03/09/2025
🌟 Why Pushing on Your Back Hurts More 🌟
By full term, the whole “package” of pregnancy, like the uterus, baby, placenta, and amniotic fluid is surprisingly heavy. Here’s the breakdown:
📊 Average Weights at Term (around 40 weeks)
• 👶 Baby: ~7–8 lbs (3.2–3.6 kg) on average
• 🌸 Placenta: ~1.5 lbs (0.7 kg)
• 💧 Amniotic fluid: ~2 lbs (0.9 kg)
• 🫀 Uterus itself: ~2 lbs (0.9 kg) (it starts at just ~2 ounces pre-pregnancy!)
• 🩸 Extra blood & fluids within uterus area: ~2–3 lbs
➡️ Total weight carried in and by the uterus: ~13–16 lbs
When a parent is asked to push in a flat or semi-reclined position, here’s what’s really happening ⤵️
💥 Pressure on the Sacrum
➡️ The sacrum (tailbone area) is meant to move backward during birth, giving the baby more room.
➡️ Lying flat pins it against the bed, narrowing the outlet and adding painful pressure to the lower back.
💥 Circulation Gets Compromised
➡️ The heavy uterus presses on the vena cava (a major vein), which can reduce blood flow.
➡️ This may cause dizziness, nausea, or even dips in baby’s heart rate.
💥 Less Help from Gravity
➡️ On your back, you’re pushing uphill.
➡️ In upright or forward positions, gravity works WITH you, not against you.
✨ Better Options ✨
✅ Side-lying 🤰
✅ Hands & knees 🙌
✅ Squatting 🧎♀️
✅ Kneeling forward 🧘
These positions:
🌈 Free the sacrum
🌈 Take pressure off the back
🌈 Improve blood flow
🌈 Often make pushing more instinctive and effective
💡 Birth isn’t meant to be forced flat on your back. Movement + gravity + choice = more space, less pain, safer birth 💪👶💖
If you feel good on your back then that’s ok, too! But this should not be the default from your providers or forced!
-Love,
Badassmotherbirther
