Can you poop giving birth

I couldn't focus on breathing or listen to what my body was trying to tell me. I was fixated and terrified that I was pooping. Think Smith is extreme? Not so much. The fear of pooping during labor "comes up nine times out of ten -- at least! So stop obsessing, mama! Here's what you need to know about the pushing-and-pooping connection.

There's a simple reason: The very same muscles that you engage when you're having a bowel movement are the same ones you use when you're pushing, says Bigelow. Plus, when you're in labor, you have extra pressure on your colon and rectum from the weight of the baby moving through the birth canal. Think of your colon as a tube of toothpaste. Baby squeezes out any poop left in the lower part of the tube as he or she exits.

Adding to your poop probability: prostaglandins. These hormones are naturally involved in normal bowel function, says Jason James, M. In fact, some prostaglandins are used to induce labor. We want to see them poop. Greves also backed up what Heather and the nurses say—that any professional attending your birth is totally used to some poop action, and they'll simply wipe it away before you even have time to realize what happened. If you're pregnant and panicking about pushing out a poop as well as a baby, definitely don't consider avoiding using your pelvic floor muscles during delivery in an attempt to avoid pooping.

Greves said. To get our top stories delivered to your inbox, sign up for the Healthy Living newsletter. By Claire Gillespie November 25, Your nurse has seen it time and again, and will be there to help quickly clean up without bringing attention to it. Rather than trying to prevent it, I tell women to make sure the people in the delivery room with them are people they feel comfortable with. When your water breaks and how it feels when it breaks varies from woman to woman.

But if the baby has dropped down, then their head acts like a cork, and your water breaking could be a much lighter gush. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser.

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