Will I Poop When I'm Pushing?
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Kaely Harrod 0:03
Hello and welcome back to Kaely daily. Today's question is the ever pressing. Will I poop when I'm pushing? This is Kaely daily, the bi weekly podcast about all things do live Tips and Tits where we answer one question about pregnancy, labor, postpartum, or lactation, in order to have your journey in this parenting world be just a little bit more informed and filled with consent. Welcome back to Kaylee daily. I am Kaely Harrod, your host, childbirth educator, do love mom of three. And I just want to dive right into the ever exciting topic of will I poop when I am pushing out my baby? So I need to stop having yes or no questions because I just answered them in one word. So the answer to will i poop when I'm pushing is maybe you might write. However, I want to, of course, add some context to that and talk about while poop why pooping when you push is actually a good thing. which I know sounds weird. So first of all, think about the pelvic floor. The whole pelvic floor is filled with the baby's head as your baby is coming down to the pelvis. That means your rectum gets squished alongside everything else, right? So if there's anything below the baby's head in the rectum, it will come out before the baby comes. Okay. So does that mean every single person that ever pushes poops? No, that's not true. That's not that's not the case. It depends on what is below the baby's head in the rectum, right, like some people have diarrhoea before they go into labor, and then those folks are less likely to hoop in the midst of pushing. But if you do Pope while you're pushing, it actually tells the everyone that you're pushing in the right place, right? Because it's, it means that the baby's head is coming down, that's what's causing that poop to come out. That's a good thing. So here's some information about it that I want you to know. First of all, if you are giving birth, in any scenario where you're being supported, so you're like in a birth at a birth center at a home birth, but with midwives who are supporting you or at a hospital, your care team is going to clean up any poop that happens very quickly. Okay. So one of the things that I think is helpful to know is that if you do poop, you might not know that you in fact, likely won't know that. Um, it does mean that you're pushing in the right place. So if you're pushing with an epidural specifically, and you can't feel if you're pushing in the right place, then your team is going to be really excited if they see poop, although they won't tell you that they'll just be like, Oh, you're pushing in the right place. You're so perfect. Now if they say that it does not mean that you're pooping won't it's not necessarily the case. But it means that you are being productive in what you're doing. The other thing is that it's going to feel like you are pooping, even if you're not. So the reason that I mentioned that is that we as adult people have trained our bodies really well to not poop in front of people or in public, or when we're not on a toilet or someplace where we can poop, right. And so because of that, when you feel the sensation, like you're going to poop, it's really easy to tense up your pelvic floor and keep that pressure inside of you. But if it's the baby's head, then of course, you're working against yourself because you're pushing the baby's head down to get them out of you. And you're also tensing up your pelvic floor to keep them in you. Right?
Kaely Harrod 4:21
So the more you can welcome this sensation of needing to poop, knowing that it is in fact, a sign of progress of the baby's head, then the more you're going to be able to relax your pelvic floor. Now, the next episode that you're going to hear is a episode with a dear friend of mine who is a pelvic floor PT, we're going to talk all about the pelvic floor. But I want you to think about how your pelvic floor actually just needs to relax and get out of the way. It does not have to do much of anything, right? So we want Want it to relax in order for it to relax? You have to let it relax, right? You have to be okay with the pressure that you're feeling inside your pelvic floor. Okay? So the short answer is, you may or may not poop, no one can know that in advance. The second part of that is, if you do poop, it's a sign of progress. The third part is, even if you don't poop, you're gonna feel like you are okay. I know this is super exciting content, talking about poop second week in a row, second episode in a row, because all in one week, we're talking about poop. But I want you to know that it's normal. Because again, if we want oxytocin to be high, and that I talk about constantly high oxytocin, high oxytocin, high oxytocin, then you need to normalize the process of labor. And welcome the sensations that are normal in the midst of labor and let them happen as they need to happen. So I will see you on the next episode with my dear friend and pelvic floor PT. Until then, continue to have well educated consent filled births, I almost forgot to remind you that I have an oxytocin free guide that just came out. It's brand spanking new. And the link for that is in the show notes. So if you want to grab that guide, I really recommend it. It's all about labor preparation and raising your oxytocin. Totally free, grab it on my website, I will put the link in the show notes for you. Also, remember that this episode, all these episodes are on YouTube as well. So if you prefer to watch them, versus listening or reading them, then you're able to do that. So I will see you in the next episode. Edited and produced by Kaely Harada, as I'm sure you can probably tell, and our amazing music is credited in the shownotes as well. So we look forward to seeing you on the next episode. And in the meantime, have a wonderful and consent filled birth.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai
How can I know for sure if I'm going to poop when I push my baby out? Some people say everyone does, others say don't worry about it, but I am worried about it!
If this sounds like you, don't worry. First of all, yes, some people poop in labor, but not everyone. Learn more about this in today's episode all about pushing and pooping (or pushing and NOT pooping!)
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Not everyone poops in labor
Most people who do poop don’t know that!
If you do poop while pushing it means you’re doing it right!
EVERYONE feels like they are pooping even if they are not!
RESOURCES
FREE OXYTOCIN GUIDE:
6 Ways to Increase Oxytocin for Labor Progression
https://www.harroddoulaservices.com/free-guide-6-oxytocin-tips
Previous Pushing Episode:
https://www.harroddoulaservices.com/kaely-daily-podcast/episode-33
CONNECT with Kaely on Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/Harroddoula/
This podcast is hosted by the Birth Prep Blueprint - comprehensive Childbirth Education for expectant parents to feel calm, prepared and confident about labor and birth. Podcast listeners (that’s YOU!) get 10% off! Use the link below to get that great deal!
https://thebirthprepblueprint.com/offers/884d5a56-9089-4482-a944-6bb7c26c9b04
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Music by Madirfan: Hidden Place on Pixabay
