Push when you have the urge. You do when you have bowel movements, correct? You only push when your body is ready and it feels like the right time to push, right? I’m guessing if you regularly go number two in the morning that you don’t wake up an hour before to start pushing the bowel movement out. I’m going to go out on a limb to say that you probably don’t even push when someone else tells you to. How weird would that be if the woman in the stall next to you were yelling at you to push while she counted to ten?
So, why the hell do women listen to other people yelling at them to push during labor and delivery? Look at majority of the Hollywood films. There are all sorts of yelling at the mom in labor, and our society thinks this is how you are supposed to have a baby.
When a woman is fully dilated, then she is said to be in the second stage of labor. This is often referred to as the Pushing Stage. However, there are two phases to the second stage of labor: the initial latent stage and the active pushing stage. A woman can be fully dilated and not feel the urge right away. A woman that has an epidural has been shown to have no urges to push for almost two hours later. When the baby is low enough, women who have not have an epidural typically have an overwhelming urge to push or significant rectal pressure. Women who have an epidural can still experience that sensation but a much lesser degree.
The most intense time of labor for the fetus is during the push phasing. It would make sense to me that when pushing is delayed until the woman’s body absolutely says it’s time to go, then that would cause less fetal distress. The current research, but often not talked about research, states that the woman should do whatever comes natural in regards to pushing.
My suggestion is this: rest during the initial latent phase and push when you feel absolutely ready to push. Listen to your body. Your body innately knows what to do.