10 hours of pushing. Yes, I said pushing. Anyone else go long??

[holly6737]

Originally Posted by aggfan I am surprised at the people who think 2 hours of pushing is long, or had C sections at that point. My memory from my research before my first birth was that 2-4 hours of pushing was a fairly accepted range in hospitals. I pushed for 1.5 hours with my first and it seemed very normal. FWIW, I pushed for about 5 minutes with my second child and maybe 10-15 minutes with my third, although the really intense pushes were 5 minutes or less. I am completely speculating but it seems like you had an urge to push way before it was productive. I guess the bigger question is WHY did that happen. Maybe like dry heaves long before you actually vomit.... you only get exhausted from them rather then it accomplishing anything. There are times our bodies work that way - another example, like a runny nose when you have no other cold or allergy symptoms and feel fine. I mean, now that I think about it, what triggers pushing anyway? We don't really know what triggers the onset of labor - do we know for the pushing phase? Is it pressure on the cervix, is it chemical, is the sensation transferred by certain nerves? Chicken and egg question - does it start with baby's position or something else which then helps you move baby's position? Maybe if you find out more about how normal pushing is triggered and coordinated/conveyed by the body, you can speculate on what might have been different for you. As for finding a physical therapist, try http://www.apta.org/apta/findapt/ind...ID=10737422525 and check "women's heath" as your specialty area.

The need to push is generated from "Ferguson's reflex" when your baby's head reaches +1 station. This is why you should NOT "trust" the urge to push all of the time. Just because you feel the urge to push, that does not mean you are dilated to 10 cm. You can be 9/+1 or lip/+1. Pushing against an undilated cervix can cause cervical swelling which can then lead to further dystocia for second stage, cervical lacerations, etc.

Originally Posted by champatlife That's interesting. With my second I had two nurse on top of me pressing above my pelvis. Literally jumping on top of me, and the doctor was yelling for more help, I was in the zone not realizing what was going on until i heard her say, xwe need more nurses" and then i panicked and asked what was wrong and everyone was like "just dont stop pushing" and then my beautiful baby girl made her way into the world,but she didnt cry, and I panicked again until they laid her on my chest. She never did cry until the took her from me 15 mins later. A pedi came in to asess for broken bones, and she had a lot of bruising on her head, and stork bites but no coning. I was confused at first about why the concerns for broken bones, and my husband was like, you didn't realive two nurses standing on stools practically jumping on top of you? Then I vaguely remembered pain in the area and small flash memories.

It sounds to me like you had a shoulder dystocia. FUNDAL pressure is pressure being applied to the fundus, or the top of your uterus. SUPRAPUBIC pressure is pressure being applied right above your pubic bone. This is helpful when you have a shoulder dystocia. The anterior shoulder gets impacted behind your pubic bone. What they probably did was jack your knees up to your ears (McRoberts) and apply aggressive pressure right above your pubic bone. Those moves together force your pelvis wider while also attempting to force that anterior shoulder underneath the pubic bone. When he assessed for broken bones, he was probably assessing for a broken clavicle (collar bone). This can be a complication of shoulder dystocias.

Originally Posted by NATTYBATSMOM You may want to read this story: http://doulamomma.wordpress.com/2010...ed-t-cesarean/ She was 10 cm dilated for 20 hours with an intact bag of waters. Even more interesting is how long the placenta took to come out. Her story is especially interesting in that she had had a inverted t incision with her firstborn and she was attempting a VBAC. She was in South Korea (we were there the same time except I chose to return to the US--we were actually due the same day though I never met her, just met her doula) and had both a midwife and an OB who had recently started doing homebirths.

So, wait. She was a HBAC with a T-shaped incision. She pushed for 20 hours. That is the craziest story I have ever heard of. It makes my head explode. She had a partially vertical incision. She was homebirthing. She pushed for 20 hours. Stories like that remind me that God takes care of babies and fools- and in that story, sounds like there were both.



OP, 10 hours of pushing is insane. Your midwife was irresponsible for allowing you to push for that long. You are one very, extremely lucky woman that you did not a) rupture your uterus b) end up with a Bandl's ring c) end up with a rectovaginal fistula from damage to your pelvic floor d) end up with a shoulder dystocia e) end up with a massive, massive postpartum hemorrhage from your atonic uterus. Women in third world countries push for 10 hours. Women in America should never push for 10 hours. For your next birth, I would highly suggest that you birth in a hospital. Do not take this "success" to be proof that you can birth at home without complication. 10 hours of pushing is ALWAYS a complication. I am skeptical of your midwife's assertion that your muscles were spasming. How did she know this to be true? I have never heard of this impinging on pushing efforts. Pushing for 10 hours is not a happy, positive thing. It's a frightening thing. With all due respect, this is something that you should really meditate on and if you decide to homebirth again, I would do it coming to terms with the fact that if you end up pushing for longer than 3 hours with this next baby, that you are okay with an adverse outcome for that pregnancy.

[NATTYBATSMOM]

Originally Posted by holly6737 So, wait. She was a HBAC with a T-shaped incision. She pushed for 20 hours. That is the craziest story I have ever heard of. It makes my head explode. She had a partially vertical incision. She was homebirthing. She pushed for 20 hours. Stories like that remind me that God takes care of babies and fools- and in that story, sounds like there were both.

You may want to read the actual story. She did NOT push for that time. She was at 10 cm dilation for 20 hours, yes but if you read through the story, she actually only PUSHED for 3 hours. They spent most of the time getting her into different positions and moving around to encourage the baby to move down because the baby was up high. She also slept, I think, for at least two hours during that time. They waited to break the water too until a few hours before she had the baby.

She had both a midwife AND an OB who had started doing homebirths. They were a short distance away from a hospital and that was an option if needed. She was originally planning to come back to the US and go to Dr. Tate in Atlanta Georgia but found this OB instead.

[MacMama]

I have never heard of anyone pushing nearly that long! Seriously mama, you are one brave and stubborn lady to have made it though that naturally. (and I mean that in a good way!) I too wonder why you had "pushing" contractions when the baby was so high up for so long... I've never felt the urge to push until the baby's head was pretty low.

I pushed for nearly 3 hours with my first, and they were threatening me with a c-section at that point so I got one last burst of energy and pushed her out.

My second I pushed for less than 10 minutes.

My third I only gave one voluntary push to get his body out-- my body pushed his head out all by itself and I couldn't stop it. The total pushing time was less than a minute.

This fourth one may just fall out by itself.

I don't know what happened in your case, but I do know that first babies are by far the hardest to push out, and after that it gets much easier.

[nursesweet]

oh my golly. You poor thing. I pushed for 3.5 hrs for my first and I thought that was horrendous. I give you major props. At the hospital where I work there is no way in heck they would have let you push that long. You most certainly would have ended up with a c/s for failure of descent.

[hohaas]

Wow, momma! You are def very lucky you and baby are ok. Things def could have turned out differently. I am glad you were able to have a natural birth though. You'll have alot to think through next time.

[Fashionably Green Baby]

I have had all 3 of my kids in a hospital and all 3 with epidurals just as a disclaimer

I pushed for 3 hours with my first (and nobody was threatening a c section) and had them help with the vacuum because I was so exhausted that I was literally falling asleep between pushes. I firmly believe that I only had to push that long because as soon as I got to 10 the nurse had me start pushing even though I didn't have the urge to push. Baby was in position and I had some pressure but not that urge to push. I didn't know this at the time since it was my first.

With my second I got to 10 and my nurse told me to just let my body do the work until I just felt like I absolutely had to push, so I waited. When I got that urge to push DS was born in 2 pushes (would have been one but they made me stop for a second). One for the head, one for the shoulders.

With my third I didn't get my epidural until 8cm so when I got to 10 I was still really numb. I NEVER got the urge to push with her. Once I got to 10 I told the nurse I was going to wait until I felt like I just HAD to push and she said that was fine. 3 hours later my OB came in the room and said "your pushing now". She knew I was more than ready and she was right. 2 pushes and she was out. My labor would have been 3 hours shorter if I would have just pushed and my labor with her was only 4 1/2 hours anyways.

My longest labor was 7 1/2 hours total, I was induced and 3 of it was pushing. I can't fathom pushing for 10 hours.