Forceps are nearly museum relics, but the second stage of labor - the pushing part - is still actively managed by what’s called directed pushing, or “purple pushing.” For decades, women who weren’t completely numb have been told to hold their breath and Push! for ten full seconds, usually while a nurse counts out loud, a process that is repeated until the baby is out. In 1957, Constance L. Beynon, a British obstetrician, began doubting the ritual after observing a woman who birthed without incantation. It was accidental; she was attending a first-time mother for a colleague and tried to stall the delivery so he would arrive in time. “We ignored the patient’s early straining efforts and when finally the head reached the pelvic floor, just allowed it to emerge slowly on minimal pushing, hoping every minute that her doctor would walk in,” wrote Beynon. “The baby (8 pounds, 3 ounces) was born before the doctor arrived but with practically no effort on the part of the patient and an intanct vagina and perineum. The peacefulness and obvious ease of the birth were most impressive.”
Further research revealed to Beynon that in women with physical disabilities or heart conditions, who were physically unable to push, “easy labor is remarkably common.” Beynon then carried out a trial at Sussex Maternity Hospital with 100 first-time mothers and compared them to nearly 400 who were typically managed. For the study, the caregivers were not to suggest that the mother push; if they had to say the P-word, the case was recorded a failure. Of the 100 women, 83 delivered spontaneously within an hour and 98 within 2 hours, without any suggestion of what to do. Beynon wrote, “For many years now I have adopted the practice of allowing my patients to follow their own inclination in the second stage, forbidding all mention of pushing by those in attendance.”
The female reporter who wrote this 300-page book has never been pregnant but she has read and talked to an impressive number of people. Her book is documented extensively. The statistics have an obvious slant, which is easy for a skeptic to notice (or someone who has read How To Lie With Statistics) but, overall, I think the author may be on to something.
Comments
Submitted by garrettw on
I’ll add that to my mental store of knowledge for if/when the time comes. I never thought to question the pushing.
Submitted by Carrie on
I’ve questioned the regular hospital method of childbirth for a while now. If and when I am ever pregnant, I will probably avoid the normal hospital and go for something like a waterbirth perhaps.
Submitted by Anonymous on
Geeze Chris, you really can write some interesting articles!
From a woman who has had 9 births (first 3 in the hospital, 6 at home) my hospital experiences were not the best (to put it mildly), whereas my home births (5 of them water births) were fabulous.
My midwife would always get a chuckle out of me because I would tell her what I was going to do. I figured out early in the game to listen to my body, and do what it told me to do which was contrary to a dr.‘s orders (not to get into too much graphic detail here lol!).
The home births were always a beautiful experience… One was very peaceful with very little pain. Midwife wished she could have video taped it to show women that it doesn’t have to be a screaming, out of control experience, even during the “pushing part.” I have to whole heartedly agree.
Submitted by Odin on
I started getting suspicious about pushing after watching the giraffe give birth…
Submitted by Chris on
... from the statistics she quotes, it looks like less than 5% of births really need someone there except to calm the nerves of a first-time mother. Still have some reading to do but that does not surprise me too much.
Submitted by Chris on
Exactly what I am thinking, though I don’t intend to be the one who gets pregnant… but I do think that I want to know what to do if something were to go wrong.
Submitted by Chris on
It didn’t look like it was on its knees from the pain? ^_^
Submitted by Chris on
It’s always great to hear that I’m not cracked. There are already quite a few tapes of home births taking place. You can buy them on DVD on Amazon and I expect the number will keep growing…
Submitted by micaela on
I rather not get taped when if I have a baby. Carrie, there’s a lot of good research out there on water births. It’s something I want to do, if the time comes.I hope my husband does a lot of research himself on what would be best and we would be in agreement when the birthing comes.
interesting article, Chris
Submitted by Patrizia on
Giving birth is not a medical procedure. It is a natural, God given gift to woman. Doctors treat woman as if they were in an assembly line. They go from one birthing room to another trying to get this baby out however & whichever way they can. Im sure Adam didnt tell Eve to push….
Patrizia
Submitted by Chris on
Statistically speaking, most births are M-F, 9-5. Of those week days, Tuesday sees more births than any other. This sounds strangely like doctors enforcing their schedule on their patients.
Submitted by Elisabeth Snider on
I’ve read a ton of books in preparation for the upcoming (and day now) birth of my child. Most of the research read supports the idea that women’s bodies know how to birth and don’t really need much direction.
Submitted by Chris on
Have fun when your contractions start to get serious.
Submitted by Sarah on
where did you hear that? LOL. VERY SUSPICIOUS.
Submitted by Chris on
The book is loaded with footnotes referencing the original research. I’d be reading for a year or two if I followed up on all of it.