okay ready oh my gosh seriously you guys are gonna laugh it landed on 15 which is
poop seriously okay so our first topic on the big wheel of birth is poop which is probably kind of
fitting because actually when you talk to many couples this is a question that is really in a
lot of people's minds is what about pooping in labor so it is one of those things that
people talk about a lot people a lot of people have fears around it which is totally valid so
let's break it down a little bit first of all um poop an early labor can be a really
good sign that labor is on its way so because the colon and the uterus are both sympathetic
organs they're right next to each other so when when the uterus starts contracting oftentimes
we'll see our colon start contracting and we have some loose stools we have an increase in
poop maybe diarrhea it is actually a great thing and it usually means that labor is on
its way now diarrhea and labor itself if it isn't great we don't want to dehydrate but
it can be a good sign that labor has started so um so that is that would be poop an early
labor or before labor starts now the question that most people have about poop still cracking
me up that that was our first topic of this wheel is when you push it is very common for
some poop to come out and it's actually a good thing again so the way that the baby's head
actually I have a baby maybe I'll just pull him out when the baby's head comes down through the
pelvis right the head compresses the rectum so if there is any stool in the rectum then that is
pushed out during pooping during pooping during pushing so that can happen now a couple things
especially for partners to need to know about poop in labor it's super common if you notice
it while your partner is pushing please don't say anything it's really not helpful um it just you
know go about your business often if you have a nurse or Midwife OB that's pushing with you
sometimes they they will mention and it's usually in a positive way so it means that your poopy
your I keep saying pooping instead of pushing it means that you're pushing really well so poop in
labor is a great sign in early labor in pushing it's a good sign that you're you're pushing ball
that you're pushing the baby's head down and that is why the rectum is being compressed and
pushing out poop um other details if you want to jump into the gory details there's usually
not a large quantity of poop it's usually a small quantity and whoever's pushing with you usually
your nurse will make sure that they clean up and move everything out of the way if you as a partner
or as the person giving birth have a sensitivity a very heightened sense of smell you might want
to be prepared for this during pushing and brings something that smells good like an essential oil
put it on a little paper towel and have it close by so that you have a nice pleasant fragrance
like your lavender or peppermint something like that something that is pleasing to you so that
you're not distracted by any smells of pushing let alone poop during pushing so it is a question that
we get all the time as childbirth educators and doulas super valid it's very normal and yet it's
kind of weird right you don't need something they usually do in private so the good news is that it
means that you're pushing the right way if you have questions about this topic on the big wheel
of birth leave them in the comments below I would love to answer them or point you in the direction
of some good information if you are excited about the big bill birth or think that your
partner or a friend that's pregnant might want to get a little mini chopper education topic
each day please share this with them and for more information about partners or partner support or
preparing partners for birth check out the supporting her online course for partners
thank you for joining me bye guys we will take we will officially take this topic
off our spinner and replace it with something else so we are retiring poop from our spinner