Will I Poop During Birth

That’s a question I hear from almost every birth or childbirth education client I have.

Will I poop during birth?

Many are terrified to think of such a thing as pooping on themselves or the bed… while giving birth… in front of others. What human in their right mind would WANT to do that right?!?!

NO ONE WANTS TO DO IT… but…

In short… you probably will. But NO FEAR!!! Here are a few points I want you to remember!

-PROBABLY 70% OF WOMEN POOP WHEN GIVING BIRTH VAGINALLY.

Between the prostaglandins that help soften the cervix to help aid dilation, which also soften the lower colon and the fact that active pushing uses the same muscles as going #2 does… it’s safe to just assume and accept that it’s inevitable.

-PROVIDERS ARE GREAT ABOUT DISCRETELY SWEEPING IT AWAY BEFORE ANYONE’S THE WISER.

Truly, they ROCK at a swift sweep away! Enough said!

-IF THOSE AROUND YOU KNOW WHAT’S GOOD FOR THEM… THEY WON’T BREATHE A WORD ABOUT IT!

And if you have a great Certified Birth Doula who is armed with oils, she will break out some peppermint or lavender! Heck, even some thieves! And pretty soon everyone will rave about how AWESOME your room smells!

There’s more GOOD NEWS!

1. If you go into labor on your own the body does tend to naturally “clean out” just before labor starts or during early labor. So, in turn it’s natures way of lowering the instance of pooping at birth! Isn’t that awesome?!

2. If you minimize your active pushing time, the lower your chances are of it happening. There is a thing we in the birth world call the FER. It stands for Fetal Ejection Reflex. After your cervix becomes fully dilated, the upper half of the uterus needs to contract itself down tight around the baby’s bum. Once this happens, your uterus starts to compress downward more with the contractions to push your baby down and out itself. It is a point where women often look up at me and say “oh! SOMETHING IS HAPPENING” or “ooo baby is coming…coming now!”. THAT is the Fetal Ejection Reflex! It’s the vary thing that brings your baby down the birth canal, out into your arms. If you can wait until you have an uncontrollable urge to push or feel your body pushing the baby down on it’s own… then you have a very slim chance of pooping as baby exits! So, in other words… wait as long as you can to start actively pushing with your body!

HOPEFULLY THIS HAS NOT ONLY ANSWERED THE QUESTION… BUT GIVEN YOU WAYS TO POSSIBLY AVOID IT. AS WELL AS HOW TO BEST HANDLE THINGS IF IT DOES HAPPEN. AT THE END OF THE DAY, BIRTH HAS A MIND OF IT’S OWN. THERE IS ONLY SO MUCH WE CAN CONTROL. BE OPEN AND REALISTIC IN THAT. ENJOY THE EXPERIENCE! AFTER ALL, THE BIRTH OF THIS BABY WILL ONLY HAPPEN ONCE!

Thanks for reading