01/26/2022
“You don’t need to push your baby out 😮
SAY WHAAAT?! 🤯
In a uncomplicated, physiological and unmediated birth, when it comes time for your baby to descend down the birth canal your body will start to involuntarily push your baby out using a reflex called the Fetal Ejection Reflex.
The best way I’ve heard it described is “It’s like the feeling that you get in your tummy when you are throwing up except it’s pushing down instead of up.”
Often when a Mama experiences the FER she has an urge to actively push with it. That’s great! If your body is telling you to do it, go for it! But when we push before we feel the FER we may be pushing before our body and our baby is ready.
Benefits to waiting as long as you can before actively pushing include:
🐞 more blood and hormones to the perineum and va**na which means..
🐞 skin and tissue in the area is more elastic which means...
🐞 less chance of tearing and
🐞shorter pushing time on average.
Did you experience the FER and push as you felt the urge or did you push when your care provider told you to?”
