Having a BM at Delivery with Liesel Teen from Mommy Labor Nurse — Episode 162

What happens if you poop at delivery? Today I’m talking with a fellow labor nurse about what WE think, why it happens and what we do if/when it does!

Liesel Teen, BSN, RN is a labor and delivery nurse and the founder of Mommy Labor Nurse. Mommy Labor Nurse provides online birth classes and other resources that give pregnant women the tools and confidence they need to erase the unknown and have an even better birth – no matter how they deliver.

● Instagram @mommy.labornurse to a community of over 450k https://www.instagram.com/mommy.labornurse/
● The Mommy Labor Nurse Podcast which receives over 70k monthly downloads https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mommy-labor-nurse/id1481120045
● The Mommy Labor Nurse Blog read by an average of 150k users every month https://mommylabornurse.com/blog/
● Her weekly newsletter that reaches over 40k email subscribers

Big thanks to our sponsor The Online Prenatal Class for Couples — if you’re looking to simplify birth it’s the class for you!

This episode was inspired by my post on avoiding pooping at delivery.

In this episode

Why you might poop at delivery

What the nurse does if you poop at delivery

What happens when you push

Other things that might interest you

How long does it take to push a baby out?

Labor fears episode

Signs you’re going into labor

Producer: Drew Erickson

Check out my other pregnancy podcasts:

Transcript

[00:00:00.130] – Hilary Erickson

Hey, guys. Welcome to the Pulling Curls Podcast. Today on episode 162, I am answering a question I get a lot–pooping at delivery. Let’s untangle it.

[00:00:19.770] – Hilary Erickson

Hi. I’m Hilary Erickson, the curly head behind the Pulling Curls Podcast: pregnancy and parenting untangled. There’s no right answer for every family, but on this show, we hope to give you some ideas to make life simpler at your house. Life tangled. Just like my hair.

[00:00:40.810] – Hilary Erickson

Today’s guest is probably familiar to a lot of you. She is over on Instagram at Mommy Labor Nurse. She has a birth course. She’s just amazing. Really simplifies birth and makes it fun. I want to introduce today’s guest Leisel Teen.

[00:00:56.270] – Hilary Erickson

Do you feel prepared for your delivery? In just three short hours, you can be prepared for the confident, collaborative delivery you want. You’ll know what to expect and how to talk with your health care team. And there are no boring lessons in this class. I’ll use humor stories from my 20 years in the delivery room to engage both of you. I love how Alyssa told me that she found herself laughing at things that used to sound scary. Most of all, you guys are going to be on the same page. From bump to bassinet, join the online prenatal class for couples today. You can save 15% with coupon code UNTANGLED. You can find the link in the show notes.

[00:01:30.990] – Hilary Erickson

Hey, Leisel. Welcome to the Pulling curls Podcast.

[00:01:33.670] – Leisel Teen

Thank you, Hilary. Thank you so much for having me.

[00:01:36.290] – Hilary Erickson

Such a great topic.

[00:01:38.700] – Leisel Teen

Yes. What are we talking about today, Hilary?

[00:01:41.330] – Hilary Erickson

Poop. Poop. Which honestly, I started my career in pediatric. You did too, right?

[00:01:47.680] – Leisel Teen

Well, it’s funny. Not a lot of people know this, but I was in LPN before I became an RN. And I did work I did work at a pediatric office for about a year while I was finishing my RN. I got my associate’s degree RN. And then I worked in the ER for about a year. And then I transferred to labor delivery, and I’ve been there for about eight years or so.

[00:02:10.090] – Hilary Erickson

That’s so funny. I worked pediatrics in a pediatrician office also. Yeah, I mean, I talked about poop with moms all day on the poop.

[00:02:17.830] – Leisel Teen

Yeah, it was fun times.

[00:02:20.040] – Hilary Erickson

And then I worked Geriatric.

[00:02:21.780] – Leisel Teen

Oh, really?

[00:02:22.370] – Hilary Erickson

And boy, oh, boy. Do you talk about poop a lot with those people?

[00:02:24.920] – Leisel Teen

Oh, there’s a lot of yeah. It’s funny because, like, moms and the elderly are some of the few communities who are like, those are the communities that are most obsessed with poop. For sure.

[00:02:37.300] – Hilary Erickson

I would actually give the vote to the old people because they had like first you need to heat up the prune juice in the microwave for 45 seconds. So, like, not a minute 45. 2nd. Wow. Then you need to add the milk of mac. Then you’re going to stir it six times, not ten times.

[00:02:56.970] – Leisel Teen

And I’d be like, hey, you know what? If I don’t have a job and I just want my body to be working good, I probably would be all obsessed with my bowel movements as well.

[00:03:08.270] – Hilary Erickson

I know well, and they’re in a nurse I was nursing home. So that’s literally all they had to focus on. This intro is really here to let you understand that nurses like, my first day in the hospital and nursing school just poop everywhere. And I just thought, is this really what I want to do? And then I was like, yeah, okay, yeah, I’ll do this.

[00:03:29.210] – Leisel Teen

Yeah, I have a story. I promise. We’re going to start talking about, like, poop regarding pregnancy. But when I was in LPN school and I was doing my clinical nursing school and yeah, there was this lady that we were like just cleaning up and she had a turd, like on the side of her bed rail that was like cold and had probably been there forever and we’re like turning her and I’m like, is that poop? And the other girl was like, oh, my God, how long has that been there? And we’re both like, where are we?

[00:04:02.970] – Hilary Erickson

Oh, God. There’s poop everywhere. Yeah, it really is. So as a nurse, all nurses go through training where poop is like all the things. In fact, there’s a thing called colostomy where you poop in a bag. And that was like what I did when I was pregnant with my first I had a patient that had that and literally I would rather do that than to suction the trait patient that I had down the hall 100%.

[00:04:25.540] – Leisel Teen

I agree with you there, Hillary. I am not a respiratory person. I hat off to all the respiratory therapists. Any of you guys are listening? We love you and we do not want to do your job. And I know you don’t want to do our sizer.

[00:04:39.510] – Hilary Erickson

Yeah, so it’s just like we’ve picked which areas were, like, okay with and which areas were not, actually. So I would do the colossal what is it called?

[00:04:50.880] – Leisel Teen

Glossomy bag.

[00:04:52.390] – Hilary Erickson

And then I would go down the hall. I’m like nine months pregnant and I would dry heave every time.

[00:04:59.170] – Leisel Teen

I’m sure.

[00:04:59.990] – Hilary Erickson

So hooping a delivery, does it happen?

[00:05:03.100] – Leisel Teen

It happens quite frequently and we’re just trying to normalize it. I don’t know if there’s any studies that have been done on what’s the percentage of people who poop during while they’re pushing having a vaginal delivery, but I would say it’s probably like somewhere in the 60, 70% of patients, maybe higher. I mean, really what I tell people is the way I normalize it is think about where your vagina is and think about your rectum and think about your baby’s head coming through your vagina and that baby’s head is pushing on your rectum. So, like, anything that’s in that rectum is going to come out. It’s just going to come out.

[00:05:41.880] – Hilary Erickson

Yeah. And you only have big muscles down there. It’s not like or your fingers where you can move your index finger, but not your middle finger. It’s like one big muscle. So you’re pushing. You are pushing and everything that’s south of your belly button is going to come out.

[00:05:54.750] – Leisel Teen

Yes, exactly. And I also like to remind patients, too, that if you’re pooping, it’s usually not that you’re pooping. Like when you think about your pooping, it’s a lot like you’re pooping. Right. It’s usually not that much. Sometimes it is sometimes, but it’s usually just a little bit kind of here and there at the end. And honestly, I know we’re going to get into this, but we like poop.

[00:06:19.960] – Hilary Erickson

I know.

[00:06:21.030] – Leisel Teen

For some good reasons.

[00:06:22.450] – Hilary Erickson

Yeah, because I would have patients be like, Am I pooping? And I’d be like, yes.

[00:06:25.830] – Leisel Teen

And I love it.

[00:06:27.000] – Hilary Erickson

Yes, because I know you’re actually pushing. Because some people just squatch up their face to push.

[00:06:32.650] – Leisel Teen

They use their face muscles. I know. Or they use every other muscle in their body besides the muscles that they’re supposed to be using. Right.

[00:06:39.700] – Hilary Erickson

Because when I show a patient how to push, I squash up my face. Right. I mean, I’m verbalizing where you’re going to push, but there’s no way for Liesl to know that I’m like pushing right now because it just doesn’t show on my body unless you make the pooping face.

[00:06:55.870] – Leisel Teen

No, you’re exactly right. I know. And that’s some tips that I give people, too, is like, okay, I see that you’re pushing in your face. Like, try to relax your face, try to relax your other limbs and just think about pushing where that baby is at. Like, push against that baby.

[00:07:10.230] – Hilary Erickson

Yes. Sometimes I’ll even do the whole horsing.

[00:07:13.840] – Leisel Teen

Yes.

[00:07:14.210] – Hilary Erickson

I’m sure this is great for podcasting where you just relax all those muscles. And also I have seen moms who push just in their face and then they like burst blood vessels in their face.

[00:07:25.310] – Leisel Teen

Oh, yeah. They get pte eye all over.

[00:07:28.040] – Hilary Erickson

Not great for the next day photos.

[00:07:30.320] – Leisel Teen

Yeah, I guess we can edit some stuff, but yeah, it’s just unfortunate. They get blood vessels, like, in their eyes broken.

[00:07:38.480] – Hilary Erickson

Yes. Which is why you got to push in your bottom, right?

[00:07:41.500] – Leisel Teen

Yes.

[00:07:41.940] – Hilary Erickson

So let’s just pretend like I’m pushing and lethal’s. My nurse and I poop. What do you do? Do you just start screaming?

[00:07:48.890] – Leisel Teen

Yes. I’m like you pooped. I can’t believe it. No, usually what I do is first of all, I will read the room if we have had the poop conversation already, and I’ve had some patients where they’re like, Am I pooping? It’s just we’re talking about it and it’s funny and we can just talk about it. I would say the majority of patients are not like that. And the majority of patients, as they start pooping, I don’t even say anything. I just get rid of it. It’s like a clean sweet there’s a pad underneath them. I just kind of tuck the pad and kind of just get it and roll the trucks kind of underneath them and pull it out and then say, okay, I’m just going to put a new checks underneath you and then you just get rid of it and throw it in the trash can. We’re a secret agent. Get the poop away really fast and nobody needs to know right now.

[00:08:32.130] – Hilary Erickson

There are some people that it’s just like a continual flow. Again, I don’t care. It’s so much that I’m like doing while you’re pushing, we’re looking at the monitor. We’re like making sure you’re not swelling. We’re like thinking about do we have everything in the room? So it’s just like part of that whole process. It’s part of the poop away. Make sure I have a toaster in the room.

[00:08:52.720] – Leisel Teen

Make sure yeah, yeah, it’s part of the process. And yeah, you’re right. Some patients, they do just kind of keep pooping and it’s not just a one time thing and all we can do is just clean it up as fast as we can. And if they ask you, say, yeah, you did a little bit, but it’s fine, you’re pushing right in the right spot. And sometimes they will say something about the smell. And we have coffee grounds on the unit just in case we need to put some coffee ground. That does help a little bit with the smell. But you know what? I just kind of glance over it and I’m like, yeah, it’s whatever. It’s a really pushing because I want.

[00:09:28.680] – Hilary Erickson

To get out of this room.

[00:09:29.790] – Leisel Teen

Exactly. I’m like, the poop is good, it’s no problem. But if nobody is saying anything, I just clean it up. And you’re right, it’s just part of the process.

[00:09:39.860] – Hilary Erickson

Yeah. Now there is one guilty party in this whole thing. Sometimes dads like, oh my gosh. And at that point in time, I look at him like daggers are coming out of my eyes that I’m like, we are not discussing this ever again. Ever again. Yes.

[00:09:53.340] – Leisel Teen

No. Yes, I agree. Sometimes the dads are the partner. They’ll look down and they’ll be like and I’m like, no, don’t say anything. But sometimes they do and then it’s sad because it makes the mom more embarrassed. And I’m like, no, but then I just have to reiterate that you know what? Yeah, but actually it means that she’s pushing in the right spot. And guess what? Usually when you’re pooping, you can kind of almost see the hair of the baby. So we start talking about, oh, look, I can see the baby’s head, and I kind of chuck where the poop is. So we’re looking at the baby’s head instead of the fact that we’re pooping, we kind of just change the subject a little bit.

[00:10:29.960] – Hilary Erickson

Yeah. So it might be a good thing to just tell your partner it might happen and just keep your mouth shut. Like the nurse has got it.

[00:10:36.300] – Leisel Teen

Yes, exactly. And that’s why I encourage partners to always look in on birth education, because they need to know what to expect as well. Because I think if I wasn’t expecting my wife to be pooping and then I saw that, I would be like.

[00:10:53.390] – Hilary Erickson

Right, because it’s like I was sitting on the couch and my husband looked over.

[00:10:57.310] – Leisel Teen

Yeah, exactly.

[00:10:59.780] – Hilary Erickson

I would expect him to say something.

[00:11:01.680] – Leisel Teen

Yeah. But I think when you explain it, like, anatomy wise, like, okay, this is legitimately what’s happening. It has to come out. If there’s anything in there, it has to come out. Okay, your wife is about to birth your beautiful baby, and this is just part of the process. I also tell patients, moms, anybody who is afraid of pooping, that, hey, you know what, I’ve never had anybody get divorced after their partner sees them poop. Not that I know of. At least I’ve never had anybody say, like, that was the reason I got divorced, because my partner saw me poop during delivery and we just got divorced over that. It’s like, it’s going to be fine. You know what? It’s going to be fine.

[00:11:40.950] – Hilary Erickson

Well, I think there’s so much more trauma over the partnership in that area in general. Like their playground area is turning into is being bulldozed, basically. Yeah. There’s just a lot going on. So a great thing to talk about with your partner in advance, ladies just have a most of this episode. I bet they’ll love it.

[00:11:58.570] – Leisel Teen

Exactly.

[00:11:59.010] – Hilary Erickson

They’ll literally just love it.

[00:12:00.640] – Leisel Teen

I bet they will too, because you know what, guys and obviously your partner doesn’t have to be a guy, but if guys are gross, they like poop. So, hey, they might be into it, I don’t know.

[00:12:10.930] – Hilary Erickson

Yeah, they could very well be in the potty humor stage that my boys have yet to leave.

[00:12:18.630] – Leisel Teen

Yeah. My oldest one is five, and he’s.

[00:12:21.250] – Hilary Erickson

Starting he’s getting there.

[00:12:23.620] – Leisel Teen

That’s exciting. That’s not very nice for me to hear that you have a 20 and 21 year old and that’s not going away anytime soon.

[00:12:31.960] – Hilary Erickson

Okay, he might I mean, he probably I don’t spend a ton of time with him, but I will say that the 18 year old that’s going to college definitely would find all this very funny.

[00:12:40.910] – Leisel Teen

Cool.

[00:12:42.810] – Hilary Erickson

Okay. So the one thing I do think that can help you not poke is to not be induced, because I think our bodies naturally clear out that thing. So that’s my one caveat. If it’s like a huge deal for you, which is not a big deal for anyone else in the room, which is all you should really care about. Right. Because that’s why I don’t poop on the couch, because I would have to clean it up.

[00:13:00.930] – Leisel Teen

Right.

[00:13:01.330] – Hilary Erickson

And the nurses are going to be the ones cleaning up, and we are 100% fine with it. It’s just what we’re yeah, okay, so pushing let’s just give a few pushing tips. In general, I think we’ve talked about it. Don’t push in your face, which we see a lot of people do.

[00:13:14.420] – Leisel Teen

Yeah, I always tell people, regardless of if they’re on their back or their side or wherever, try to tuck that chin to your chest and kind of curl around, baby. I also talk about pushing as if you’re pooping. And that is a good idea. Usually some people want to push more and use those deep core muscles, and they’re doing that open glottis pushing, and that’s a little bit different. But especially with my epidural patients, I say, you know what? You’re going to take a big deep breath in and hold it like you’re going underwater and push like you’re pooping. And that gets them to kind of understand the process. I also give the tip, too. I think we talked about it a little bit, but to not only relax your face, but relax your other limbs, too. Relax your legs and really just use those muscles down there. I have a lot of patients, too, you probably have seen this, where they’ll be pushing on their back or kind of on their side, and they’re holding their legs and they’re, like, digging their arms into the bed and kind of doing kind of like the exercise.

[00:14:16.050] – Leisel Teen

And so I’m, like, get the chicken wings going. You got to bring your arms up because if you’re digging your arms back into the bed, you’re, like releasing that energy back there. So get your arms up like chickens and curl around your baby. And if they are pushing on their backs, I tell them not only curl around their baby, but, like, push up to the sky. That usually gets them because it’s kind of like it’s almost like you don’t want to push out, but you want to push underneath that pelvic bone. And when I say push up to the sky, they’re like, oh, okay, that makes sense.

[00:14:47.050] – Hilary Erickson

Yeah. We aim for the birthing lighting lights.

[00:14:50.790] – Leisel Teen

Exactly. And another tip, too, is change positions. If you’re not liking this one position that we’re doing, like, totally, okay, let’s go on your side a little bit or let’s do some hands and knees. Even if you have an epidemic, it’s safe to do a lot of these positions. The only one I don’t want you to do, really, is to stand up and get out of bed and get in the tub or anything like that. But you can get on hands and knees typically if you don’t have a crazy, crazy dense epidural. So, yeah, try to change positions, especially if you’re not making a lot of progress. If you’re making progress, cool. Keep doing your thing. And then another tip I’ll say is you probably say this, too, if you’re watching the monitor, try not to push too early, okay. So try to wait a few seconds and let that contraction really peak. And then you start pushing because you’re using most of your energy on that first push, and I want that one to be the good one, and I want that one to kind of start at the peak instead of you’re kind of tired by the third or fourth push, and that’s when it’s kind of peaking.

[00:15:52.490] – Leisel Teen

So sometimes I’ll do that with patients, too, if they’re having a little bit of trouble. And then my last tip is rest in between those contractions, okay? Just rest. Don’t worry about anything. Don’t worry about the next contraction that’s coming. Like, just take that time and just breathe and just rest.

[00:16:08.520] – Hilary Erickson

Oh, I love that. Get your ice chips in because your mouth can get a little dry. Oh, my God. Breathing. Or just a sip of water or vodka. Or vodka. Don’t bring the vodka.

[00:16:20.390] – Leisel Teen

Don’t tell us about it.

[00:16:22.590] – Hilary Erickson

I guess you can pack it. Yeah. When you were saying to relax everything, I think I had a lot of patients who would push and then clench their kegel muscles, and I’d be like, no, the kegel muscles are not even invited in this room right now, so just keep everything. And a lot of times, those prenatal yoga classes will have times where practice relaxing your pelvic floor. And I was always like, this is stupid. Okay, my problem is contracting my pelvic floor, especially after baby number one, right? But it really is helpful if you just take some time to just, like, free for all down there. It’s just relax. That’s how you want to push, because it’s harder than you think. And I think a lot of times people get nervous because we’re all staring at their baby exit area, and so they’re like, don’t.

[00:17:04.180] – Leisel Teen

I know.

[00:17:04.620] – Hilary Erickson

Because once you’ve seen one vagina, you’ve seen them all. Really, you have.

[00:17:08.600] – Leisel Teen

I don’t really remember many like that really, really completely stick out. Like, they all kind of blend together and you know what it is what it is. I will say, too, forgot about this tip. Some people are into it, some people aren’t. But we have mirrors that we can put up for you so you can kind of see your progress. And a lot of times that really helps people, especially if you’ve got an epidural and you’re having a little bit of trouble pushing with that epidural, because sometimes you can that can kind of help you see the process a little bit better. Because when we push typically and this happens more with first time moms, typically they have to push longer. But this baby, I kind of explain it like it’s going two steps forward and one step back, okay? So your uterus is pushing down, and you’re pushing, and that baby’s coming, and then your uterus stops contracting, and it relaxes, and that baby kind of sucks back in. And we want to do two steps forward, one step back until we kind of get to this point where baby is kind of like, oh, okay, I can’t go back anymore.

[00:18:03.970] – Leisel Teen

And then we just keep going and then you have your baby.

[00:18:06.640] – Hilary Erickson

Yeah, and you might be like, no, mere do not want to see it. And maybe you don’t, but sometimes I’d be like, I really don’t want to, but do you think it would help? And I’d be like, I mean, we can just bring it in here and then I can kick it. Yeah, we’re hating it.

[00:18:20.960] – Leisel Teen

We have Wednesday. Like you probably have to move. And I’m like, we can just tilt it up. If it’s fine, we’ll get it in here. If you don’t like it, we’ll just get rid. Yeah, it’s fine.

[00:18:30.350] – Hilary Erickson

And another thing that’s helped a few moms, not very many, a lot of people do not like this idea is to touch the baby’s head. So if the baby is crowning, a lot will be like, can I touch it? And that helps them realize that they are making progress. But I will say a lot of moms are like, no thank you.

[00:18:45.630] – Leisel Teen

Yeah, I know a lot of times too. So I’ll turn on the delivery light so it’s nice and bright down there, but it’s not like bright in their face. Right. And once I start seeing baby’s head and we all see a little bit of hair, I’ll say, hey dad, you want to look down here? Like look, you can see. And then dad starts to get excited like, oh my God, that’s the baby’s head. And then mom’s like, oh. And we get excited. So it’s just like little things like that to encourage them because yeah, sometimes, especially with first time moms, I mean, you can be pushing hours and you’re like, I feel like I’m not even doing anything.

[00:19:16.530] – Hilary Erickson

I know you feel like you’re pushing that baby from the North Pole.

[00:19:19.440] – Leisel Teen

You do. I mean, sometimes you are, but yeah, it can be discouraging after a couple of hours and you’re like, wait, am I crowning yet? I’m not even crowning. What? Right? So, yeah, it’s just about I like to change positions a lot. I like to have kind of dad look down there like you said, make sure you have some ice and some water, keep you nice and hydrated. But yeah, we can touch on that too. That like, hey, pushing. For some people it’s one push, for other people it’s hours and hours of pushing. So I always tell people, expect kind of the worst case scenario that you’re going to go into this pushing for a long time. And if you are one of those that is not, then like, hey, great, awesome. You have exceeded your expectations.

[00:20:03.530] – Hilary Erickson

Yes. Average pushing time I think is 2 hours. On your first, they say, yeah, and don’t be afraid to be like, can we just take 15 minutes off? Your nurse is not going to be sad about that either because she’s probably thirsty, would like a pee break.

[00:20:16.800] – Leisel Teen

Yeah, because we stay in there the whole time with you and your provider. Typically, it depends on the practice that you’re in. Obviously, in the provider, but providers that I work with, typically in a hospital setting, your nurse is going to be with you the whole time. When you’re doing that two steps forward, one step back kind of situation, you’re pushing this whole time. And then once we kind of get that indicator, that baby’s to that spot where baby is not going back much anymore, then we’ll call your provider in, and it’s usually not too long after that that your baby is born. But, yeah, we’re with you the whole time. We’re not leaving and coming back and letting you push by yourself or anything.

[00:20:50.100] – Hilary Erickson

Yeah, sometimes I’ll run out of the room and be like, oh, I forgot the pit. I’ll be right back.

[00:20:54.040] – Leisel Teen

I’m not leaving in between a contraction.

[00:20:56.400] – Hilary Erickson

Where the baby is going to fall out. So I’m like, push if you want. If you don’t take a break.

[00:21:01.430] – Leisel Teen

Yeah. You got to read the patient. Really? Yes.

[00:21:05.790] – Hilary Erickson

Because sometimes they start to freak out. They’re like, you’re leaving?

[00:21:09.630] – Leisel Teen

Yes. Or like, hey, if this is my third or fourth baby and I’m like, I’m probably not going to leave the room.

[00:21:15.660] – Hilary Erickson

I’m going to call out for that pit.

[00:21:17.210] – Leisel Teen

Yes.

[00:21:17.900] – Hilary Erickson

And like Lisa said, don’t plan if you have midwives. A lot of times the midwives will hang out with you and push. The OBS do not in general. I did have one doctor who would get angry if I pushed before she got there, but they don’t honestly, they’re not very good at it. It requires a lot of patience and a lot of cheerleading, and that’s just not their skillset.

[00:21:40.290] – Leisel Teen

No. And they have a lot of other stuff that they’re doing, too. Typically, there’s a lot of patients that they’re taking care of, and you’re our only patient, so we’re in there for the long haul. They have maybe surgeries. They have to go down and check. It’s just they have stuff. So it’s like yeah, they’re not like you said, midwives are great. I’ve worked with midwives before and they’ll stay in there and just be in there the whole time. But, yeah, I would generally agree that most obscure in at the last bit. Not to say that’s just the way they know and they can be great obese, but that’s just kind of how they are.

[00:22:12.700] – Hilary Erickson

Right, well, and you got to think we each have our skill set because I’m not great at sewing up vaginas.

[00:22:17.430] – Leisel Teen

No, me either. Hilary? I didn’t learn about that in nursing school.

[00:22:22.510] – Hilary Erickson

In fact, I’ve never sewn one up.

[00:22:25.290] – Leisel Teen

No, nor have I.

[00:22:27.720] – Hilary Erickson

Just to clarify, in case people are like, hillary, what are you doing on your free night?

[00:22:31.810] – Leisel Teen

No, practicing my crocheting on.

[00:22:35.490] – Hilary Erickson

I can tell when it needs it.

[00:22:38.250] – Leisel Teen

Yes, I can, too. Now, again, it’s not really in my skill set, but yeah, I can tell if somebody’s going to need a repair for sure.

[00:22:45.370] – Hilary Erickson

All right, this is awesome. Do you have any questions about pushing? Or if something’s not working for you, speak up, because a lot of it is just you and your body. I don’t know what’s feeling right in your body. If you’re like, oh, I wish I was on my side more. I wish I was on my back. I wish I was sitting up more. You have to tell me because it’s so much like and sometimes it’s just tiny movements. Like, if I just shove a pillow, they’re like, oh, it’s so much better. And I’m like, I don’t know why nobody else would have wanted that exactly.

[00:23:08.160] – Leisel Teen

Where you put a little pillow underneath their head or something. Or we just kind of instead of being on their back, we just kind of shift. Maybe they’re just kind of having a little bit of pain right in their tailbone, and you’re like, okay, let’s just shift over. And then sometimes that’s so beneficial, and the baby really spins, and the baby comes right out. But, yeah, if you’re uncomfortable, you don’t have to be doing anything that we’re like I never want you to feel bullied into anything if you’re really uncomfortable. Now, of course, having a baby is uncomfortable in and of itself, right? I’m not saying that, but yeah, for some reason, you’re just like, oh, I just can’t do this on like, I was pushing on he’s knees with both of my babies, and I’m like, dude, I can’t do this anymore. I freaking hate it. Let me just get on my back. So if you want us to change positions, if you need ice or anything like that, speak up. We are here for you.

[00:23:57.760] – Hilary Erickson

Right? Yeah. Because it’s your body and we aren’t inside of it, thankfully. I’m not sad.

[00:24:03.390] – Leisel Teen

I agree with that.

[00:24:04.500] – Hilary Erickson

I would prefer not to have had thousands of babies, personally.

[00:24:07.320] – Leisel Teen

Yes.

[00:24:07.810] – Hilary Erickson

No, thank you.

[00:24:08.880] – Leisel Teen

Done it twice. And yeah, no, I’m good.

[00:24:11.240] – Hilary Erickson

Weasel teaches amazing birth classes, so if you guys are looking for a birth class and mine isn’t a good fit, check hers out. She has a natural birth class and an Epidural and a C section one, correct?

[00:24:21.040] – Leisel Teen

Yeah, we do. We have three different kinds. So, yeah, I’m over at mommylabornurse.com and then really most frequently on Instagram.

[00:24:28.890] – Hilary Erickson

Yes. She has an amazing Instagram channel. I’m always commenting like, this is so good.

[00:24:33.670] – Leisel Teen

Thank you. I have a lot of fun. Hilary and I were talking about my Barbies up here on my desk, but I have a lot of fun with all my props and do Q and A’s on the weekends. And we just are always coming up with fun kind of content ideas. We like to take things and create, put it out in the simplest way possible for you to understand and fun.

[00:24:52.670] – Hilary Erickson

And fun.

[00:24:53.880] – Leisel Teen

Yes. We don’t want to make anything, like, super dry and boring. We don’t like boring. We want you to be excited about giving birth. So, yeah, Definitely check me out on Instagram at Mommy Labor Nurse on there. I would say that’s where I hang out most. And then I have a podcast too, the Mommy Labor Nurse Podcast. You can catch me over there.

[00:25:10.020] – Hilary Erickson

Awesome. Thanks so much for coming on, Liesel.

[00:25:11.870] – Leisel Teen

Yeah, thanks for having me.

[00:25:13.060] – Hilary Erickson

Okay, guys, I hope you enjoyed that episode. I think it just reminded everybody how used to it. Hopefully it reminded you how used to it nurses are. Like, at our heart. We’re a nurse. We’re not just like your friend. We’ve all been through nursing school. That has required a lot of bodily fluid. So when you provide us a bodily fluid, it is something we are very used to. Now, if you have a trait, we’re probably going to call in somebody else to fix that. We each have our own bodily fluids that we’re cool with. I want to thank Lisa for coming on. A lot of my friends were like, wow, you’re having one of your biggest competitors on. I absolutely adore her. And I know that my prenatal class isn’t for everybody, so if you’ve thought I don’t know if Hilary is really my style, check out Liesel. She is a great resource.

[00:25:51.710] – Hilary Erickson

Do not miss next week’s episode where we are chatting about making invisible work visible. This is a really important one for all moms, pregnant or not, so stay tuned for that one. Thanks so much for joining us on today’s episode.

[00:26:04.270] – Hilary Erickson

The Pulling Curls Podcast grows when you share us on social media or leave a review. If you do, please tag us so that we can share and send you a virtual hug, which frankly, is my favorite kind of hugging. Until next time, we hope you have a tangle free day.