in labor, "do what comes naturally"

The delivery room doctor's traditional mantra to "push, push" is largely unnecessary and may even lead to bladder problems, a new study finds.

Some 320 women were divided into two groups, one of which was coached to push for 10 seconds during contractions, while the other was told to "do what comes naturally," according to a study account by the Chicago Sun-Times. Those who were urged to push ultimately had slightly less bladder capacity and more overactive bladder muscles, the newspaper reported of the study, to be published in January's American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

While the coached women spent an average of 13 fewer minutes in labor, the tradeoff was an increased risk of incontinence, wrote study author Dr. Steven Bloom, interim chairman of obstetrics and gynecology at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.

Coaching made no difference in prompting a woman's need for Cesarean section, forceps delivery, or episiotomy, the study found.