Although I rarely was given an enema growing up, my mother took them frequently at night before going to bed. In the morning I used to find her syringe hanging in the shower, so I would take it out and dry it, and leave it for her to put away.
I didn’t pay a lot of attention to how I would give an enema until I was married in my early 20s and needed home nursing care after I was in an accident. I had an amazing young nurse who had my doctor's OK to give me enemas as necessary because I was doped up on pain medication. I began to secretly enjoy the enemas and asked her lots of questions.
It wasn’t all that hard, but she shared “little things” that a nurse from three generations of nurses knows how to give a “ productive” enema, and she called it, while keeping her patient as comfortable as possible. She taught me breathing techniques and visualization. She taught me how to insert a tube or nozzle more comfortably when the patient is tensing up, like I was doing. It’s not rocket science, but an enema is an invasive treatment inside the body that requires a knowledge of technique and safety. I cringe sometimes when I read on this site what some people are doing.
I became a home nursing guide junkie, so about two years into our marriage when my husband was down sick with a fever, I tried out my techniques on him. The enema really worked, and it did not injure him for life! He was a reluctant husband at first, but he learned by trusting me that an enema would actually make him feel better — has did my two daughters on rare occasions.
Seriously, I think there’s a gift that most women have at giving home nursing care. We tend to learn these things, as caregiving seems to be in our DNA.