Poop
what’s poo got to do with it?
Birthing and going poop have a lot more in common than you think.
You may have heard people say that giving birth is like taking a big poo. While comparing the birth of your child to a bowel movement might not be the most graceful imagery, there are some fascinating truths behind it…(and it’s more than just the shared sensation of something being expelled from your body). It actually comes down to an aspect of birth physiology we don’t talk enough about: the part that is governed by your autonomic nervous system.
What is the nervous system?
The autonomic nervous system is the part of your nervous system that runs the body functions you do not have to think about. It helps control things like breathing, heart rate, digestion, blood pressure, sweating, and the body’s stress and relaxation responses. I like to think of it as the communication system between our environment, mind, and body. It allows us to pick up signals and generate a response without us having to think consciously.
There are two branches of the autonomic nervous system:
the parasympathetic nervous system - which regulates our ability to rest, digest and restore balance;
and the sympathetic nervous system which triggers our fight, flight, or freeze response.
What does this have to do with birth?
The nervous system is always asking one simple question - am I safe enough to relax or do I need to gear up in order to protect myself? In an emergency, our body needs to prioritize muscles and functions necessary for defence. And birth is not a defence function.
Instead, birth physiology tends to work best when the body feels safe enough to soften and open. When the parasympathetic nervous system is more active in birth, our muscles are generally freer from tension and able to move easily, and birth hormones flow readily. Just like sleep, going to the bathroom, or digesting a meal, birth is best facilitated under conditions of calm.
How we poop has a lot to teach us about how we birth.
Have you ever found it hard to poop when you were in a rush or with someone else in the room? Or noticed how much harder it can be when you’re tense, uncomfortable, or trying too hard?
There are some interesting things going on here and they all have to do with how the nervous system responds the environment. The fact is, it’s hard to poop when you’re feeling pressured to do so. It’s also harder when the position you’re in is working against your natural autonomy rather than with it. There’s a reason products like the Squatty Potty became so popular - people are realizing that even our bathroom setup hasn’t exactly been designed with our physiology in mind.
The same can be said for birthing.
If we’re rushed in the process, feel forced into positions that contradict gravity and our body's physiology, are told to hold our breath and forcefully push, or feel nervous because of an unfamiliar or busy environment, it can make birthing more difficult. In those conditions, the nervous system is most likely to interpret the environmental signals as signs that we are not fully safe, and shift away from a place of calm and ready itself for emergency.
What I want you to take away from this is not that birthing can only occur in serene, comfortable, and predictable conditions - every birth is unique and rarely fully predictable. But I hope that by understanding that the environment matters, you can start to see where your body’s physiology might need more support. The deeper point is learning to work with your nervous system so that it can support you when needed.
This means cultivating a practice of calm to help shift us away from our dominant pattern of emergency.
Our modern environment is filled with fear, stress, information overload, and pressure - especially during pregnancy and birth. Stress is not bad - it’s designed to be useful; it signals that something is wrong and needs more of our attention. But when stress becomes chronic and starts to dominate our functioning, it affects our muscles, hormones, organs, and systems - including those involved in digestion and reproduction. (I write more about what’s happening in that process here).
While it may seem counterintuitive, it often takes intentional practice to get into the calm zone. Which is probably why being told to “just relax” can feel mildly infuriating. Relaxing can require effort at first…until it becomes easier.
The more frequently you place your body in the desired state, the more likely you are to slip into it when it is needed, especially if birthing takes an unexpected turn. That isn’t always straightforward in a world filled with noise, pressure, and stress. But it is something we can be supported with.
How I can Help
Just like a personal trainer helps you get into shape and can be a motivating and supportive force in your wellness journey, as a HypnoBirthing Childbirth Educator, I work like a coach. I help create a safe space to explore these practices so that you can access relaxation more easily while we are together, and over time, more easily on your own too. The hope is that by the time birthing comes, you are not trying to find that calm state for the very first time. You have already practiced it. You have already built some familiarity with what it feels like in your body.
Birth is a natural process, and we have innate abilities within us. But the noise of life can sometimes interfere with those abilities. And that is not our fault. It is simply the context in which we are living and birthing.
You can absolutely learn to navigate through the experience feeling more supported, more confident, and more calm than you might have thought possible.
I’m a self-proclaimed birth nerd, and I truly enjoy helping people find their own path through this experience. I believe one of the best gifts you can give yourself is the opportunity to prepare for birth in a way that helps you feel informed, supported, and connected to your own capacity. Birth is one of the most intense transitions in life, and because of that, it can also be one of the most meaningful. And the practice of calm matters postpartum too. The nervous system does not stop mattering once the baby arrives. It continues to shape how we sleep, digest, recover, and cope with the ups and downs of early parenthood.
So yes - this practice may help us sleep a little easier, recover a little better, and maybe even poop a bit easier too.
:)
I’d love to meet you.