How to Push

My mother-in-law has a really impressive skill. She can whistle so loud, it can be heard above a cheering crowd at a wrestling tournament. (Just ask my husband; he was a wrestler.) But if you ask her how to do it, she can’t tell you. She knows how to do it because she figured it out by chance. As a kid, she just kept trying until it worked. Pushing a baby out during delivery is similar. You don’t really know how to push when you’re a first time mom, and you don’t know whether you’re doing it right until the … Continue reading

The Second Stage of Labor

The second stage of labor is the most exciting part of having a baby. That is probably the reason it is the most portrayed stage of labor on TV. We all have the image of the woman in her hospital gown, hunched over in a pool of sweat and screaming at her husband for getting her in this situation. Ironically, the pushing stage brings relief to the woman who just experienced the most intense pain during the final hours of the first stage of labor. Those last few centimeters are the worst! The second stage of labor is less painful, … Continue reading