Here is a compilation of different pushing posts.

Purple Pushing

Here was my experience of pushing Bryson out.

What does Breathing your Baby out mean?

Gloria Lemay’s Article on Pushing for Primips (first time moms)

Upright Pushing blog post by Rixa.

Desiree has a great post about pushing and some good questions to ask your care provider before your birthing day.

Another Great pushing link – from Giving Birth Naturally

Pushing…
 
By “breathing baby down”, we mean that moms are breathing, “aaaahhhhhh” to open their throats, because we know that if their throats are open and relaxed so are their bottoms. Through a process called peristalsis, our ‘gut’ which is one continuous tube, ‘communicates’ from one end (the mouth) all the way down through the digestive tract to the other end (the rectum). Whatever is going on in mom’s face, is being mimicked by her bottom. So, when mom is ‘breathing her baby down’, she is relaxing her jaw, her throat is open, and she is relaxing and allowing her birthing muscles to bring her baby down through the birth canal slowly, and gradually. This is so the birth canal can unfold accordion-style, and open gently, and so that baby’s head can also mold to fit the pelvis slowly and gently. Baby is propelled by the force of the pressure waves, down a little, down a little more, and even a little more each pressure wave, and then baby slips back a bit when the pressure wave ends, in a gradual, “two-steps down, and one-step back fashion”.
 
Mom breathes and relaxes and allows her body and her baby to do all the pushing in the beginning. She allows her body to do what it already knows how to do, inhaling relaxation, and then exhaling and saying “peace” while powerful anesthesia automatically flows down and out ahead of her baby to exactly where she needs it in her bottom. This is similar to what women who have epidurals experience, and the hospital staff calls it ‘laboring down’. Those moms typically don’t push at all until baby is on the perineum.
 
Then, when baby’s head is so deep in the pelvis that it is pressing on the nerve endings in mom’s rectum, it will trigger a powerful, automatic bearing-down response. When this urge to push becomes strong enough that mom just HAS TO PUSH, her body will involuntarily push…POWERFULLY. And, she’ll begin to want to help that process by bearing down just a little at the peaks of some of the pressure waves. Then gradually that urge to push becomes longer and stronger until mom has an overwhelming urge to push throughout the entire pressure wave, each and every time. And, she will push because her body is guiding her to do so. She can be encouraged at this time, and guided by her doula or caregivers if she’s not being ‘effective’ in her efforts.
 
Because I seldom see a mom be ‘quiet’ all through second stage and only relax and breathe her baby all the way to born…especially first timers. I tell birth partners that mom might begin to make powerful bearing-down sounds, similar to the sounds a martial arts expert makes as they execute a forceful karate chop! The power that she releases as she bears down, as she keeps her throat open enough for sounds to escape, can be quite loud, and sometimes startling to those around the mom if they misinterpret them as discomfort rather than a release of power. This is especially true since most caregivers are used to seeing moms with epidurals who don’t make any sound at all, and it can be unnerving to them. But, you’ll know that those sounds are power and most moms who vocalize as they push report that “it didn’t hurt, it simply felt good to make those sounds”.
Carole
Yours in gentle, natural birthings…
521 sweet babies births attended!
Carole Thorpe, VP Hypnobabies
Hypnotherapist (NGH), Hypnobabies Birth Assistant
Hypnobabies Childbirth Hypnosis Instructor
Lactation Educator/Counselor (UCSD)
CPR for the Professional Rescuer (Red Cross)
Neonatal Resuscitation (AAP & AHA)
Homeopathy Consultant, Reiki Healing Touch 
Happiest Baby on the Block Instructor
BIRTH PARTNER SERVICES
www.hypnosis4birth.com

A mom who wants a VBAC and is frustrated by the lack of support she is getting, decided to write a

Consent form for OB’s

which if they read, they would see how wrong they are!

Please go check it out, it is really brilliant.

I need to write a whole blog post about my pushing. When I was birthing Bryson and my husband was filming it, I never though it would end up on You Tube! My DH didn’t want the whole thing out there, so I cut that out of the You Tube version.  I do show the whole video to my Hypnobabies students. 

I was calm during pushing. Between pushes it looks like I sleep a little. At first I was breathing him out.  The OB says, “No, now you need to push.”  I say, “I am pushing, I am breathing him out.”  I did that for about 4 minutes or so.   Then there were about 2 pushes where I “yelled him out” I felt like a powerful lion roaring. It just felt right to do that and I was listening to my body.  It felt really cool, I liked that part. 

I was comfortable while pushing. I remember the OB saying “Now you are going to feel the ring of fire” and I remember thinking, “I haven’t felt any pain yet, why should I now?” and I bounced her comment right off my bubble of peace. And I felt only stretching, no pain. 

The last push, the nurse had said, “If you hold your breath and really push, you can get him out with this next push.”  I didn’t really want to do that, but I worried maybe there was a problem, so I did.  I held my breath and pushed his head out with the next push.  Then they suctioned his mouth and nose out.  The cord was around his neck 3 times.  The OB tried to unloop it, but it wouldn’t unloop.   She had me push again and I pushed really hard and his shoulders came out.  You can see her unlooping the cord, by moving his body in 3 circles.  Then he went right up onto my chest. 

I think this is where the video resumes. 

Overall I loved pushing Bryson out.  I wish the nurse hadn’t said anything about holding my breath.  I was doing fine, pushed for less than 10 minutes and I did tear at the end.  I wonder if I had been able to push my own speed the last few pushes, if that would have helped prevent my tear or at least lessen it.

But, it was great.  I always tell my dads during class.  If mom makes noise during birth, that is great.  If mom has been quiet and then is making noise during pushing, that is fine.  It doesn’t mean she is in pain.  They are working sounds, powerful sounds!  So I wasn’t silent during pushing, I yelled a bit.  But I was comfortable and powerful!

This birth story exemplifies how a good birth can change and become stressful during the pushing stage, if care providers insist on purple pushing.  Mother directed pushing is much gentler and frankly most un-medicated moms do not need any direction in how to push.  Their bodies know what to do!  We need to get out of their way and let them do what feels right.

What is Mother Directed Pushing?

If the mom is ok and baby is ok, there isn’t a rush to get the baby out.  Letting the mother push in a way that feels right for her is better for her and the baby.  Some moms AHHHH or grunt the baby out.  Some moms sing the baby out.  Some might hold their breath and push on their own, but usually not for the duration that they are coached during “purple pushing” 

I have seen moms told to “WAIT, don’t push” when the OB isn’t there yet.  Waiting for up to 20 minutes fighting that urge to push.  Then the OB gets there and suddenly the atmosphere changes.  “PUSH, PUSH, PUSH!”  After patiently waiting for the OB to arrive, suddenly we are on the clock and everyone is in a hurry to get the baby out.  I understand that the OBs may have other patients waiting or other pressing needs.  But respect the mom and baby. 

I try to remind moms to push how they want.  But it is hard when everyone is yelling at you.  Sometimes moms get worried that something is wrong and that fear doesn’t help. Also moms are very suggestible while in their birthing time.  Even if someone isn’t yelling.  I remember when I was pushing Bryson out, the nurse said to me “If you hold your breath and push really hard, he will come out with your next push.”  I then worried that he needed to get out on the next push and I did what she said.  I had been doing it my own way and had been pushing less than 10 minutes.  I did tear and I wonder if I had been able to keep pushing my own way, if that would have been better. 

Talk to your OB about pushing in a mother directed fashion.  Add it to your birth plan, have your birth partner remind the nurse and the care provider before you start pushing.  If they are yelling at you, ask, “Is Mom Ok? Is Baby OK?”  If the answer is yes, “Stop Yelling” is a fine response!

My favorite class to teach in my Hypnobabies Childbirth Education series, is class 3.   In this class we discuss all the options of different interventions that may be offered before, during or after your birth.  Ranging from internal exams in the last few weeks of your pregnancy to epidurals. 

What are the pros and cons of these interventions?  Almost every choice has pros and cons.  There is a time for appropriate interventions.  I have a problem with them doing interventions to everyone just becasue it is their routine. 

What are some questions you can ask during your birthing time to help you make the best choice for you at the time?   Birth is very fluid and while it normally goes very smoothly, there are situations that may arise that will cause a change of plans.  I want you to have information so you can make informed choices if circumstances require it.  This is one way in which Hypnobabies is different than other hypnosis for childbirth programs.  We cover these topics because of this reality of birth. 

There is a really great post about Consent for Anesthesia at Nursing Birth’s blog.  It demonstrates why it is SO important to get educated about birth, BEFORE your birth!  I really recommend every pregnant woman take an Independent Childbirth Class (meaning, not hospital based) so that they can learn this information!

Having a doula during your birth is also great, because they can remind you of questions to ask during your birth!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OA7Y_DnC_kA]

I entered into the Birth Matters Video Contest.  If you can watch and then go and rate it.  Leave a comment too!  I love to share the joy of hypnosis for birth. 

Trusting the birth process is often hard for women to do.  They have been indoctrinated with negative stories about birth since they were born; from their own birth story their mothers shared with them, to the stranger in the grocery store when they are pregnant and the TV shows they watch.

How are they supposed to let go of these fears?  How can moms start to trust that birth is a positive thing? How can they trust that their body knows how to birth? How can they believe that birth is something to look forward to instead of fear?  I think the first place we have to start is their thoughts.  Because birth is as much a mental experience as it is a physical experience and what we believe will have an effect on what we experience.

How can a mom change her thoughts?  I have 3 suggestions.

Affirmations

Education

Support

Affirmations can help them to start believing in the power of their bodies.  Listening to daily affirmations about pregnancy and birth is an easy step in starting to change their beliefs.  Hearing that your body is strong, birth is normal can empower a mother to take the next step, educate herself on her choices.  Some moms go a step further in reprogramming their beliefs by using hypnosis.

Educating ones self about birth and the many options they will be presented with before, during and after birth will empower a mother when it comes time to make her choices.  Taking an Independent Childbirth class will give them the information they need.  As they learn how birth is meant to work, that their bodies are designed to open easily, they will start to trust in the process.

Support is the glue that holds it all together.  Today moms can find support in the traditional places, like their family and their care providers, and they can also find it on the internet.  I had a mom on the Hypnobabies Yahoo Group I moderate who was getting pressured by her OB to induce because of a suspected “big baby.”  She expressed her concerns on the group and we encouraged her with information and said that her body would grow the perfect size baby for her.  She chose to going in and talk to her OB about her concerns and had a really good discussion and got his support to trust her body!

I knew I wanted a natural birth and I knew that’s supposed to be good for baby but then they throw all these medical terms and issues at me. I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t know what was true or what was likely to happen and what wasn’t. I had a gut instinct and that was it. He has a medical degree and aren’t doctor’s supposed to do what’s best for you? I was so confused. I don’t know what I’d do without Hypnobabies and the group. Even a lot of natural birth enthusiasts want to talk about worse case scenarios. There’s not a lot of places to turn. Thank God for the internet!”

This is a cumulative effect.  As women have positive births by trusting their bodies, they share their stories and encourage other women to trust their bodies too.  I look forward to a day when women everywhere have positive birth affirmations coming from strangers in the grocery store and TV shows.  When all women are choosing to educate themselves about normal birth and when women are supporting each other in their births.

In celebration of International Birth Wisdom Week, I decided to share my experiences with supporting women all over the world!

I have the best job in the world!  I get to help women from all over the world prepare for a comfortable, empowering and enjoyable births using Hypnobabies.  How is it possible to help women all over the world?  The internet (and sometimes the phone) of course!

I am one of the Hypnobabies Home Study liaisons.  When a mom purchases the Hypnobabies Home Study they have access to a Hypnobabies Instructor to answer any questions.  They can do this by e-mail or by calling me.  I have gotten calls from Australia and the UK at interesting hours of the day and of course a lot from the US.  I am always happy to talk to moms and help them in any way I can.  I once had a mom call me during her active birthing time with questions.  That was fun.  I felt like I was a phone doula!

I also help hundreds of moms from all over the world every year by moderating the Hypnobabies Yahoo Group.  The Yahoo Group is a great place for them to ask questions and get advice from other moms preparing for birth using hypnosis.  There are over 3000 members and we get on average 60-80 messages a day from moms all over the world: China, India, Estonia, France, England, Canada, Mexico and the USA to name just a few.

The moms on this group are wonderfully supportive of each other and encourage one another to trust their body and their baby and make the best choices regarding birth for THEM.  Certainly each family and experience is different.  Each culture has their different issues and traditions as well.  They e-mail questions on many different topics from hypnosis to care providers and baby friendly practices, or lack thereof.  They get support from the other moms to ask questions, demand answers and make changes if they aren’t happy with the answers; basically to empower themselves!

It is wonderful to see how these women who believe in the beauty of natural birth; that it is something to be embraced instead of feared, can encourage others to feel the same way.  Not all of the women come to the group with that mindset, but over time reading the other messages and asking their questions, reading the birth stories, they slowly change and start to trust in their bodies and birth too.

One of my favorite things about moderating the group is reading birth stories from all over the world. The continuity between these stories is they have all used hypnosis to prepare for birth, which helps them reach into themselves to find their inner power to birth.  The differences are that each birth is different and unique, that each mom used her Hypnobabies tools in whatever way was best for her!

This is from the wonderful Independent Childbirth birth community I belong to!  Which is a wonderfully supportive group of Childbirth Educators who teach independently (visit website to find out more!)

We are holding a cyber event *** International Birth Wisdom Week*** next week.  We would love all birth or Mommy bloggers to join!