Yes,
It’s very likely you’ll poo during birth and someone will clear it up.
As baby moves down the contents of your bowels can get squeezed out in the process.
You may find that in early labour you’ll have a bit of diarrhoea, again this is quite normal as your body prepares to birth. If diarrhoea persists you may find yourself becoming dehydrated which can have an impact on the effectiveness of contractions. It’s advisable to keep hydrated, sipping water or electrolyte drinks (such as Lucozade, other drinks are available, search for one that may be suitable for you).
Although pooing in birth can be normal many women worry about it, it’s not something that’s anyone wants to do. No amount of midwives saying “don’t worry we see it all the time” can ease the worry as they haven’t seen you poo, and you haven’t been to the toilet in front of them before. However they do just see it as part of the process and chances are you won’t actually realise it’s happened, the midwives are quite skilled in disposing quickly and you’re busy birthing your baby.
How can you stop this? There’s isn’t really any way. You could make sure you go to the toilet in labour when you need and you can also have discussions in pregnancy about this with the midwives and/or family. You can also ask people to not tell you if it does happen. Be aware that it is a usual part of birth and a sign things are working as they should.
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