meets our expectations anyway. so we can either go with what our body is doing, or try to do it our own ways. if a body is telling them to PUSH! and they have to fight hard against the feeling, I think nothing good comes of that.

I completely agree.
And I went from 7-10 from a push. Nurse said- "you know you've been here (at 7) for a little bit- on the next contrax why dont you give a little push and we'll see what happens" and then 10 minutes later i was pushing a baby out.


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## mommy2two babes (Feb 7, 2007)

When I got the uncontrolable urge to push my MW checked me and I was only 7 cm. She told me to get in the tub to try to stop pushing. He was crowning no sooner than my bottom touched the water.


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## JamieCatheryn (Dec 31, 2005)

Had this happen to me on Friday with this baby, I was nearly done dilating but DH and MW asked me to lean forward with contractions to help baby move down and make for even dilation. I'd been avoiding leaning forward because it hurt. Tried it and it made me push, I knew I wasn't ready yet though. Got back upright and contractions still made me push. MW said try and let it, I did for a bit then she checked me, there was quite a lip left. She suggested I sit backwards on the toilet and blow through them, I did for a few contractions, it was really disappointing I had a lip with my first child too. So then I lay on the bed and she held back the lip while I pushed, that got me past that part. Pushing contractions then got so intense they pushed hard and with no breaks. Tissue swelled and I felt there was a problem and she had me blow through more. I told DH to get the arnica, we used that. 15 minutes of hyperventilating through the fetal ejection reflex (without breaks!) later I couldn't stop it anymore, let it push, and all the sudden he crowned and his head came out all in one long push.


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