HOLD ON, DON'T PUSH! A Story of Natural Childbirth

Imagine you’re in labor. You’ve been at it for 10 hours, and finally, you reach 10 cm dilation. You’re ready. You feel the baby descending, your body surging with the instinct to push. But then, a nurse says, “Hold on, don’t push yet. We have to wait for the doctor.” How do you hold back when every fiber of your being is telling you to push?

Now, imagine the opposite. You’re at 10 cm, so the doctors say, “It’s time to push.” You start, again and again, yet nothing happens. Three hours later, you’re still at it, exhausted and wondering why your body isn’t responding.

Both of these scenarios are common, and both highlight a fundamental problem in modern childbirth: women are often told what to do rather than being empowered to listen to their own bodies.

Gretchen knows this all too well. Seventeen years ago, pregnant with her first child, she labored at home as long as possible, aiming for a natural birth. When she arrived at the hospital at 9 cm dilated, she was immediately told to push. She tried every position—on all fours, hanging from a birth bar, bending over the bed, laboring in water—but nothing worked. She never asked for an epidural or Pitocin, believing her body knew best. Yet, after three hours of pushing, doctors told her they needed to intervene due to high levels of meconium. Facing the choice between forceps, vacuum extraction, or a cesarean, she and her husband opted for surgery, hoping it would be the least traumatic for the baby. Her dream of a natural birth was gone.

What she learned that day was profound: she wasn’t actually ready to push, yet she did because the doctors told her she was. It’s like being told to go to the bathroom on command—it doesn’t work that way. Just as our body knows when it’s time to relieve itself, a woman’s body knows when it’s time to push. But in a medicalized birth setting, this innate wisdom is often overridden.

Determined to have a different experience, Gretchen planned a home birth for her second child—a vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC). This time, her midwife let her push when she felt ready. Instead of anxiously forcing the process, she labored in water and allowed contractions to do the work. When the urge to push finally came, it took just minutes for her 9 lb. 2 oz. baby boy to be born. The experience was healing and empowering.

Two years later, pregnant with twins, Gretchen once again chose a home birth. One baby was likely breech, but she wasn’t afraid—she knew birth wasn’t a one-size-fits-all process. When labor started at 39 weeks, she labored for an hour before delivering her first daughter into her husband’s arms. The birth team arrived shortly after, giving her space to rest and recover before her second daughter arrived—footling breech—an hour and a half later. There was no rush, no pressure, just trust in the process.

With each birth, Gretchen became more empowered. She learned that listening to her intuition—not hospital protocol—was the key to a positive birth experience.

This is a lesson far beyond childbirth. So many of us override our instincts because we’ve been conditioned to trust external authority more than our inner knowing. But our gut instinct is powerful. When we feel one thing and are told another, we should stop and listen. Does your intuition ever really lead you astray?

Whether in birth, breastfeeding, or personal health decisions, we need to reclaim our autonomy for a natural childbirth. We need to trust our bodies, our instincts, and our own deep wisdom. Because when we do, we step into our power. And that changes everything.

To schedule an appointment for prenatal or postpartrum chiropractic, text (424) 413-3734