Poos and Babies



Did you know the same reflexes are working when we are giving birth and when we are having a poo? THE SAME!

And if you think about it a little it actually makes sense.....it is no surprise that a lot of babies are born in the bathroom...some actually right there down the loo bowl bless them! When we need to poo we go to a place where we are unobserved and safe. What happens when your kid starts banging on the door because they have spent 30 seconds without you and cannot cope any longer? Well things don't flow the way they should right? And worse still what would happen if an absolute stranger walked in and started watching you trying to do a shit? And even worse still,  started prodding around down there?

Why does my three year old know what the majority in our maternity system don't?

In our household we have recently being trying to crack the old toilet training and I was feeling chuffed that my youngest son, Eli was getting dryer by the day and having fewer wet accidents. Poos however...a totally different ball game! He would not do a poo in the toilet or in the potty. He would sit there and try but no "poo went to poo land". He kept going in his pants and no matter how much you adore being a mum, when you're faced with scraping shit out of a pair of pants, that's when motherhood is, well, shit.

Now, knowing all I do about birth it did not click. I was standing with him in the bathroom while he was trying to go. It took my wise boy to look up to me with his tiny face and say to me "Mummy go away. You will scare my poo away!". Now, I know we don't like to think of cute little babies as poos but you sure can scare a baby away too! At least, that is, scare the body into preventing the baby from descending. And with a baby, because the stakes are a hell of a lot higher than with a poo, and everything in you is working at keeping that baby safe, you are way more sensitive to outside stimuli than when you are having a poop. When I say 'scare' I'm not talking about all-over-shaking-white-knuckles-heart-pounding fear, although that is bound to do it! It can be the slightest thing: a light being switched on, an unfamiliar smell, a stranger entering the birthing room and yes, an unfamiliar environment.

For a lot of women being in hospital to give birth is the safest place to be but our birthing brain is ANCIENT. It does not know what the hell a hospital is! Our birthing brains instinctively respond to the small things as well as the big and can easily trigger a release of adrenaline to slow down or halt the process of labour because your birthing brain deems it unsafe for your baby to be born.

Poos and Babies. Who would have thought?!

Emma Culley-Morgan
Positive Birth Educator and founder of Awesome Mama Antenatal
AwesomeMama.co.uk
Awesome Mama Facebook

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Birth and the Horror Monster

Image
So I'm sure most of you have seen some Pregnant Comedies in your time. Most come out of Hollywood and follow similar paradigms such as a focus on the ( usually) boyfriend's unpreparedness for a baby, or rather what a baby symbolises about their life. The birth scene usually begins with mum's waters EXPLODING in a shopping mall or somewhere similar and an immediate rush to hospital as contractions are instantly unbearable. But has it ever occured to you how similar these birth scenes are to horror genre films? Think of how the birthing woman looks and sounds.....Red face, sweaty, angry expression, shouting at boyfriend and/or doctors and nurses. SHE IS OUT OF CONTROL. UNPREDICTABLE. SCARY. A MONSTER. In the horror genre it is often the case that for a female character to become powerful she must become a monster. You cant just be a woman and have power, oh no no no! You have to be craaaaaazzzzzy! Or  masculine. Sometimes both. Of course the comedy ( apparently, alth
Read more

Say NO to Bullshit.

Image
                ( This is you deflecting bullshit) For all new mothers and mums to be..... My message to you.... Say NO to the ridiculous expectations of society... Say NO to 'getting your flat tummy back' because that's what the media tells us we should do. Say NO to the worry of a messy house...just CHOOSE not to worry. Say NO to the thousands and thousands of opinions from others about how you should raise YOUR baby because people are seeking to validate their own views and choices ( it's their shit, not yours). Say NO to the neighbour who you've spoken to ONCE before about the bins but who now wants to visit the baby and stay for hours! Actually, say NO to visitors period if that's what you want. Say NO to being the "perfect" mother because THAT SHIT JUST DON'T EXIST. Say NO to putting on makeup if you just don't feel like it today. Or any day. Say NO to trying to prove to the world that you are 'loving every moment'
Read more

Stand up for Women and babies!

Image
Did you know that if you are laying on your back your pelvis is up to 30% smaller in diametre than when you are upright? 30%....almost a third...that is a hell of a lot! How do they know this? Well there actually is evidence to support this. Research where x-ray scans were taken of women birthing upright and laying down and the pictures were measured. I always feel so incredibly grateful to all of these awesome women who have consented to being part of these studies for the benefit of all of us. Let us take heed of this message. I'll say it again...30%!!. Not only is your pelvis smaller, but laying flat on your back makes the line of your vagina angle upwards. A baby trying to get through a tight space....tavelling UP HILL! No bloody wonder so many women need help in the way of medical intervention when this is the position being promoted in many hospitals. And do not be fooled into thinking this is how it's always been done. It isn't. In fact there is a lot of evid
Read more