How do you calculate the length of your labour?

[Quenelle]

I counted mine as 20 hours because I woke at 1am with pains that I remember getting bad quite quickly and I delivered at 21.01.

Or do you count it from when your contractions are a certain time apart?

I have no idea! But I'd really like to know. For me I you go by first twinge it's 25 hours, waters breaking it would be 21 hours, yet on my birth report thing it says 10 hours! Where did they get that from then?!

Established labour is 4cm dilated onwards.

My birth notes say 9 minutes LOL!

what SoH says... from when your are dilated 3- 4 cms, not from when you start getting pains as you can be having xtx with no dilation

yes, from 4 cm. A lot of women take a long time to get that far.

My second stage is double the length of my first on my notes. Makes me laugh.

First stage: 4hrs
Second stage: 8hrs
Third stage: na

My waters broke 24hrs before established labour and I was having regular, painful contractions. They might not count it, but I do!

So how would they have a clue if you're 4cm? You could also be having dilation with no contractions, of course.

I was having regular (ish) contractions which were bad enough I couldn't sleep through them, for about 48 hours - damnit I'm counting that as labour, it was hard work!

But from 4cm->birth it was 8 hours.

Presumably they just record it from the point where it becomes clear you're in established labour. So if you're anywhere over 4cms when examined or you start pushing or you turn up panting and yelling for an epidural while the baby's head slips slowly into view.

My friend has her labour recorded as something like 4 minutes. That's the 4 minutes between waddling into the hospital bearing down and them catching the baby.

Sometimes 4cms is irrelevant. It's just the benchmark in examining.

4cm? Really? So must be guess work most of the time then! I have no idea how long mine were officially, I just know when I woke up with pains and when I was holding a baby . Think I was past 4 cm when the MW arrived for dc1, possibly not with dc2 but I can't remember at all.

I seem to remember that when pg with dc2 I was asked how long my labour had been with dc1, how are you supposed to remember? Not like you get given a little framed certificate with all the details on they take your notes away!

I never got examined so would never know how dilated I was! Probably the reason for the crap notes. My labour notes were less than three lines long! Total!

my notes say 8 hours, funny they didn't count the three days it took to get to 4 cm.

everyone is different though and what one may feel as twinges and not count and carry on with everything - someone else may count as xcx and stop and they be painful as hell and can't concentrate or carry on.

my mum was a midwife and says you're not really in labour until you're 3cm

(tell that to the women who have 3 days of contractions!)

I wasn't examined so I suppose no one can tell me but I count from when contractions started getting really painful and I knew baby was ready to come out.

Thanks all.

The MW said I was 'contracting well' when I arrived at the hospital at 8am - think I was 4cm then, and it flipping hurt. They broke my waters (to 'get this baby out' - MW) at 12pm and delivered DS by ventouse at 9pm. My notes say my labour was 6 hours, which I don't get at all. Even my MW was at that.

Was just wondering because it could be handy to know if I have another.

I had contractions and no dilation, I had been contracting at less than 10 minute intervalsfor 52 hours, but apparently I never went into labour