The truth about giving birth

[Morrisonker]

Ok, I'm a long way off this,only being 18 and all, but i read in a book that it's common for women to...uh...poo when they're giving birth. i guess its with all the pushing. Now, no one has *ever* mentioned this to me (understandable I suppose), but I was just wondering if there was anything else that is never mentioned about what happens during labour?

[kags]

Well yes it does often happen when a woman gives birth, but it is really no big deal - the midwife will have seen it all before and when you are giving birth you really have other things on your mind! It is common to have a hefty bowel evacuation at the onset of labour so we are not talking about much here. I suppose it has never been mentioned because in the scheme of things it is not significant, and there would be absolutely no point in worrying about it. Labour is a different experience for every woman, and I would say that the best thing to do is read about or listen to a few different experiences but keep an open mind and remember that it will be different for you.

[Gef]

Just to say that I was present at the birth of all three of my children and this never happened to my wife.

[Cetti]

Don't take any notice of 99% of the stuff people say, most of it is rubbish! If these horror stories were true there would be very few people in the world!! I have never heard this particular story although this doesn't mean it hasn't happened to a few - but I imagine it's quite rare. When your time comes you will be far too busy ( it's very hard work!) to think about anything except the little babe that's all yours. Don't worry - and don't read (or listen) to anything - every birth is unique.

[pamnez]

My lads are 36 and 34 and when I went into labour with them, I was given an enema to empty my bowels before my baby was delivered. Do they still do this now?

[coemgen]

I've had 4 kids and this only happened to me once. It was when I had an epidural and knew nothing about it as I was numb from the waist down. The woman who cleaned me up after delivery apparently didn't notice either. I discovered that I had emptied my bowels when I went to get a shower when the feeeling returned to my legs and felt a big lump of dried pooh in my knickers, most unpleasant.

[Janetex]

I'd had an enema so I only threw up. I have one child for a very good reason. :)

[andy hughes]

My wife and I have three girls, no bowel evacuations during any of the births. I understand this can happen if an epidural is given during labour, when the mother has no feeling, and nature can take over, but as the previous ladies advise, it's no big deal to the midwives, and you will have other things on your mind!

[Insane Wally]

My other half has given birth to 4 lovely kids, each time she's said 'God, I hope I don't poo.' She hasn't yet! She loves being pregnant & loves giving birth, sure there's a bit of pain, but look what you've got at the end of it!!!

[nedflanders]

I have 2 daughters and during the first one whilst i was down the business end watching my wife did a donald trump when pushing but the midwife just wiped her a$$ and my wife never even knew she had done it. I was a bit shocked myself but I couldn't care less as 10 mins later i had a beautidul baby girl. They say you leave your dignity at the door and collect it on your road back out.

[darth vader]

As the baby is forced down and out, pressure is forced onto the lower intestine and anus so if there is any 'poo' in there it is squeezed out by the baby's head. So yes it is normal for a mum to poo on delivery but only if there is excrement waiting to be evacuated. hence sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn't. It is natural, and considering the mess which comes out of the vagina (as well as the baby of course) then i wouldn't worry too much about anything coming out the back end, which is normally (and very professionally) dealt with by the midwife

[tracymort]

yep you can poo (often if your labour is quite quick), nothing to worry about the midwife has seen it many times before. i was worried about it, when they say push i say said no i'll s*** myself! i know i did but they never told me that! they don't give enemas anymore as it was found to stress the mum out a bit.

[Janetex]

Yes, they told me that they don't give an enema anymore, too, so, halfway into hard labour, they gave me an enema - just what I felt like having at the time.

[dml54]

My advice is don't listen to stories of other women's labour ( or watch videos). I didn't. Each labour is individual - all three of mine were different. And although painful at the time you do seem to forget. I do remember saying never again after my first, and second and third (last)!

[flashpig]

Ladies, this is disgusting. I am so glad to be a chap. Any other horrid stuff that goes on? Is it expected for a bloke to be around during the birth? I might be sick. I'm pretty squeamish.

[fudge]

yes it is common for a woman to poo whilst giving birth but it's only ever a tiny amount. The reason this happens is mostly due to compression by the fetus's head and partly because when you push a baby out your using the same action you would as when your pooing (in other words you're not pushing with your vagina your pushing with the muscles beneath it - that's something a lot of people aren't told about before labour!!) PS Routine enemas are no longer common practice the only time one might possibly be used is if your rectum was very compacted and it was halting the delivery of the head.

[vittoria]

For what happens during labour I recommend "What to expect when you are expecting" which you will find in all good bookshops. I read a number of books when I was pregnant but this was the most informative, although it is American and therefore the perspective is subtly different from what happens in NHS hospitals in the UK. As for enemas ... I presume I was unlucky but I got a midwife who tormented me and pressurised me etc. until I "agreed" to have one; just to shut her up. However, I have to say I did not even notice as I was numb because of the epidural. About half an hour later there was the most terrible smell which meant they had to open the windows and as it was November I started shivering. But despite the epidural I was in so much pain that I could not have cared less what happened even if the Queen and Prince Philip had been in the room.

[vittoria]

As for food, they'll let give you crushed ice but no food in case you have to have an emergency c-section; in any case it is unusual to be hungry during labour; on the other hand, once it's over and they take you to the post natal ward, if you have just missed breakfast or lunch, try and ask for food... all the staff in my ward (both labour and post natal) were rude, sour and unhelpful, midwives, cleaners, tea ladies etc. A friend of mine who is a midwife kept telling me throughout my pregnancy, not to expect too much and I would not be disappointed, and I was not expecting much, but in the event it was worse than my worst nightmare. I think it is not what the labour itself is like, but rather whether you have the mental resources to "process" it as a positive experience. Some women remember it positively, some negatively, and my haunch is that it is down to how you deal with the experience at the psychological level.

[tracymort]

i ate in my labour. in fact it's thought to actually decrease the risk of an instrumental delivery. your uterus is a muscle, it needs energy and if you have had a long labour and no food it's gonna be knackered out and lead to you need forceps etc

[fudge]

all hospitals have different policys but the general rule is as long as your pregnancy and labour are normal and you don't have any complications you should be allowed to eat in labour - tracyh is spot on - is you don't eat you won't have any energy and labour/ birth is such a huge physical endurance you need to keep your energy levels up. You should only be refused food if you have any complications that may lead to you needing a general anaesthetic (in case you aspirate your stomach contents)

[vittoria]

Dear Traceyh and Fudge, (and apologies to Morrisonker who is getting all these alerts) I had of course read in all the literature that you're supposed to eat to keep your strength up otherwise you can't push - all the non-NHS literature said so - but when I got to hospital it was a different story - they said any food was strictly prohibited in case I had to have an emergency C-section, despite the fact that I had an epidural in place which presumably meant that I would not have needed to be put under if I had needed a C-section because they would have topped up the epidural. The inevitable outcome was that after 4 hrs 36 mins pushing I asked for intervention because I was completely wiped out. Even after the epidural was turned off (to get me to push) I continued not to feel any urge to push, just this pain in my lower back caused by being forced to lie on my back ( I was alright on all fours but it was not allowed).(My mother never felt any urge to push and this was before epidurals were invented). This may explain why I feel so bitter about the NHS "care" I received. I have initiated a thread elsewhere which engendered a long thread of replies on this subject, and some of the replies I got were less than sympathetic, along the lines of "don't use this site to rubbish the NHS", (not all replies were like that), but you can't help it when you have had such a bad experience. A friend of mine had her third baby at home with an independent midwife and this is what I wish I had done.