RE: [ozmidwifery] No Contractions

[Mary Murphy]

Di, It sounds as tho you managed a difficult situation in the best way you knew, and that is all one can do.  You are now seeking to learn from it and we will obviously give you tips based on our experiences.  Don’t feel that you “should have “etc.  Many midwifery authors in all kinds of natural birthing magazines like Midwifery Today etc, have spoken about the “rest and recovery stage” where the body needs to gather its strength for the final stage.  It usually happens at the end of a demanding first stage and the woman showing signs of tiredness. I am old enough to remember doctors saying “turn her on her side and give her a rest, Sis”, in a time when IV fluids, synto drip and epidurals were available but not used so aggressively.  At the transition between the first and second stage in a primip, the  urge to push with each contraction needs to be resisted for a little while and breathed through, so that there is no pushing on a cervix that is not completely out of the way. We often can’t reach that little bit at the back, but it is still there. We talk of an anterior lip, but there can be a posterior one too.   The urge to push is triggered by the baby putting pressure on the nerves, even tho there is still a lip etc.  Pushing without contractions is not usually the most productive thing, but as I said, you handled it the best way you knew how.remeber the discussion on”undirected pushing”?  I am sure you will get lots of tips which will help us all in our practice no matter where we are. Cheers, MM