12/01/2026
Why the French Method Changes Everything 🇫🇷
A groundbreaking study of 10,565 births in France just proved what midwives and doulas and mums have known forever: WAITING works.
Here’s what they found: ✨ Average pushing: just 8.8 minutes ✨ First-time moms: 14 minutes ✨ Second+ babies: 6 minutes ✨ 99.2% healthy baby outcomes ✨ Only 0.5% severe tearing ✨ Low hemorrhage rates despite the wait
The French approach? It’s STANDARD practice to let women rest at full dilation for up to 3 hours (some studies say even 4 hours is safe!). Midwives wait for the natural urge to push and for baby to drop low on their own. 82% had epidurals, so this works even with pain relief.
Meanwhile in AUS, US and UK, we’re told to push IMMEDIATELY once you hit 10cm - often for 2+ HOURS of exhausting coached pushing.
Research shows the damage we blame on “long second stage” (tearing, hemorrhage, pelvic floor trauma, exhaustion) is actually from TOO MUCH ACTIVE PUSHING, not from waiting.
The French study was also 3 short, intense pushes with each contraction vs. the purple-faced 10-second breath holds. Even NICE (UK medical guidelines) now recommends delayed pushing for women with epidurals because it REDUCES forceps/vacuum rates with zero harm to babies.
The science is clear: Let your body do the work passively = way less active pushing + better outcomes for you AND baby.
Your body knows what it’s doing. Trust the process. 💪
Have you experienced coached vs physiological pushing? Drop your story below! 👇
Study- Active second-stage duration under 15 minutes in spontaneous vaginal deliveries with delayed pushing, Montfort, Eléa et al. American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology
