I read this a lot in birth stories....what does it mean?!
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It basically means waiting to push even after you are fully dilated. "Laboring down" allows the baby to move down on it's own, without the mother actively pushing, and it's believed to make pushing take less time and (potentially) reduce damage like tears.
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I think it means resisting the urge to push, and just allow the baby to drop down even further and thus reduce risk of tears. But I could be confusing it with another term
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Ooooh thanks! That makes sense.
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That is great advice. Wish my doctors and nurses thought so too. I had 3 hours of pushing...yikes.
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I dont know how people do it. When i wanted to push it didnt seem like a choice, it was a need!
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Here is my preferred definition. A process in which the healthcare team allows a laboring woman that has an epidural to wait to push until she is feeling the urge to push or showing other signs of being ready, other than typical cervical dilation. This allows the woman's body to push the baby out on its own, rather than forcing the baby out with forceful pushing.
You shouldn't hold back from an uncontrollable urge to push.
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@winniebee: I always wondered what that term really meant. Thanks for asking!
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Like artbee, I also felt an uncontrollable urge to push... even through my epidural. There was no way that laboring down would have worked for me. Of course I paid the price in some pretty major tears.
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@Mrs. Jacks: thx for clarifying ; )
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9 comments