Speedy labour and second/subsequent DCs

[alleykitten]

I had a quick delivery with DS - pre-labour for days but when things got going I went from 2.5 cm to baby in 3.5 hours. The midwives at the time recommended a homebirth for subsequent DCs on the basis that I might not get to hospital on time.

I intend to go back to the birthing centre at UCLH because it's very close to home, for various reasons I don't want a homebirth, and there's all the excellent emergency backup down the corridor. However, I'm a bit nervous that I'll arrive like I did last time and not get taken seriously for the first hour or so which was pretty scary last time when I knew that things were happening very fast but no-one believed me.

Can I insist on being seen promptly on arrival in my birthing plan? Will this count for anything or is it simply a formality that will get ignored if they're busy? And how did people with quick deliveries manage the logistics of sorting childcare and getting themselves/DP/birthing partner out of the house on time? Thanks!

Hi Alley

I had a similar first labour with my DS. I was slowly dilating for 4 days after having had a sweep (thankfully with no contractions).

I arrived at the hospital one hour after my waters broke already 8cm dilated. My labour was 6 hours in total from start to finish.

With DD I did opt for a homebirth - although there were many other reasons, a possible quick labour was one of them. I'm glad I did as this time it was 3 and a half hours in total. DD arrived 45 minutes after the midwives did!

Sorry I do not have any answers for you - I can only say with DS I think they could see I was pretty far on when I arrived and I was examined immediately.

Do you have friends or family nearby that you could put "on call" as it were for childcare? At least your birthing centre is very close so you know you can be there quickly.

Have you discussed this with your midwives? What did they say?

Hi

This may not make you feel much better I'm afraid but after a fairly quick labour with DD (5 1/2 hours start to finish) my DS was born in an hour and was an unplanned homebirth. Luckily for us we have a community midwife as a neighbour! All was well however, in hindsight I wouldn't have done it any other way,

Both times, however, I didn't have any distinguishable pre-labour (no contractions/BHs) just waters breaking/full dilation in minutes/baby...

From a "being taken seriously" point of view. a)I suspect midwives are more inclined to believe you the the 2nd time round and b) you can ensure they know that they have a history of fast labours. Agree that you should discuss and document this with your midwife.

Thanks Fantus and HowToShout - looks like it might be time to reconsider homebirth as an option. I'm moving back to London for a few months and am about to register with the UCLH midwives, so good to get some perspective on what to say beforehand. My community midwife here was very relaxed about the quick labour situation which was one of the worry factors, combined with someone I know having her baby in the bath while duty mw was trying to find the house!

Fantus - I've got plenty of childcare lined up, it's more the timing I'm worried about if every minute counts! I know my parents would be happy to be on hold but they're on the wrong side of London. I think I might make a rota of nearby potential babysitters who can get to the house quickly if needed.

HowToShout - at DS birth. That's the sort of story I've been terrifying myself with! But better than a 2-day marathon of pain, right?

I like you was advised to think about a homebirth after DS1 arrived 20 minutes after arriving at the hospital and a total of 3 hours labour. The thought that a second labour may be quicker was definately a big part of my decision to have DS2 at home. It was a quite amazing experience although this labour was around 5 hours and a much more calm and controlled situation. The midwife said she felt it may have been slower due to me being in the bath for most of it, in fact I gave birth in the bath and despite him being a much larger baby than the first didn't tear atall unlike the first. Am sure this is because it felt so much less fast and furious. I phoned the midwife as soon as I felt things were happening and she came within 20 minutes. The care I had was second to none.

I can totally identify with you, my labour was just under 4 hours from the first twinge and an absolutely terrifying experience. The mw didn't believe that I was in labour so she kept telling me to stay at home so when I arrived at hospital I was already pushing and ds arrived 30 minutes after I was admitted. I went to a debrief with the birth reflections mw because I was quite traumatised by the experience as I felt that I had no control over what happened to me.
The upshot is that she put a letter in my notes stating that next time I am going in as soon as labour starts and under no circumstances are they to send me home! Your antenatal mw should be able to do this for you, I feel so much better knowing that I will be taken seriously next time.

Good luck with the birth!

Sparklingsea - bath sounds great, I found being in the pool such a relief from the madness and definitely another reason to go for a homebirth. I just can't bring myself to believe that anyone'll get there within an hour let alone 20 minutes, though, they're so overburdened.

Marjee - sorry you had such a scary experience and thanks for the heads-up re letter in your notes. I thought it might be possible to request something like this. Just need to get them to share my sense of urgency about it...