What to Know About Pooping During Labor

By Liesel Heinzelmann BSN, RN

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Okay so let's talk about one of the less glamorous questions you may have about giving birth: Am I going to poop during labor?

Maybe. I know, not ideal. But if this is something you've been genuinely worried about, I want to make it WAY less of a thing in your head. Because after working in labor & delivery for 10 years, I can tell you that pooping during labor is VERY normal—especially while pushing—and your birth team truly does not care. Like...at ALL.

So let's talk about why it happens, what your nurse is actually thinking if it does, whether there's anything you can do to prevent it, and perhaps most importantly: what happens if your partner sees it. Because I have a feeling that's what we're ACTUALLY worried about here.

Yes, pooping during labor is totally normal

First things first: poop happens during labor. There's actually a very logical reason for it, and once you understand the anatomy it makes a LOT more sense: the muscles you use to push your baby out are also involved when you poop.

So if there's poop in your rectum when you start pushing, there's a pretty good chance some of it is going to come out too.

Unfortunately the anatomy does not care about your dignity.

How common is pooping during labor?

It's VERY common, especially during the pushing stage of labor. And here's the part I think people don't realize: you might not even know you did it.

If you poop while pushing, your nurse is usually going to clean it up and keep moving. There doesn't need to be an announcement. Nobody stops the birth. We do not dim the lights and hold a brief ceremony. It is genuinely just NOT a big deal in the delivery room.

Meanwhile, you may have spent the previous nine months worrying about this exact moment.

Which feels a little unfair, honestly.

Why do you poop during labor?

Basically, it comes down to anatomy + pressure. Your rectum sits right behind your vagina, so as your baby moves lower through your pelvis and birth canal, their head puts pressure on your rectum. Then you add pushing on top of that.

So you have:

• A literal human head moving down through your pelvis

• Pressure on your rectum

• You actively bearing down

• The same general muscle groups involved when you have a bowel movement

Yea. If there's poop in there, it's probably coming out.

I used to tell my patients some version of this ALL the time: if there's poop in there and you're pushing effectively, it's going to come out. You can't exactly clench your butt shut while simultaneously trying to push a baby out. Those are...competing goals.

And if the whole concept of pushing is something you're nervous or confused about, I have an entire article on how to push during labor because there is actually a LOT more to pushing than TV makes it look like.

Your delivery team has seen it ALL

Okay, this is the part I REALLY need you to believe me about: your L&D nurse does not think you're gross. Promise. I worked in labor & delivery for 10 years, and I cannot possibly communicate to you how unremarkable poop is to someone who works in L&D.

I mean, think about what we're working with here:

• Blood

• Amniotic fluid

• Vomit

• Pee

• Poop

• Approximately 47 other fluids/substances nobody really warned you about in nursing school

There are just a LOT of bodily fluids involved in this particular profession.

If you poop while you're pushing, your nurse will typically wipe it away, change the pad underneath you if needed, and continue helping you push. Depending on what's happening, you may genuinely have NO idea it occurred.

And weirdly enough, seeing a little poop can actually reassure us that you're directing your pushing effort into the right area. So while you're internally thinking oh my god did I just poop, your nurse may be thinking okay GOOD, keep pushing exactly like that.

Two VERY different experiences happening in the same room.

Can you avoid pooping during labor?

Not reliably, and honestly I wouldn't make avoiding it a major goal.

You may have heard about people doing things like:

• Giving themselves an enema before labor

• Trying to completely empty their bowels

• Avoiding food once labor starts

• Basically attempting to engineer a poop-free delivery

But none of that gives you some magical guarantee that you won't poop.

Recommendations around eating during labor can also depend on your individual situation, hospital, and care team, so don't intentionally fast solely because you're trying to avoid pooping. If you're curious about what you CAN eat and when, I have a whole breakdown on eating during labor.

As for giving yourself an enema purely because you're afraid you might poop later? I personally cannot think of many things I would like to do LESS at 39 or 40 weeks pregnant than give myself diarrhea.

But is it worth the stress?

This is really the bigger question. Let's say you successfully engineer a completely poop-free birth. Okay...and?

You just spent a considerable amount of mental energy trying to prevent something your nurse probably would've cleaned up before you even realized it happened.

There are SO many things that are actually worth learning about before birth:

• What the different stages of labor actually look like

• What pushing is going to be like

• Your options for pain management

• When you should go to the hospital

• What interventions you may encounter

• What happens immediately after your baby is born

Those are things I'd spend my brain cells on. Pooping does not need to be particularly high on the list.

And if you have a whole LIST of things you're secretly terrified might happen during labor, you may also want to read this article because I promise poop is not the only thing people are quietly Googling at 2 a.m.

What if I'm embarrassed about pooping in front of my partner?

Now THIS is usually the actual concern. Because once I tell people their nurse truly does not care, there's often a very immediate okay cool, love that for her, I'm more concerned about the person I have to go home with.

Fair.

I can't promise you your partner won't notice, because they might. But birth has a way of VERY quickly rearranging everyone's priorities. When you're actively pushing and getting close to meeting your baby, a small amount of poop is generally pretty low on the list of Things Currently Happening.

If this is something you're really worried about, though, there are a few easy things you can do:

• Tell your partner ahead of time. Literally: “If I poop while I'm pushing, I do NOT want to know about it. Pretend you saw nothing and take that information to your grave.”

• Have them stay closer to your head. Despite what movies would have us believe, there is NO requirement that your support person have a front-row seat to everything happening below the waist.

• Tell your nurse. If you don't want anyone acknowledging it, SAY THAT. Your nurse can usually handle things pretty discreetly.

• Decide your boundaries before labor. Some people want their partner involved in absolutely EVERYTHING and want them to watch the baby come out. Other people are like absolutely not, you live above the waist now. Both are fine.

Honestly, figuring out what kind of support you want from your partner before you're actively in labor is helpful for WAY more than just the poop situation. Check out this article - this would be a good place to start that conversation.

So...are you going to poop during labor?

Maybe. You might poop, you might not, and I know that's an incredibly unsatisfying answer if you came here hoping I had a secret trick to guarantee that you won't.

But I think the better goal is getting to the point where you don't really care if you do. Because if you're pushing effectively, your baby is moving down, and a little poop happens in the process, your nurse will clean it up. Your doctor or midwife has seen it before. Your partner will recover.

And you have significantly BIGGER things happening. Like, for example, the human being currently exiting your body.

So if this has been living somewhere on your list of things I am currently spiraling about before giving birth, you officially have my permission to cross it off. Learn about pushing. Learn about your pain management options. Pack your hospital bag. Figure out what you want your partner to do during labor.

The poop can simply be the poop.

And actually, while we're already on the subject...I regret to inform you that giving birth does NOT mark the end of your poop-related concerns. Your first postpartum poop is its own little adventure.

Sorry.

I'll see you over there. 🫡

~Liesel

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