Anyone here had speedy labours? I have questions :)

[Narketta]

I'm not PG and me and DH aren't even trying to conceive yet mainly because i'm petrified of what will happen if we decide to have another DC.

We have 2 DC age 3 and 5. DS was born in an hour and 15 mins and DD was delivered at home by DH after a 44 minute labour.

I consider myself very lucky to have had 2 easy quick births.

BUT my fears are that I will either have another stupidly quick labour and something will go wrong or I will have a terrible time of it and need intervention (The MW on the way to the hospital after DD's birth told me that 3rd labours are trick and your body can forget what to do)

I would like to talk to a midwife about my concerns but as i'm not PG I don't even know if this would be possible.

So I would like other peoples experiences of there 3rd labours.:)

TIA

[warthog]

1st labour: 7 hours with a syntocin drip
2nd labour: about 4 hours
3rd labour: 1h45

3rd was the least painful, quickest and least stitches.

[barnowl]

My midwife said exactly the same to me when I was expecting DC3. I had Speedy labours with my first 2 and I was really nervous about the third after the midwife said that and she was even easier and faster than the first 2. DC4 was speediest of all I was lucky a local midwife living nearby had switched her phone on for an on call shift early and made it to my house as the hospital midwife didn't arrive till after she was born. I would say don't worry about it you've done it twice before, you can do it again.

[elliejjtiny]

DS1 was 4.5 hours, DS2 was 1.5 hours and DS3 was 2h 14m. The GP thought ds3 would come in 45 mins max and the consultant offered me an induction. In the end I agreed to induction after my waters broke and nothing happened. After much stopping and starting and waiting for a bed on labour ward I eventually got told I didn't need to be induced after all and ds3 arrived 2h 14m later. It felt like forever at the time though after expecting a 45 min labour.

[Tangle]

Oh good - another... assertive... patient :o

No doubt you've also come across the consultants who present their "advice" as "the way the world will be" - and the women who therefore believe they can only do as their consultant advises :(.

Fingers crossed things are less fraught for you this time round and you get support from your HCP's without having to fight too hard :)

[BeyondTheLimitsOfAcceptability]

(Although part of me is curious whether DS would have gotten distressed if I were at home, but dont think I'd risk it to find out...)

[BeyondTheLimitsOfAcceptability]

Oh dont worry its not them saying I cant, its me, I'm very forward with the HCPs over my care
DS got distressed by my quick labour last time and had to be delivered by ventouse (transfered from MLU to CLU half hour before birth), which has now left me with a prolapse. I'm researching and umming and ahhing at the mo (plenty of time to decide luckily) over whether I should push for an ELCS, or whether that actually wont help...

[Tangle]

BeyondtheLimits - I can't comment on your personal circumstances, but being under consultant care does not automatically mean you "can't" have a HB. Depending on the reason you're seeing the consultant it may be inadvisable (and depending on the comfort levels of the individual consultant you may be told "NO" regardless of the research available), but as a mentally competent adult it is always down to the individual woman whether or not she chooses to accept medical advice.

Sorry - pet bugbear of mine is HCPs in general and (seemingly) consultants in specific who make blanket statements with no supporting evidence and then get offended and aggressive if you dare question their advice (or, indeed, point out that it is only "advice"...). As I say - I know nothing of your personal circumstances and they may be such that a HB would be extremely risky, but from my experience risks can be difficult to quantify and compare - and if you are at serious risk of delivering at the side of the road then a planned HB would be a safer option and one that could be worth considering. Planned induction also sounds worth investigating - but it might be worth having a backup plan, just in case your baby decides to come before the induction...

[naturalbaby]

i was worried about the 3rd labour being totally different but the only issue i had was that it took a couple of days to get going properly. i planned an unassisted home delivery after 2 very straightforward and fairly quick labours. the midwife was parking the car as the head was coming out, despite being very aware i was in labour and would be quick! i am very close to a good hospital but was still worried about a last minute drama.

[BeyondTheLimitsOfAcceptability]

I've warned my MW that there are going to be a lot of false alarms with #2, I will be going to the hospital at the slightest twinge!!

[BeyondTheLimitsOfAcceptability]

I'lll let you know in April how quick DC2 comes, DS was four hours labour, only in hospital 2 hours before he was born. If they do get quicker as people always say, I may rent a flat opposite the hospital...
Cant have a home birth as under consultant care for DC2.
Interested that I could possibly be induced though, wouldnt have thought of that :)

[hawesmead5]

I had my DS2 in 40 mins and had him accidently at home. We are just starting to think about TTC DC3 but I am terrified of another fast birth. I was also 3 weeks early so I don't think I would be able to leave the house for months if we decide to have DC3.

[BreastmilkDoesAFabLatte]

My labours have been 4.5 and 3.5hrs, so if I were planning a third I'd be wondering about this, though with somewhat less urgency than than OP!

I've heard, and I don't know whether this is borne out by evidence, that labours of an hour or less tend to have extremely low rates of complications. Does anyone else know more?

[7to25]

I had 4 hour labour with first and just made it to the hospital for second. I joked that I would camp in the hospital car park for the last two weeks of my third pregnancy, but in reality it was more like the first.....as were the fourth and fifth! For the sixth I was induced.

[Eglu]

I would ask to speak to whoever would be your consultant at the hospital and see if they would consider an induction before you are due.

I would certainly do that if I had another. DH just delivered DC3 8 weeks ago.

[SpamMarie]

My mother's labour lengths went 12 hours, 9, 6 then 3. She always joked if she'd have had a fifth child, it would have shot right out!

[lollystix]

Gumps-that's exactly how ds3 felt for me but only about 6 days of it. 4 times I thought I'd be in that night then nothing. As soon as mw felt he had engaged I got a sweep (wouldn't do it before due to cord prolapse) and then it all got moving about 12 hours after. So frustrating at the time but aside from this def the best birth of the 3

[coffeeaddict]

Can you ask to be induced? I had v quick scary labour with no. 2. Was not keen on delivering no. 3 on floor/in car, with children around. As a result I had planned inductions for nos. 3 and 4. Fantastic, controlled, 6 hour labour each time, epidural, lovely. Highly recommend it.

[Narketta]

PrincessScrumpy You must be so excited, well done you for being brave enough to try again. I love babies and would love another one so I think i'm just going to have to go for it. Hope everything goes well for you I'll keep a look out for your birth announcement.

Good luck

[PrincessScrumpy]

I was concerned as dd1's birth was so quick and the mw didn't believe me until 20mins before dd was born when dh asked for a second opinion and the registrar discovered I was 10cm (first time they'd even looked as apparently I didn't look in enough pain!). Anyway, before this pg dh and I went to see a consultant to discuss issues and fears as I wanted another baby but was seriously considering adoption rather than experience that again. I was told I could possibly have a cs (due to tearing as dd shot out) or they could induce me so I would be in hospital and not have to worry about giving birth in the car. He said it was quite common in these circumstances.

Reassured, we ttc and now I'm having twins in less than 2 weeks - by cs as one is breech and the other cephalic, but she can't engage as twin one is blocking the exit with her legs.

[neolara]

I had a quick 3rd labour (30 mins start to finish, 1 min pushing) after two quickish previous labours (4 hours of so). My dh delivered my dc3 without a midwife / ambulance.

I think that there is a good chance that you would have another quick labour again, although obviously the baby could be in a funny position which could slow things down. However, my midwife had told me that quick labours generally mean everything is fine, and that was certainly my experience.

I think that because you know that you could have a quick labour, you are in a good position to be really prepared. Get the midwife to talk you through what you should do if you have to go it alone. Go for a home birth. Get everything ready so that you can prepare for imminent birth at a moments notice. Get on the phone immediately you go think anything is starting. Lie to the midwifes if necessary. (When I rang the hospital I said contractions where 5 mins apart, even though I'd only had 2 contractions - turned out to be a sensible move given that I gave birth less than 25 mins later.) Don't hesitate to call an ambulance if you think things are happening too fast.

Leading up the the birth I was worried I could have a quick labour, so I pretty much didn't leave my house for weeks and certainly didn't leave the area. I made sure I was chaperoned if I thought my dh was going to be uncontactable.

I really feel for you. Luckily I am happy with my 3, but my very speedy last birth would make me feel anxious about embarking on another pregnancy. I should also say that I was 40 when I had my last child, and so 37 feels like you are a spring chicken!

[Gumps]

37+2 with dc3 and great to read this thread. Having such a weird time compared to other 2 pregnancies. Ds1 came on due day, started with period pains and built from there. About 6 hours of proper contractions and pushed for an hour and a half as he was back to back and a shoulder dystocia. Sounds awful and was for ds1 but not that bad for me in terms of pain or length. Ds2 was braxton hicks for weeks and then about 4 hours of proper labour and 17 minutes of pushing.
This time I have already been kept in overnight as contractions started and then stopped. That was 10 days ago. Contractions and back pain which come and go are enough to make me remember what labour feels like but not enough to make me think this is it.
Is this typical of 3rd births? Get torn between feeling like it's never going to happen and it's going to happen very quickly on the bathroom floor!

[foxinsocks]

It was brilliant in one way. They couldn't believe it at the hospital. I did quiz dh afterwards as to whether I had a bucket fanjo that I was able to get him out so fast but he promised me I didn't .

Those 2 contractions were incredibly intense but once he was born I went back to normal so very quickly - in fact, so quickly I could barely believe I had been through labour and found it utterly shocking for a few days!

But now I look back on it and I realise how lucky I was. The midwife said to me, if you have quick labours and want to go to the hospital, you go the minute you have a twinge.

I also found out, afterwards, that the new house we moved into had a midwife opposite which would have made me feel a lot better if I had more (not that you can guarantee they will be in but you know what I mean) so always worth finding out if you have community midwives near you!

[lollystix]

Foxinsocks-2 pushes-OMG!!!!!!! I did meet a woman in soft play once who said she'd been cleaning her teeth, had 3 contractions and ds2 arrived. She said it ran in her family but 2!!!! Omg - I am so jealous but it must have been soooo scary for you at the time

[claricestar]

I'm expecting my third and had a quick labour last time. 2 hours for first stage...but went from 4 to 10cm in 20 mins. Pushing stage was about 25 minutes. I'm a bit concerned if this third baby will come even quicker, especially as I won't be having a homebirth due to previous post partum hemmorhage...but I don't want the labour to be slower...2 hours was just right last time (compared to a day and a half of induced labour with DS1!).