When women give birth for the first time, pushing naturally while lying on their side doesn't hurt the baby's health or oxygen levels any more than pushing hard while lying on their back.

49

Pro

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Against

Evidence from Studies

Supporting (1)

49

Community contributions welcome

49

Spontaneous Pushing in Lateral Position versus Valsalva Maneuver During Second Stage of Labor on Maternal and Fetal Outcomes: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Randomized Controlled Trial

Human

2016 Oct

This study found that when moms push naturally while lying on their side, their babies are just as healthy at birth as when moms push the old way while lying on their back — no difference in blood acidity, which means the baby isn’t in distress.

Contradicting (0)

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No contradicting evidence found

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Source Study

Spontaneous Pushing in Lateral Position versus Valsalva Maneuver During Second Stage of Labor on Maternal and Fetal Outcomes: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Score: 49

DOI: 10.5812/ircmj.29279

Similar Assertions

When women push naturally while lying on their side during childbirth, their baby’s blood gets more oxygen compared to when they push while lying on their back using a forceful breath-holding technique—but it doesn’t change the baby’s blood acidity or Apgar score.

49

0

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When women are giving birth for the first time and pushing during labor, pushing naturally while lying on their side may hurt less and feel less tiring than pushing hard while lying on their back.

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When first-time moms push naturally while lying on their side during childbirth, it takes about 12 minutes longer than pushing while lying on their back with forced breath-holding—but it doesn’t make C-sections or baby problems more likely.

49

0

70%