Hi all! I'm a BMid student at UniSA and about to move into the 'independent' phase of assisting women with birth. I have a question about 2nd stage, which I'm hoping is not too ridiculous!
If you are with a woman who says she wants/needs to push, but you are not certain about dilatation as no VE has been performed (either because it's part of your practice, maternal request .....) what do you do? I recently worked with midwife who performed a VE and determined dilatation to be at about 6cm. Within about 15-30 mins the woman (a multi) expressed a need to push. The midwife encouraged her to breathe through that urge and not to push 'just yet'. This went on for about 20 minutes until finally we were able to see some HOV, then it was 'go for it'. So, I guess what I'm really asking is - do you allow women to go with their bodies and what they are feeling (which would be my instinct, rightly or wrongly who knows!) or wait for external signs that pushing 'ok'? Cheers Tania -- This mailing list is sponsored by ACE Graphics. Visit <http://www.acegraphics.com.au> to subscribe or unsubscribe.
