How To Push During Labor & Delivery So It Goes Smoothly
bySarah Hosseini
Many women who have healthy pregnancies aim to have a vaginal delivery. It's the way moms-to-be have been doing it since the beginning of time, and is touted as the most "natural" method. Admittedly though, the mere thought of pushing a human being through a very small hole can be daunting and downright terrifying for some women, even if it's been done that way forever. As you near your due date you may be trying to figure out how to push during labor and delivery. Thanks to your amazing bodies, it is very possible to push a baby out of a vagina (even though it sounds quite impossible), and there are some effective step by step ways to do it.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) there are more than 2,000,000 vaginal births per year in the United States. That's a whole lot of pushing. And, as you may already know, the actual labor process takes anywhere from eight hours to a full day, as calculated by the American Pregnancy website. Pushing comes right at the end of the last phase of labor, or transition phase when the mom feels pressure or the urge to push. In other words, it isn't like the movies where the woman screams, rushes to the hospital, and is ready to push. It doesn't work like that.
You don't have to be extremely and perfectly primed to push during labor and delivery, but having a step by step guide will help you mentally prepare a bit for showtime. Here are nine tips on how to push for labor and delivery.