Breathing baby out

[Matryoshka]

Could someone please describe for me how to physically breathe baby out as opposed to pushing baby out?? Thanks.

[Trillian]

I did that with my second baby. basically instead of pushing with each contraction/urge to push, you breathe instead. You know how when they tell you to pant as the head is being born? Like that only you do it the whole time. I had a very quick second stage with her as she descended very quickly and they didn't want her to be born too fast (not sure why, I assumed due to the change in pressure from being in the birth canal to being outside it) and I tell you what, it was harder to do that than it was to actually push because you have to fight the urge to give a good hard push with every inch of your body because it is such a strong and primitive thing to do. You know yourself that the urge to push is strong and uncontrollable and this is basically going against what your body wants to do.

[Matryoshka]

I was never told to pant, i was pushing for what felt like forever (2 hours) and wasn't getting anywhere in the end so had an episiotomy (my choice and the attending m/w's), and then finally he fell out. I really would rather avoid that whole scenario this time.

I'm not sure if i understand how to breathe the baby out though.... do you mean focusing on exhaling not inhaling??

[Trillian]

No, you use the breathing to take the focus off the urge to push. If you are focusing on breathing, then you can't push, kwim? When you push, you don't breathe at all because all your energy is directed at working with the contractions by giving a big push. By breathing them out, its not like you are using the act itself to help expell the baby, rather that you are just letting them do all the work instead of you doing all the pushing to get them out.

You will notice a huge difference in the second stage with this bub anyway. You need a lot less direction on how to do it and because it is usually a lot quicker than pushing the first baby out, then often you don't even have time to think about what you are doing most of the time.

[blue daisy]

hi mummaB

breathing your baby out can also refer to the natural maternal fetal ejection reflex (a phrase first coined by Dr Michel Odent)

an uninhibited and relaxed mother will not always feel the urge to push, but rather the combination of optimal birthing hormones and strength of uterine surges birth the baby

this is how I birthed my second baby...its not a concious thing, it is however the natural path of uninhibited birth and it feels amazing

x

[Indadhanu]

I'm interested in this too...

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, I don't have any experience obviously, but my understanding from what i'd read and heard, was that it is kind of like when you need to do a big poo, and it's going to come out but it kind of hurts, and you feel as though you need to push it out, but you breathe and allow it to make its own way out (lol, yes I know we've all got nice and graphic images of poo now ). Well, somewhere I read said it was a bit like that, though I don't know if it was first hand experience or not.

Sorry if that is a bit graphic, but is that about right? Or not?

[Nai]

Breathing is one of the hypnobirthing techniques so if you look at some of the hypnobirthing threads there will probably be some more information there.

Alisia, you are right about the bowel movement. While practicing the breathing out techniques, one of the exercises is to do this when needing to go to the toilet. This also helps prevent haemorrhoids especially while pregnant.

[Trillian]

LMAO Alisia, I was going to say the same thing but didn't to avoid people thinking about poo! yeah it is similar, but it really is quite a unique experience - like nothing you've ever felt before.

[paradise lost]

I was told not to push with my urge (the MW didn't think i could be ready, having been only 3cm dilated 2 hours before and couldn't check me because my membranes had already ruptured and she didn't want to introduce infection with more than minimal VE's) and DD was crowning before i pushed.

It was the worst part of my labour. I felt totally terrified (i believed i wasn't dilated and would lacerate my cervix if i pushed - no one told me this, i was just full of late labour adrenalin) and rather than breathing had to roar as loud as possible so i had no air to push down with (having forced it all out the top instead) and i felt with the end of every roar like i was drowning as i gasped to draw breath before i pushed (as soon as my lungs were empty i began pushing involuntarily). Panting did not help me. Light breaths did not help me. Gas and air did not help me. I really think at that stage only pushing would have helped me.

I was not screaming or anything, i was roaring long and low and with as little force as i could for it to work, and the others at my birth said i appeared in control and centred but i did NOT feel it. I think i thought if i even said the words "i'm not coping" the sky would fall down so i just kept on, praying i'd be dilated at my next VE (she was crowning when i lay down for that VE).

It was the hardest thing i have ever done in my life to resist the reflex to push. All the roaring exhausted my diaphragm and i found it hard to empty my lungs for 10 days after the birth (had to lean forwards and let my squidgy belly "hang" forwards to pull the diaphragm out more to help it work).

Next time i will be pushing. If other women can do this without feeling the fear i did then i wish them good luck as i can imagine without the physical/emotional turmoil it would have been a peaceful way to birth.

[blue daisy]

Bec

that is so very sad that your mw didnt trust you as the birthing woman and your innate ability to birth when you and your baby where ready...not when the text books say

x

[Trillian]

Bec, I agree with the feeling it gives you of not being in control while doing it, I didn't have fear though, but I felt like crab crawling off the bed to make it stop - I just felt like I had to move

[Matryoshka]

If we feel the urge to push, then why is that not the best thing to do?? isn't it natural to follow the urge?

I can't remember if i pushed on purpose or instinctually, honestly if my dh wasn't holding me on the chair i would have fallen asleep. I was so exhausted i think my own attempts at pushing must have been pretty feeble. Thats why i said in the end to just make the cut, i just couldn't do it anymore - he'd been stuck crowning for again what felt like forever. (The m/w made the decision based on dropping heart rate).

I'm not sure what i'll do this time... i'm not sure i entirely understand the breathing out. I also used hypnobirthing last time, but it went out the window during transition, i was unable to relax or focus on anything.

[Trillian]

In my case as I said before, I think they were concerned about her being born too quickly and wanted it to slow down a bit. it is natural to follow the urge you have - whether it is to push or to let the baby do it. In hindsight though I don't think it would have mattered what I did

[*Efjay*]

The next time you are on the loo for number 2, if it is rather big as described above lol. Rather then straining to push it out breath out & kind of bear down rather then push. Its hard to describe.
I did hypno birthing with Isla & I didn't even know she was out. Seriously I asked the midwife if the head was out yet only to be handed my baby. I believe my body took over & spat her out, like Blue daisy is refering too.
But all through the hypno birthing I was told to breath out as I did a poo for practice