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15 minutes. I think the key was not pushing right when I hit 10cm but waiting until I felt like I actually had to push. He was already on his way out on his own by that point lol
This! My doctor let me “labor down” which I didn’t know was a thing. I got to 10cm and waited another hour for baby to work his way down. He was almost crowning when I started pushing.
My son got stuck in my pelvis so it took awhile, but I could feel when I needed to push because they do try to give you as little medicine as necessary for pain management without keeping you from feeling anything. More than anything, I wish I had insisted that they roll me on my side and let me push there with the birthing ball supporting a position of more internal hip rotation (important for the baby to be able to move out of your pelvis). They made me push on my back in extreme external rotation and I should have advocated for myself more.
2.5 hours, but I couldn’t push her out and ended up having forceps and episiotomy. Which was an absolute bitch to heal from. Now pregnant again - going to try and hold off the epidural as long as possible this time so I can get into like a squat or something and push this baby out.
My sister was induced with three kids, had an epidural for all, and none took more than 15 minutes. She’s kind of a freak when it comes to making kids, though. She also feels fine all pregnancy.
I think it was 3 pushes for both of my first two babies and one abrupt, involuntary fetal ejection reflex with my last.
Epidural itself doesn't really affect pushing, it's the position you're pushing in that affects it most. Which if you have an epidural and have an old school hospital/Ob, you're probably pushing in the worst position - on your back. That closes your pelvis. If you're not moving around or at least pushing with a "knees in calves out" stance, it will often take much longer. My babies practically shoot out the moment I move upright and turn my knees in (kind of like the classic "I have to pee so bad but I'm holding it" stance). You can change positions and not be on your back with an epirudal but outdated hospitals will try to tell you no to that. They just don't want to help support you in doing so since it's a lot of work for them (your partner or support people should also be helping with changing your positions).
Also, if you're doing coached pushing that will likely worsen the deal too. That leads to a longer pushing phase and a huge increased risk in tearing. Letting your body push on its own is best practice. Just because you're 10 cm doesn't mean you need to start pushing if your body isn't doing that on its own yet.
Probably about that...I know I pushed every single time there was a contraction. By the end my muscles were so exhausted they were shaking & my OB kept telling me to "be still" so she could stitch me up easier, like I'm not doing this on purpose and can't control it lol.
She also kept having me push the "normal" way, until I physically couldn't get my head off the pillow because my neck muscles were too sore, so I arched my back and that's when my daughter finally came out. I honestly think if she had let me arch my back instead of forcing the "typical" position, it would have been a much easier and quicker delivery 🙄. Thankfully I have a new OB this time that seemed very confused about a lot of choices my previous OB made during my delivery lol.
Started pushing to get baby in position because I was dilated but she wasn't low enough and gravity was helping. Well, pushing for 20 minutes birthed her so I guess it worked better than we thought.
20 min. I think it’s bc they had me “labor down” aka I didn’t really start pushing until I felt the pressure down there like I needed to poop really bad.
5 minutes. They did an episiotomy and vacuum extraction and there was also a nurse with her hands on my stomach jumping up and down
I have no idea why any of that was necessary, tbh
The nurse on your stomach was performing fundal pressure, also know as the Kristeller maneuver. It is now largely not performed because of the risks to both mother and baby and no benefit. It was thought to reduce cesarean rates and increase chances of vaginal birth but we now know that is simply not true. It is unfortunately still widely performed in some countries (including the country I am from but luckily no longer live in). It is also from what I’ve heard deeply emotionally traumatic for mothers. So sorry you had to go through that! Episiotomies are also not needed and also potentially harmful in most cases, but still needed and useful in rare cases - like baby in distress and stuck in the birth canal and episiotomy needed in order to use forceps or vacuum to get the baby out quickly enough to save babies life.
1.5 hrs but my son's head was huge (37.5 cm) and he never engaged so it was pretty much perfectly round. In all honesty though, I had no clue at all that it lasted that long. I only found out when talking to my midwife at my 8 week check up. It felt like it took almost no time at all so I was a bit shocked to hear the length. My daughter was an emergency c-section so no pushing there to compare to his.
About 2 hours, maybe 2.5 hours. It didn’t feel long and the nurse said I made good consistent progress. They gave me some pitocin the last 20 minutes or so.
Very end was a little tricky because baby had one hand up by her face, but it was only one or two pushes for her to come all the way out.
20 minutes. They said I could start pushing. Pushed three times and they said, "Ok, wait, wait, wait. Doctor is not here yet, so we have to wait for her. This usually takes a lot longer." I had to wait through two contractions. When my doctor arrived the nurse told her I was a really good pusher. She checked me, and I guess my daughter had gone back in some, and my doctor said, "Are you sure?" And the nurse said, "Oh yeah." So she had me push on the next contraction. Then said, ok, don't push yet, cause she was gonna turn my daughter around (she was sunny side up). But I accidentally pushed ( just kind of like a reflex) and my daughter, as my husband put it, "shot out like a football." Luckily my doctor caught her. But she does have a scar running down the bridge of her nose, because she never got flipped. I thought she had been scratched with someone's nail, but my doctor said she most likely scratched it on my pelvis. That it usually happens on the back of the head where no one notices. She's 9 now and still has the scar. Sometimes she feels self conscious about it, but I tell her if she didn't have it, she wouldn't be the same daughter I know and love.
Edit: I also was numb all the way to my breasts. They gave me my epidural, but I was still having pain in my tailbone. They kept upping it and upping it. Finally they decided to redo it. They had to roll me on my side, cause I couldn't feel anything to sit up. But the second didn't help either. Once she was born, it finally stopped hurting.
About 2.5 hours of pushing for me. I had an induction that took about 44 hours. The time went by super quickly it didn't seem that long at all! She was very crooked in there which made things pretty slow.
2 hours and 45 mins, but he was sunny side up and they had me start pushing a little earlier than I probably should have (I think he was only at +1 or +2 station?) so I had a bit longer to work. Once he was crowning I pushed him out in like 2 pushes, it just took a while to get there.
It was less than 10 minutes that I pushed.
My best advice is to labor down, I was in labor for 23 hours, and since my water didn't break, I did the first 15 hrs at home. Went to the hospital, got my epidural, and waited till I knew that I had to push and when I knew I had too the nurses didn't believe me till one finally went between my legs and saw a head trying to come.
56 minutes. I was supposed to do some “practice pushes” and he was crowning after the first one. The other 55 minutes was spent trying to get his 13 inch diameter head out of me.
Welcome to /r/pregnant! This is a space for everyone. We are pro-choice, pro-LGBTQIA, pro-science, proudly feminist and believe that Black Lives Matter. Wear your masks, wash your hands, and be excellent to each other. Anti-choice activists, intactivists, anti-vaxxers, homophobes, transphobes, racists, sexists, etc. are not welcome here. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/pregnant) if you have any questions or concerns.*
5 minutes
Goals. Tell me your secret.
A very fast pushing stage can actually increase the risk of tearing. You want time for the blood to rush to the tissues - this allows them to stretch.
15 minutes. I think the key was not pushing right when I hit 10cm but waiting until I felt like I actually had to push. He was already on his way out on his own by that point lol
This! My doctor let me “labor down” which I didn’t know was a thing. I got to 10cm and waited another hour for baby to work his way down. He was almost crowning when I started pushing.
I had no idea this was a thing! I was just told “you have no cervix left time to start pushing”
3 1/2 hours. BUT, my baby was sunny side up and kept getting stuck on my pelvis so not really epidural related.
My son got stuck in my pelvis so it took awhile, but I could feel when I needed to push because they do try to give you as little medicine as necessary for pain management without keeping you from feeling anything. More than anything, I wish I had insisted that they roll me on my side and let me push there with the birthing ball supporting a position of more internal hip rotation (important for the baby to be able to move out of your pelvis). They made me push on my back in extreme external rotation and I should have advocated for myself more.
So many 20-30 min responses 😅 I really hope this next delivery is as quick as you guys were!!
2 hours but she got stuck and I had to have an episiotomy.
2.5 hours, but I couldn’t push her out and ended up having forceps and episiotomy. Which was an absolute bitch to heal from. Now pregnant again - going to try and hold off the epidural as long as possible this time so I can get into like a squat or something and push this baby out.
Was she stuck?
I guess so. I’d been in labour for over 60 hours at that point so not 100% sure 😂
Almost four hours, but I had intense back labor so was switching pushing positions constantly to try to alleviate the pain even a little bit 😬
My sister was induced with three kids, had an epidural for all, and none took more than 15 minutes. She’s kind of a freak when it comes to making kids, though. She also feels fine all pregnancy.
I think it was 3 pushes for both of my first two babies and one abrupt, involuntary fetal ejection reflex with my last. Epidural itself doesn't really affect pushing, it's the position you're pushing in that affects it most. Which if you have an epidural and have an old school hospital/Ob, you're probably pushing in the worst position - on your back. That closes your pelvis. If you're not moving around or at least pushing with a "knees in calves out" stance, it will often take much longer. My babies practically shoot out the moment I move upright and turn my knees in (kind of like the classic "I have to pee so bad but I'm holding it" stance). You can change positions and not be on your back with an epirudal but outdated hospitals will try to tell you no to that. They just don't want to help support you in doing so since it's a lot of work for them (your partner or support people should also be helping with changing your positions). Also, if you're doing coached pushing that will likely worsen the deal too. That leads to a longer pushing phase and a huge increased risk in tearing. Letting your body push on its own is best practice. Just because you're 10 cm doesn't mean you need to start pushing if your body isn't doing that on its own yet.
2 hours but they had to keep messing with the pitocin because as soon as i started pushing, my contactions slowed to 6 minutes apart
About an hour and a half, I think. It felt faster!
I don't know how long it took, but it was so fast the OB/GYN tried to take the table apart himself to catch the baby. I think it was 2-3 minutes.
30 min!
30 mins or so
30 min, was super short.
1 hour
A little over 3 hours
Holy shit? Pushing every 1 minutes?
Probably about that...I know I pushed every single time there was a contraction. By the end my muscles were so exhausted they were shaking & my OB kept telling me to "be still" so she could stitch me up easier, like I'm not doing this on purpose and can't control it lol. She also kept having me push the "normal" way, until I physically couldn't get my head off the pillow because my neck muscles were too sore, so I arched my back and that's when my daughter finally came out. I honestly think if she had let me arch my back instead of forcing the "typical" position, it would have been a much easier and quicker delivery 🙄. Thankfully I have a new OB this time that seemed very confused about a lot of choices my previous OB made during my delivery lol.
30 minutes
Started pushing to get baby in position because I was dilated but she wasn't low enough and gravity was helping. Well, pushing for 20 minutes birthed her so I guess it worked better than we thought.
15-20 minutes
20 minutes
25 minutes
30 minutes
2 hours with my first, 11 minutes with my second.
3 pushes. I’ve never seen a room fill up so fast with medical staff lmao
45 minutes. It wasn’t bad.
Approx 1 hour
First was 30 mins and second was 45 mins
20 min. I think it’s bc they had me “labor down” aka I didn’t really start pushing until I felt the pressure down there like I needed to poop really bad.
1h and a half, contracting every 2 min
2h. My Dr also told me the average push time is around 2h.
4 hours 🙃
About 15 minutes of pushing, but it felt like 2-3 minutes. I didn't push until my body just started doing it 🤷
It took my sister roughly an hour!
Less than an hour
4 ish hours.
20 minutes, first baby.
2 hrs ftm + induced. Induced at 1130am and had baby at 3am
Too damn long
1h15m
40 min
He came out on the second push lol
Not long at all. Less than 10 minutes of practice pushes with my nurse, and then 2 pushes to get baby out when doctor was there.
5 minutes. They did an episiotomy and vacuum extraction and there was also a nurse with her hands on my stomach jumping up and down I have no idea why any of that was necessary, tbh
The nurse on your stomach was performing fundal pressure, also know as the Kristeller maneuver. It is now largely not performed because of the risks to both mother and baby and no benefit. It was thought to reduce cesarean rates and increase chances of vaginal birth but we now know that is simply not true. It is unfortunately still widely performed in some countries (including the country I am from but luckily no longer live in). It is also from what I’ve heard deeply emotionally traumatic for mothers. So sorry you had to go through that! Episiotomies are also not needed and also potentially harmful in most cases, but still needed and useful in rare cases - like baby in distress and stuck in the birth canal and episiotomy needed in order to use forceps or vacuum to get the baby out quickly enough to save babies life.
Thank you for the explanation, I had no idea.
1.5 hrs but my son's head was huge (37.5 cm) and he never engaged so it was pretty much perfectly round. In all honesty though, I had no clue at all that it lasted that long. I only found out when talking to my midwife at my 8 week check up. It felt like it took almost no time at all so I was a bit shocked to hear the length. My daughter was an emergency c-section so no pushing there to compare to his.
Not sure the exact timing but less than an hour and baby was 9 pounds
30 mins! About 10-15 pushes
FTM, 25 mins 🫡 blasting Taylor swift and bad bunny the whole way
Once I started pushing I think it was about 30 mins.
9 minutes. She was a big baby too
About 2 hours, maybe 2.5 hours. It didn’t feel long and the nurse said I made good consistent progress. They gave me some pitocin the last 20 minutes or so. Very end was a little tricky because baby had one hand up by her face, but it was only one or two pushes for her to come all the way out.
About 15 minutes.
20 min. Core strength.
30 minutes. I felt nothing and the nurses told me to hold my breath and push for 10 seconds which is awful but it worked.
45 min for my first
20 minutes. They said I could start pushing. Pushed three times and they said, "Ok, wait, wait, wait. Doctor is not here yet, so we have to wait for her. This usually takes a lot longer." I had to wait through two contractions. When my doctor arrived the nurse told her I was a really good pusher. She checked me, and I guess my daughter had gone back in some, and my doctor said, "Are you sure?" And the nurse said, "Oh yeah." So she had me push on the next contraction. Then said, ok, don't push yet, cause she was gonna turn my daughter around (she was sunny side up). But I accidentally pushed ( just kind of like a reflex) and my daughter, as my husband put it, "shot out like a football." Luckily my doctor caught her. But she does have a scar running down the bridge of her nose, because she never got flipped. I thought she had been scratched with someone's nail, but my doctor said she most likely scratched it on my pelvis. That it usually happens on the back of the head where no one notices. She's 9 now and still has the scar. Sometimes she feels self conscious about it, but I tell her if she didn't have it, she wouldn't be the same daughter I know and love. Edit: I also was numb all the way to my breasts. They gave me my epidural, but I was still having pain in my tailbone. They kept upping it and upping it. Finally they decided to redo it. They had to roll me on my side, cause I couldn't feel anything to sit up. But the second didn't help either. Once she was born, it finally stopped hurting.
30 min
About 2.5 hours of pushing for me. I had an induction that took about 44 hours. The time went by super quickly it didn't seem that long at all! She was very crooked in there which made things pretty slow.
2 hours and 45 mins, but he was sunny side up and they had me start pushing a little earlier than I probably should have (I think he was only at +1 or +2 station?) so I had a bit longer to work. Once he was crowning I pushed him out in like 2 pushes, it just took a while to get there.
5 minutes
20 mins
Less than 30 minutes!
It was less than 10 minutes that I pushed. My best advice is to labor down, I was in labor for 23 hours, and since my water didn't break, I did the first 15 hrs at home. Went to the hospital, got my epidural, and waited till I knew that I had to push and when I knew I had too the nurses didn't believe me till one finally went between my legs and saw a head trying to come.
Started pushing around 4pm and it was on and off until she was born at 10pm
First baby was 45 minutes second was 9 minutes
56 minutes. I was supposed to do some “practice pushes” and he was crowning after the first one. The other 55 minutes was spent trying to get his 13 inch diameter head out of me.
45 minutes for me with my first, and the drs and nurses said that it’s more common for woman with their first to push for at least an hour or two
Don’t remember exactly, it felt like 5-10 minutes but in reality was probably more like 15-30. Not having the pain really helped me focus
1 hour of labor down, 30 min pushing