The 2nd stage of the labour will emotionally affect every woman in a different way. Many women will feel active and energised during the pushing phase. Others will experience relief and excitement, signalling a major turning point in their labour. It may be that you notice your body move from opening and having to 'be' with the labour, to feeling more like you have some control, or being able to actively participate in the bearing down. Many women will recall the 2nd stage as a time when their awareness of their surroundings returned with a burst of energy.
A few women will feel exhausted and frustrated with the pushing phase, perhaps overwhelmed with the energy required to push their baby out after a long prelabour, or 1st stage. It can be that they feel a need to dig to the depths of their being to summon the motivation to be able to persevere. Others just find the pushing quite painful and are reluctant to want to continue down this 'one way street' they are on.
Occasionally the labour happens so quickly, the woman is left feeling shocked and bewildered, shaking and overwhelmed as she comes to terms with what has happened. This is covered in more depth in
fast labour and birth. Other women feel they just 'want their baby out', being well and truly 'over' the labour, putting all their energy into pushing until their baby is born.
The 2nd stage often requires hard physical exertion to enable you to birth your baby, moving your child through your body. Occasionally, it can be an uncontrollable aggressive force that you feel is 'just happening'. Some women prefer the 2nd stage, in that they were able to actively 'work with' the contractions, rather then having to yield to the 1st stage contractions required to open their cervix.
For others the 2nd stage is hard work. They find it difficult to push with the pain involved, or they are reluctant to push because it has triggered emotional issues.