The other day, a question was presented in one of the doula groups I am a part of that asked how we can best help a mom while she pushes. I couldn’t help myself, my answer came tumbling out of me. You see, pushing is actually one of my favorite stages of birth to serve in and witness as a doula and a midwife’s assistant.
Perhaps it’s connected to the excitement a mom feels when she knows that she’s complete, and that the work of dilating is over with, and soon she’ll have her baby in her arms (Although, we know that pushing is lots of work, too!).
Or maybe it’s how you can sense the absolute pure strength of a woman as she pushes her baby out of her body – it fills up the space around you and requires you to stand back and give praise.
And then of course, there’s that long-awaited and anticipated arrival, when life inside the womb finally meets life outside the womb, that moment is simply overwhelming and beautiful, every single time; there’s never a time in life that is so perfectly filled with equal amounts of relief and joy.
Question (completely paraphrased):
During pushing phases at hospital births, I feel a little lost. What should a doula do to help a mom? It seems everyone in the room is yelling at the mother to push, and how to push – I don’t want to add to that confusion. What can I do to best help mom and how can I prevent others from yelling at her while she’s pushing?
The Joy of This 