Peeing and Pooping During Labor and Delivery

Peeing During Labor and Delivery

Why does your care team care about how much you are peeing in labor? Why does it matter? It helps us understand how hydrated you are. This is an important piece of keeping you safe during labor.

We want to prevent any harm to your kidneys or bladder.
We want to make sure that all of your body functions are working well while you are in labor. Peeing is like a vital sign. If you are taking in fluid (through drinking, through an IV, or both) we want to make sure it’s coming out so you don’t have too much.
When you are in labor it’s like you are running a marathon—you’re sweating, breathing a lot, and your muscles are working hard. It’s easy to get dehydrated during the labor process. We want to make sure you are getting enough in and enough out.

How Do We Help You Pee and Measure Peeing During Labor?

There are a few different ways to measure peeing during labor.

Hat

We put a little container (it looks like a little upside-down top hat) in the toilet bowl to collect and measure how much you are peeing.

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We know other things might fall into the hat, but please try not to put toilet paper or other things inside, and don’t dump it out. We want to see it!

Straight Catheter

A straight catheter (or cath) is a small soft plastic straw (tube) that we put inside of your bladder and remove right after the urine comes out. It doesn’t stay inside you.

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If you have an epidural, we will empty your bladder around two to four hours after the epidural and before you start pushing!

A cath usually it doesn’t hurt but it may feel weird or uncomfortable. Tell your nurse if it hurts you.

You’d use a straight cath:

If you have an epidural
After you have a baby
If you feel like you have to pee, but pee won’t come out
If you aren’t peeing enough and we need to measure to keep you safe

Foley Catheter

A Foley catheter is a small soft plastic straw (tube) that we put inside your bladder. It stays inside of you until you are pushing or after you have a baby.

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It’s connected to a bag so we can accurately measure how much urine you are making.

A Foley cath usually doesn’t hurt but it may feel weird or uncomfortable. Tell your nurse if it hurts you.

You’d use a Foley cath:

If you are having a C-section
If you have certain medical conditions that can affect your kidneys

There is a small increased risk of a UTI after use. We use a sterile technique to put a Foley cath in, so this risk is very small. We only use this when necessary for your safety.

What Happens Postpartum?

We may use any of these methods after you have your baby if you:

Have a hard time peeing
Are having more bleeding than normal
Have any surgical or birth complications that may have affected your urinary system (the system that makes and lets out the pee)

Pooping in Labor and After You Have the Baby

It’s normal to poop in labor sometimes. We have lots of ways of keeping you clean and making sure the room isn’t smelly.

We even get excited when we see some poop, because it can mean the baby is close to being born.

Please let your care team know if you are often constipated. We may need to give you more medicine on discharge to help you poop easily.

Pooping Postpartum

If you have any questions or issues pooping postpartum, ask us! There are lots of medications that can make your poop softer and make it easier to go to the bathroom.

Try to have your first poop before going home. The first poop can feel scary and sometimes painful but having it in the hospital can make it feel safer.

If you had a big tear in your vagina and needed lots of stitches, try to take enough stool softeners or laxatives medication to make your poop like toothpaste. It should be very soft but not liquid.

Talk to your nurse, midwife, and doctors to make sure you get enough medication for this on the day you go home.