I used to wonder if this was a reason why some mothers died more commonly thousands of years ago. But then it just didn’t make sense to dwell on.
However, I’ll bet it’s something that has crossed your mind. What can you do to make sure you do NOT get your baby stuck in the birth canal?
Causes Of Baby Stuck In The Birth Canal
There are a myriad of reasons why your baby may seem to stop coming down your vagina during your delivery. These include:
- improper positioning
- shoulder dystocia
- malformed pelvic opening
- stalled labor
Some of these cannot be prevented fully. But there is one single thing that will make your body work to the best of its ability. You want to get your baby moving down and out the best way possible.
Items Needed For Helping Baby Through The Birthing Canal
- A birthing ball is your best friend.
- Keeping calm with relaxing spa music.
- Wearing comfortable shoes for plenty of walking.
- Using a peanut ball if you have to be in bed.
Best Prevention Tools
THE best thing to bring your baby down the easiest way is by moving around while upright. This could be:
- rocking in a chair
- bouncing or swaying on a birthing ball
- walking
- dancing
- constantly swaying your hips
- rocking on all fours in a squatting position
In addition to keeping your labor progressing the best way possible, doing so also helps that baby come out the easiest. Let me give you an analogy.
Related: 6 Positions For Labor You’re Not Thinking About
How This Works
Say you have a ring on your finger and it’s on pretty tight. You know that you can get it off of your finger, it will just take some effort.
So you pull and wiggle and twist that ring while shifting your finger and knuckle joint around in order to get it off. You may even lotion of your hands to help it slip off easier.
Would your ring have come off as easy without you trying to wriggle and move it around? It’s possible, but highly unlikely.
Same goes for your little one. Except in this case, the shape of your baby and their exit path are much more variable in shape than a simple circular ring. But the concept still applies.
Related: Just Three Stages – Childbirth Simplified
The Quickest Way To Complication
Ever wonder why it’s so hard to birth a baby while on your back? That tunnel through your vagina does down and forward. When you’re laying down or sitting back really far, your lack of movement and the simple fact of gravity are working against your body’s efforts of pushing that baby out.
Imagine trying to climb upward on a slide at the playground. It’s a heck of a lot easier to just be able to slide downward. Same this for your baby.
When I had my first baby I was sitting back in the traditional delivery position. I wasn’t as smart as I am now. And my baby quit moving through after about an hour of pushing.
He got STUCK.
So we ended up using vacuum extraction to assist. But we likely would never have needed it if I simply got up and did exactly what I’ve just outlined. I learned my lesson. I don’t want you to have to learn it too.
Related: What Everybody Ought To Know About Vacuum Extraction For Birth
Steps To Take
After hours of effort, it’s terrible to be told that your baby has become stressed while sitting in your vagina far too long—thus leading to a cesarean.
You can prevent that! Just be sure to do the following.
1. Strengthen Your Squat
You can learn how to do goblet squats in the strengthening exercises post. These do so much more than strengthen your pelvic floor.
You’ll be able to have ALL your muscles that support you uprightly strong and ready for action in the moment of need.
Related: The Best Pregnancy Exercises To Keep You Strong
2. Walk As Long As Possible
In the earlier stages of labor and for as long as you can, be moving around on your feet or dancing to music of you prefer.
Even if you go crazy doing circles around your kitchen or the delivery floor, DO IT! If you need to rest, sit on a birthing ball or rocking chair.
Related: Peak Of Pregnancy Labor Stages To Know
3. Sway When Bearing Down
Once your baby has started to descend and is traveling through your vagina, keep moving if you can. Even if it’s just a tiny sway from side to side while you’re squatting or leaning over the edge of something, it will make a difference.
4. Open Your Lower Pelvic Bones
Your pelvis isn’t a solid structure. It’s actually hinged and can bend back and forth depending on how you’re moving your legs. Squatting the right way can actually open your pelvic bones and vaginal tissues up to 1cm more than simply standing.
- Squat with your feed wide – This opens up the lower end, allowing more space for the baby’s head.
- Squeeze your upper hip bones together – If squatting is too difficult to do, you can have your husband or birthing assistants press your hip bones together. while you’re on all fours.
If you’re needing to sit up or lay in bed, hug a peanut ball with your legs wrapped around in order to hold the proper open positioning.
Related: Why So-Called “Birthing Hips” Don’t Matter
5. Breathe Your Baby Out
Sometimes when you push too hard, the constricting of your abdominal muscles too much around your baby can hold them stationary without you meaning too.
Focus on breathing your baby out until you absolutely can’t NOT push anymore.
Related: Breathing Baby Out Instead of Pushing – Five Easy Steps
Your uterus is completely capable of birthing your baby on its own.
Many mothers often are overcome with the intense feelings and pressures of the baby’s descent. They they get overwhelmed and try to push much more than is necessary.
This can lead to undesirable effects. But learning how to calmly control how you respond to such sensations will make a world of difference for your birth. Your uterus is completely capable of birthing your baby by itself, mostly without your help.
>> Get Ready For Your Birth With The Confidence Birthing Course <<
Just follow these steps on top of keeping your mind calm, and you’ll do just fine. 🙂
Did your baby get stuck?
MORE RESOURCES
- Natural Birth Essentials
- Natural Pregnancy Essentials
- 5 Reasons Why Babies Get Stuck During Labor, by BellyBelly
- How To Relax During Chidlbirth: 3 Simple Ways To Ease Tension & Enhance Joy
Hi Sarah, I read your article and it is well written and has a lot of information in it. I would have felt a lot more comfortable with your subject if you were a trained midwife. Having a baby is natural and in a perfect situation nothing will go wrong. The problem I have with your post is that this is far from a perfect world. Not so many years ago most births were home births and man mothers and babies died. I believe the drop in the incidence of this happening is because women go to a hospital where people are trained to recognize difficulties and they have equipment to there fulminate most of the risks. If I had had my first baby at home I would have died just as my great grandfathers first wife did.
Hi Margaret. Choosing where to give birth is a very personal decision and I personally birth in a hospital myself just for my own peace of mind. I’m not experienced in the times of you or your grandmother’s. But I do know that now, the risks with birthing at home versus in the hospital are essentially the same. You can read a lot more on that in my post on Home Birth Safety . But I do completely support having midwives in home birth settings; they are excellent caregivers. Thanks for your comment! I always enjoy learning about other perspectives from mothers who have gone before.
You are misinformed about home birth and hospital birth Margaret. It is actually riskier to give birth in a hospital. Please educate yourself about hospital birth and home birth and the history of birthing from reputable sources such as Ina May Gaskin, http://www.evidencebasedbirth.com, http://www.vbacfacts.com, and of course, trusty medical journals. A well informed midwife would tell you the same thing. Spreading misinformation only perpetuates the myth that hospitals are the safest place for birthing women.
Thank you for sharing these resources, Caitlin. No matter what your decision, it’s wise for all mothers to be educate about their options.
Hello,
First and for all, I want to congratulate you with your website, because it looks great!
Second of all, I want to congratulate you with doing a whole natural birth. I wanted to try it for myself, but after 7 hours I gave up and asked for an epidural.
Maybe when I had read a site like this and a post like this, I would have made it to the end! 😉
Have a nice evening!
Rian
Thanks, Rian. Do you just have the one child? Never feel like your decisions have been in vain.
If you have any other littles coming along in the future, I am here to help. Best!
When you say improper positioning, you mean the baby is not positioned properly or the mother herself? Just for the sake of clarification.
Thanks for posting up some useful tips. It looks like the mother should gently move frequently side to side and relax during labor.
I admire the way you relate the baby and the ring. Literally, they both are precious especially to mothers. Well said, Sarah!
Hi Tar. Positioning is mainly meant for the mother. Of course, the baby’s position matters a great deal too. But the positioning that the mother is taking affects the baby’s. If you have a Posterior Baby that’s flipped front to back, or a Breech Baby that’s not even head down, then you’ve got greater concerns for exactly how the mother is moving and positioning her body in order to bring that little one down properly. Great question!
I thoroughly enjoyed reading your article. My oldest daughter gave birth, naturally, to two kids.
I was able to be there for both her births, and there is nothing like it in the world!
I couldn’t agree more with you, preparing yourself for birth is of utmost importance. The squats you mentioned is what she did most, and it definitely helped!
That’s wonderful to hear! Squatting makes such a HUGE difference which is why I always recommend mommies to develop strong squatting muscles through exercising. Congratulations on your grandkids!
Hi This is a very interesting article. I think a lot of women would like to know this information before giving birth. It is pretty scary having to face birth and I am sure a lot of mothers fear the baby getting stuck. My son was breach so I didn’t even get that far in the labor but I know I was very scared thinking about the whole delivery process. Your tips could definitely help a woman to feel better and take control of the situation by practicing your tips. I liked your whole website by the way- great job!
Hi Jenette. Fear can drive everything to failure when it comes to birth. If a mother has any sort of anxiety about her birth she needs to overcome her fears and incorporate truths into her beliefs.
Breech babies are difficult too. Sometimes even after all we do, those little ones just won’t turn, but you can definitely work on convincing them otherwise.
Thanks for your comment and please feel free to share! Thanks.