You no longer have to delay early pushing during labor, says new study

Cahill explains the popular belief was that early pushing (defined as pushing during the second stage of labor) increases the likelihood the mom will require a Cesarean birth. However, the study of 2,400 first-time mothers found there was no difference in eventual C-section rates between women who pushed early or waited an hour . The women who did push early, however, were 40% less likely to experience significant bleeding and 30% less likely to develop an infection. While they did actively push for an average of nine minutes longer than the group that delayed pushing, their overall labor time was reduced by an average 32 minutes. In addition to having comparable C-section rates to women who delayed pushing, there was no increase in the prevalence of forceps or a vacuum to deliver the babies of women who pushed early. Before now, it “wasn’t clear that [early pushing] was safe for mother or baby,”says Dr. Dana Gossett, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of California, San Francisco, and co-author of an editorial that accompanies the JAMA report. Now, for the first time, this study shows that early pushing is not only safe—but it’s even beneficial.