How did your second birth compare to your first?

[Namechangeymcnamechange11]

I'm expecting DC2 and just wondering. My labour with DC1 was about 32 hours, hoping it will be quicker this time...

Oh and it was a lot faster, only took a few hours compared to 34 hours! Pushing lasted a few minutes.

I've had two back to back labours.

My first was horrendous. My waters broke right at the start of my labour and my cervix failed to progress, despite having regular, painful contractions. 46 hours of hell ensued, ending in an episiotomy and forceps delivery. DD was born with an infection and spent 5 days in NICU.

My second labour was a breeze in comparison, had a few pains for 12 hours then my waters broke and I was found to be 4cm dilated. DS was born 3 hours later, arriving before the anaesthetist did so I didn't get my epidural and had to make do with gas and air. I only had a first degree tear with a couple of stitches and recovered much more quickly second time around.

First one induced and although only 13 hours from pessary to birth it was really hard. Nobody believed I was progressing and I had pethidine too late. Spent 12 hours after delivery in and out of consciousness and have no memory of first holding DS.

2nd time was a total dream. Pretty gentle contractions for about 5 hours at home. About 2.5 hours more in hospital, just gas and air and DD pretty much slipped out.

First one was confusing and didn't feel like anything was quite as it should be. 2nd one I really felt what people say about my body knowing what to do. It felt like one flowing process

I’m going to go against the grain here and say my second labour was worse but it was induced and the first wasn’t. Sorry, you probably don’t want to hear that. It was quicker though and I didn’t have any stitches.

First was an EMCS

Second was an ELCS

Both were fab

First was 7 hours 30 minutes, second was 49 minutes from waking in the night with what I thought was backache to holding him in arms.

My labour was half as long & much less painful.

DS1 was 21 hours & an epidural, DS2 was 12 hours with just a sniff of gas & air towards the end.

First was 1hour 21 minutes, second was 17 minutes. More painful but over quick 🤷🏻‍♀️

2nd labour was much more straightforward and a pretty textbook birth. Sadly afterwards I realised how completely shit my 1st labour was and it plunged me into PND. It took me almost 7 years to pluck up the nerve to go through it again and my 3rd labour (and biggest baby) was the quickest and best of the 3.

Very similar, just in fast motion.

Dc1: waters went, contractions started about 30 mins later. Born about 2 hours after that.
Dc2: waters went, contractions started about 15 mins later. Born about 10 mins after that.

Much quicker just 2hrs, but I would say more painful than my first 10hrs labour. Baby was much heavier than my first also. Totally worth it though.

1st 18hours, assisted delivery, birth injury & 3 day stay, took about 6 weeks to stop feeling like I'd been hit by a bus. 2nd 6hrs, only time for g&a & didn't have anything for last hour. Less th an 24hrs in hospital & apart from being ravenous i felt amazing, back to school run 2 days after

First, 14 hours, ending in chaos- but both OK; second 18 hours, chaos, CS team assembling, then out he came. Phew.

There is no pattern.

I gather my mother was flicking through a magazine10 minutes before I was born, in a bush hospital in rural Africa ... 😂 So I'm glad she was never an option as a 'birth partner'.

First was a c-section.
Second was a vbac - meant to be at home but a bit early. The midwife said afterwards that I had breathed him out. Was lovely.

1st was 24 hours, back to back and long and hard. 2nd was breech until last day and then nearly born in the hospital car park

Another who had a much faster second labour. DS1 24 hours, forceps while prepping me for a full anaesthetic CS (I hadn’t had an epidural...). DS2 bit of a panic as we had to go to another hospital than the planned one but about 6 hours all in and didn’t need a team to drag him out.

Both inductions, 24 hours back to back, failed to progress, emergency sections. Identical births, boy then girl.

My first was quite textbook. 7.5 hours total, absolutely no doubt it was labour from the first contraction. The contractions progressively got longer, more intense and closer together. Went to hospital after 4 hours, laboured in the bath then got out to push on hands and knees. Pushing took approx 30 mins.

Second, I actually didn't realise I was in labour at first, just felt very uncomfortable sitting down. Once I realised I was having contractions, they were still sporadic but after they started lasting 2 minutes I thought I better go to hospital just in case. Turns out I was 9cm dilated by then and everyone panicked thinking baby was about to come. As it turns out, my waters wouldn't break so a Dr had to break them for me, but after that she came in about 20 minutes. All up I think it was roughly 7 hours again.

First one was 18hrs labour followed by EMCS. Second was ELCS and was absolutely wonderful - so calm and relaxed.

18 hours with DS. I didn’t realise I was in labour 2nd time, until I was 8 cms and then it was an hour and a half to the first birth! (Twins) Actually, I didn’t like such a quick labour; to me it just felt all out of control - I was almost in a state of shock the first couple of days afterwards. It was like these babies had appeared out of nowhere; instead of a gradual progression towards the birth with the 1st stage of labour!

First was 65 hours from waters breaking to her being born in theatre via forceps, very slow stop start labour, hospital were useless and wouldn't do anything to help move things along until 48 hours had passed. I was exhausted and it was awful.

Second 3.5 hours from first contraction, born in the back of an ambulance with just gas and air. A huge surprise for us and the ambulance crew!!

Six hours long from first contraction to birth compared to the 24 hours of my first labour. Both labours were traumatic in their own way though but I’m not going to be that person.

My first was 15 hours labour, my second was literally 45 mins. If we lived any further from the hospital she'd have been born in the car!

Contrations were a lot easier in the first stage, WAY more painful in the second ( but to be fair I had an epidural first time around and no time for that bliss with number 2).

Afterpains were HORRENDOUS after number 2, I actually thought I might be going back into labour it was that bad. So don't be shy about asking for painkillers that are safe for so soon after birth (or for breastfeeding if you choose to do that) and don't be shy about taking them!

All in all number 2 was faster and much easier.

They were both vaginal births by the way, started on their own both times.

First was horrible. Nearly 50 years ago, labour was interminable, baby was transverse, stuck, and in those days they just did things to you! I had an epidural, I'd never heard of them, and a huge number of stitches.

Second was much easier, a few hours labour, forceps and a few stitches. A walk in the park compared to no 1.