Crowning & the ring of fire - 'Just pull it out!'

If you're reading this post, the chances are your mum/nan/friend has just warned you about 'ring of fire' feeling during birth. I often have 'Just pull it out!' screamed at me during this process & you know what? If I don't hear it I've started questioning if this baby is really coming! This is such a common thing for women to shout as their babies head is crowning. If you're feeling brave & want to see what this looks like, the empoweredbirthproject should be your go-to page.

So, one of the most common questions I am asked is 'What does birth feel like?'. There are many difficult physical feelings during birth, but what is it that is so painful about this part? Crowning is when your babies head is ALMOST completely out. It's the point where your vagina & labia is stretched to its absolute maximum, and can feel like you are burning/stinging as your vaginal tissue stretches. Some call it the 'ring of fire'. (I'm aware this is sounding like a contraception advert). 

This part of the birth lasts for around 1 minute, maybe more or maybe less, depending on how slowly the head is delivered. I know nobody wants to hear this, but the slower the better. This is so that we can guard your perineum and prevent you from tearing, by applying pressure with our hand and a warm compress onto it until babies head is out. 

Student midwives, I can guarantee that a mentor somewhere across your three years of training will shoot you that look & say 'make sure you hold that perineum'. (Oh wait, that mentor is me 😉)

side note - a lot of women don't know what their perineum is. I don't ever remember being taught in school about my perineum. In fact when I first heard the word, I thought whats that? Is it a strange body part I never knew I had? Is it the cause of why I can't just have one glass of wine, but the whole bottle? No. *It's just the muscle between your vagina and anus, so not that exciting after all, but we obviously don't want it to tear. 

Now that you know what it is, you're going to be shocked at my suggestion (especially as a lot of you probably can't currently see anything below your bump!) . In order to help reduce the risk of your perineum tearing, perineal massage from 34 weeks is very beneficial. Overall, 85% of women suffer a perineal tear, but massaging your perineum will reduce this risk, make it less painful postnatally & increase its elasticity. Click here for an amazing guide on how to do this safely & effectively!

A little Golden tip for you all - because what you don't know can hurt you..

Little pushes ONLY when babies head is crowning. This is literally the only time your Midwife's voice will suddenly change into a voice you know you need to listen to. If we let that head fly out, your perineum could suffer. Pause, Pant, Push. A really good, simple video to watch is linked here.

So, whoever's reading this - good for you for educating yourself & being prepared. Even though you may now suddenly be feeling sick & faint, when you give birth you will know exactly why you're feeling the burning & stinging, & you'll know its because you're minutes away from it all being over (Thank God for that).

You know that bottle of prossecco I suggested in my first post? I think we all need it.

Han Xx

*ps. if you're a man reading this, yes, you also have a perineum.

@_justkeeppushing