Resting phase
Pain relief
Slow but sure progress
Intact membranes
Resting phase
Discuss the resting phase with your caregiver. Find out if they will allow you and your child the time and space that a resting phase can bring.
Pain relief
If you have had an epidural, ask your caregiver to allow time for the epidural to wear off before you start to push. If you feel you will not be able to cope with feeling the pain, you may be able to have a small top up or reduce the epidural slightly so that you still have some level of pain relief. Alternatively if the epidural is going to take a while to wear off because it has just been topped up, it is better to allow your uterus to push your baby down until the head is low in the vagina before you actively push. This will mean some of the work is done for you and you are not totally exhausted with trying to push with little sensation.
If you are having some emotional reservations about pushing, sometimes being allowed to breathe on the gas a little just before you push or a little when you are taking your breaths in to push, can relax you enough to allow the baby to come. Some women will try some
natural therapies. Avoid injections of narcotics at this late stage as they can affect the baby's ability to breathe after the birth. Pain Relief is covered in depth in
Class 8.
Slow but sure progress
If your baby is progressing slowly but surely and you and your baby are well, then there is no need to intervene to shorten the 2nd stage of the labour. This is particularly the case if you are having good contractions but they are spaced further apart. Try using more upright positions to let gravity assist you. Get out of the bath if that is where you have been. Squatting, standing, sitting on a birth stool or the toilet can all help to bring the baby down quicker.
Intact membranes