The Scoop on Pooping in Labor
Top 10 Things You NEED to Know
One of the best parts of the midwifery model of maternity care is really getting to know your midwife team and forming a trusting relationship with them. Because of this, many pregnant people will open up to their midwife about their biggest fears surrounding pregnancy, labor and birth. And believe it or not, one of the biggest fears many pregnant people have centers around POOP.
Will I poop while I push? How many women poop during delivery? Will someone tell me if I poop while pushing? What if I have to poop in labor? What will happen if I poop during delivery? Will it be embarrassing if I poop during birth? What if I poop during a water birth? Should I give myself an enema so I don’t poop in labor? Should I drink castor oil so I don’t poop when I push? Can I eat in labor or will that make me poop during birth?
Midwives and nurses are never phased by these questions. In fact, we know there are many more pregnant people who are worried about pooping in labor than will actually admit to it!
The Embrace Midwifery team cares about ALL of your concerns. Even the ones about poop! Thus, we have created this list of the Top 10 Things You Need to Know About Pooping in Labor (aka “The DOs & DON’Ts of Pooping During Labor & Birth.”)
It’s not uncommon for a laboring person to feel most comfortable near the bathroom. After all, it’s a private place! In fact, midwives like to call the bathroom the ‘dilation station!’
#1 DON’T forget that life does go on after an embarrassing moment!
Let’s face it, if you are human, you have certainly embarrassed yourself with some type of bodily function in front of someone else before! And sure, you may have never pooped in front of another person, but you also haven’t ever been doing something as important as pushing a human being out of your body while pooping either. In our experience, your loved ones will be so amazed by your power & strength and the awesomeness of the moment that they won’t even notice something as trivial as a little bit of poop. Especially since we will be very fast at wiping it away!
#2 DO understand that many birth givers poop during birth and that this phenomenon is NORMAL.
If you think about it, in labor when your body starts to give you a feeling like you have to poop, it is because your body is very smart! In fact, the muscles you use to push out a baby happen to be the same muscles that you use to push out a bowel movement! See how smart that is? So if your midwife is telling you to “listen to your body” or “go ahead and bear down,” what they are really saying is “push like you have to poop!” It is the exact same motion! And if you do poop, your midwife team will be VERY pleased! Why? Because if we do see some poop, it is reassuring that you are pushing well and making progress! And if we were concerned about a little poop, we might have chosen to go to dental school instead of midwifery school!
#3 DON’T invite spectators to your birth.
Let’s be honest, even in the closest of relationships not many women are comfortable going to the bathroom and pooping in front of their family and friends but it is important to understand that the circumstances of childbirth are way different than just your daily morning bowel movement. However, it is also important to understand that labor and birth are NOT spectator sports and the birth giver is NOT a ‘hostess,’ even if she is birthing at home! As a result, if there are family members whose presence would make you too preoccupied or embarrassed to do whatever and say whatever you need to get your baby out, then it is best they are not at your birth. Just because a family member loves you and “really wants to be there” does not automatically make them a fitting labor companion.
#4 DO go to the bathroom and empty your bowels in early labor if you feel the urge.
Feeling like you have to poop during active labor or transition is often the baby’s head putting pressure on your rectum. Even if you end up passing some stool during the pushing stage, the rectal pressure you were feeling right before the birth was mostly the pressure from the baby’s head and not the poop! However, if you are in early labor and you feel like you have to poop and you can easily pass stool without straining, then go ahead. In early labor, it won’t hurt the baby or your cervix and it might make you feel better!
#5 DON’T strain to have a bowel movement simply because you are afraid of pooping during birth.
If you are in active labor/transition and you feel rectal pressure, please know that it is very likely the BABY pressing on your rectum is giving you that sensation. Therefore, straining to have a bowel movement during this time out of fear alone could, at best, give you hemorrhoids and, at worst, cause your cervix to swell. There is an appropriate time to start pushing, but it is only once your cervix is fully (10cm) dilated! However, laboring on a toilet can be a helpful labor position (especially if you sit backwards on the toilet!) This is because squatting positions can open your pelvis 30% wider! In fact, midwives have nicknamed the toilet as the ‘dilation station!’
#6 DO make a pact with your labor companions to NOT talk about poop if you happen to be really self-conscious about it.
But honestly, your support team would have to be really looking for it to notice any poop because we midwives and nurses are very quick at wiping it away!
#7 DON’T use a laxative or enema before labor simply because you are afraid of pooping, please!
Giving enemas to people in labor is an outdated and unnecessary practice. Research shows that a substantial portion of people in labor will have bowel movements, whether or not enemas are used. Enemas and laxatives can also cause considerable pain and distress to the birth giver. Even if you are planning a waterbirth, if you happen to poop, your midwife will simply scoop the poop out of the pool with a small fish net. There is so much water in the pool that research shows any risk of infection to mom or baby is infinitesimally small, and the dilution effect of the water might actually be protective against any harmful bacteria.
#8 DO remember that your body will probably ‘cleanse’ itself out during ‘pre-labor.’
After all, mild diarrhea or loose stools can be a sign of ‘pre’ or ‘early’ labor. And even if you do experience some pre-labor diarrhea, you might still poop during delivery and that is OKAY!
#9 DON’T limit your food intake during labor if you are hungry because you are afraid that you will poop (or throw up for that matter).
A runner does not prepare for a marathon by starving themselves and you should not prepare for birth by starving yourself either! Restricting food and fluids for laboring people is another harmful, outdated, and unnecessary practice! Both you and your baby need energy to have the endurance for a successful vaginal birth. On the other hand, if you no longer feel hungry it can be a sign that labor is progressing! At that point your support team should continue to encourage you to drink at least 4 oz of water, juice, or an electrolyte drink every hour.
Now, if after reading all of the above you are still worried about pooping during delivery, then know this:
#10 DO realize that “Worry is the work of pregnancy!”
In her book Birthing From Within, midwife Pam England tells the story about Hannah, a patient of hers that worried a lot about having a natural birth experience after having had a highly medicalized birth with her first baby. She writes that Hannah longed to hear her say things like “Don’t worry” and “Everything will be alright” but instead England encouraged her to face her fears. She instructed Hannah to write down all of her worries and explore each of them with questions like, “What, if anything, can you do to prepare for what you are worrying about?” and “If there is nothing you can do to prevent it, how would you like to handle the situation?”
England lists the “Ten Common Worries” of Pregnancy as:
1) Not being able to stand the pain
2) Not being able to relax
3) Feeling rushed, or fear of taking too long
4) My pelvis will not be big enough
5) My cervix won’t open
6) Lack of privacy
7) Being judged for making noise
8) Being separated from the baby
9) Having to fight for my wishes to be respected
10) Having intervention and not knowing if it is necessary or what else to do
We would like to add one more:
11) Fear of pooping in labor/Fear of embarrassment regarding bodily functions
In summary, if you are a pregnant person reading this post, please know that you are not alone in your worries! It is important to use these next few months, weeks, or days, preparing, not only physically, but also mentally and emotionally for the amazing journey you are about to embark upon. This mental and emotional readying includes acknowledging and talking about your worries and fears with people you trust, especially your birth attendants! No person can give birth if they feel unsafe, sense danger, or have never explored their fears, even if they seem “trivial.”
Please know that although the thought of it might be “horrifyingly embarrassing,” when you actually are working hard to push out your baby, anyone that really cares about you and loves you will not be bothered by a little poop and most likely, no one will even notice!
Please know that although birth might be one of the messiest experiences of your life, no amount of fluids, cursing, farting, vomiting, striping naked, howling, crying, peeing, bleeding, or pooping will take away from how empowering, mind blowing, and touching this experience can be for you and your family!
No midwife will ever tell you birth is easy or clean… but it certainly is worth it!
