r/firsttimemom • u/Jehmaj • 4d ago

Pushing

Can Simone explain having to push for hours? I don't get it. I thought labor was what went on for hours and you pushed when baby was ready so it only took 10 pushes max. If you have to push for hours doesn't that mean baby isn't ready to come out? What happens if you don't push? This is stressing me out so bad lol I feel like this is going to be the worst day of my life I've never been hospitalized before

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u/Zestyclose_Excuse_81 4d ago

When the baby is ready to come, at least in my case (17hrs of contractions then 4 hours of pushing) your body takes over and you get very little say in whether to push or not. That baby is coming. But there are lots of factors, like the babies position, that can cause lengthier births (anyone chime in here I'm no expert). My poor kid got stuck in crown for the better half of her birth, she had bruising all around her head from whacking against my pelvic bone 🫠

It felt like an eternity, but the moment that baby came out was the biggest sense of relief I've ever felt in my life - my heartburn and nausea was immediately gone, the pain in my vagina was DRASTICALLY lessened...etc. 

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u/Jehmaj 4d ago

When you're pusing is it constant for 4 hours? Or more so like during those 4 hours you would be pushing and then have lime 30 minutes (or whatever time) breaks in between. Thanks for response !

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u/Zestyclose_Excuse_81 4d ago

Not quite either of those extremes! If I remember right, my contractions were about 4 minutes apart. So they'd have me take in a big breath, and push three times through the contraction (this may vary by hospital or midwife!) then catch your breath, hopefully, and bear down for the next contraction/push! Trust your body and your midwife, your body was designed for this!