Fast labours and sceptical midwives...

[BeyondTheLimitsOfAcceptability]

From what I've been reading, a lot of people with a fast labour seem to have trouble convincing the midwife that The Baby Is Coming, until out pops a head?

Is this so, or am I only reading posts that make me paranoid for DC2s birth?

DS was fast, and as I wrote on another thread earlier, I'm starting to wonder if the midwife insisting he wasnt going to come for hours contributed to him getting distressed and needing ventouse....?

This is not so in my case.

My first was a 6hr labour in hospital. My following 3 children were all born at home and each within 2 hours of me waking up in the middle of the night with contractions. in all 3 pg's i've rung the midwife, saying "i've only just woken so don't rush" thankfully each time the midwife has ignored me having heard the sound of my voice they've rushed here to find babies being born!

I've always thought they are so very amazing and intuitive! guess its luck of who you get.

Oh btw, I'm not midwife-bashing, I've not had "trouble" with midwives at all except this one moment, she was great for the rest of my labour, as were the ones on the pre and post natal wards, and I LOVE my community midwife!

I think (a rather, am hoping!) that they might be less likely to be skeptical when you've already had a baby for two reasons:

1. If you've already given birth I'd like to think that they might credit you with knowing how it feels and trusting your judgement when you say "this is progressing quickly"...

1. Second labours are generally accepted as being quicker than your first, particularly if your fist was quick to begin with.

My midwife was absolutely lovely too and I remember saying to her that if this is how much I was struggling at only 3 cm (I had been examined about half an hour previously) then I was a bit concerned that I wasn't going to cope with later labour.
She kind of frowned skeptically and said that I should let her know if I felt like pushing. At that point I said that I felt as if I could push the pain away but it wasn't an overwhelming urge. Luckily she examined me and found that I was 10 cm .
Thankfully, although she was skeptical she was also open minded enough to examine me. I think it helped that I was quite calm and didn't come across as a hysterical woman that just couldn't cope with a bit of pain (as I'm sure they probably experience from time to time)

My first time around I called the labour ward, it was early evening, my contractions were 3 minutes apart and was told that it was my first baby, have some paracetamol, relax and we'll see you tomorrow afternoon because if its your first it will take ages. I was having a contraction on the phone, couldn't speak (or barely breathe) and DH had to take over and say 'we are coming in now'. They told him he could bring me in but they'd only send us home again, it'll be better if I stayed at home and rested tonight and came in tomorrow.

Needless to say, we went to hospital and baby arrived about an hour later. I was so annoyed, it was really stressful when it wouldn't have been if they had just listened to us or even just heard the screams down the phone and realised that I was in full blown labour

Second time (different hospital) I kept saying how I'd had a quick labour the first time and we had much less of issue.

My waters broke with ds3, contractions started about 30 minutes later. I'd already rang the hospital and they said I needed to be checked as not having contractions. I rang again and was told by a very dismissive midwife that I definitely shouldn't go now contractions had started. I said they seemed to be coming quite quickly and she told me I was overreacting and to have a bath. I managed another 15 minutes at home. I think I could have given birth in the car if I'd pushed, ds was born 10 minutes after we arrived at the hospital!

My son came so quickly he surprised the midwife - and I was in hospital, in the ante-natal ward, having an induction at the time ....

She only believed me when she said 'How long between contractions...?' and the answer was 'Not even a minute uuuuurgh.'

You have to insist that the contractions are strong and close.

Bless you!

certainly wasn't me experience.
waters went with ds1 (3 weeks early) and we rang the hospital and they said come in to be checked over but they would probably send me home (contractions hadn't started when we rang).
contractions started in the car and it all went pretty fast from there.
Did have a "lets just check you out and see .... OH, you are 10cm" moment from the midwife.

ds2 was a planned homebirth, MW didn't get out quick enough, but as he was born within 15 mins of my 1st contraction that wasn't surprising.

BeyondTheLimitsOfAcceptability,sounds like your experience was very similar to mine.quick labour,distressed baby,ventouse delivery!as a result my Ds spent 4 days in the Trevor Mann baby unit.My partner and I plan to use the birthstories service to talk to someone about our traumatic experience.I would like to say however,the staff in the Trevor Mann unit are amazing!

It certainly was the case for me.

dd was very fast from 4/5 cm to pushing (I won't mention how god awfully long it took to get to 4/5 cm!) so with both boys I let the mw know asap that I tend to go fast at the end.

Both mws completely ignored me; one was telling me not to push 'You're nowhere near' right up until she saw his head and realised. The other left the room 'to get a bigger delivery room prepped for you' and the top end of ds2 was delivered by nurses who rushed in when I pressed the alarm and the mw only arrived for his arse and legs.

You will have to tell them quite strongly how quickly your first was. Also if you seem to be coping too well they won't believe you. In fact dh says he saw the moment the penny dropped for our mw as he saw them look at each other, ds was born half an hour after arriving

It's just not an exact science. Some midwives will look at some women and judge very accurately when they will be giving birth and then sometimes that 'radar' goes wonky. I went to baby group with a woman who delivered her first child at home in the shower having been sent home from hospital because she was not dilating. She was contracting strongly however, hadn't wanted to leave and felt very upset they were in that scary position. Equally both the midwives who delivered my younger daughters clearly got to a point where they didn't like the look of me and started hanging round the room with a casual air - and even the both girls caught them on the hop and were both delivered whilst stuff was still being unwrapped. Same happened with dd1 but I do not blame them for their sceptismthere. First baby, being induced, transferred to labour ward at around 4 cm - two hours later there she was. I have another friend who nearly delivered in her bathroom though having rung maternity and was told she shouldn't come in yet as her contractions were quite short. Yes they were - and they were 1 minute apart and she couldn't talk through them! Anyway - sometimes they're right, sometimes they're wrong. I guess it was ever thus.

With my first the me was [hmmm] when we turned up and tried to send me home as she thought I was a neurotic first time mum. They checked me to humour me and I was 7cm so got to stay. First contraction to holding baby 3 hours.

Second time, same thing happened. Walked in, explained fast labour and I was 6cm so stayed.first contraction to holding baby 3 hours.

Third time I walked in, demanded to be checked and was 10cm. First contraction to holding baby about 25 minutes. Luckily dh was driving at the time of first contraction and I managed to get a gown on before delivering.

I'd trained my dh in what to say and to be pushy if necessary but third time round they took my word for it.

I suggest you brush up on your assertiveness skills. Despite having "history of quick labours" written in very large letters on the top of my notes I finally managed to persuade my midwife to take me through to the labour ward as she sighed and stated very loudly that "I am taking Mrs Kandinsky through as she is panicing." My prem baby was born less than 10 minutes later with nothing ready. Cue alarms, staff running down the corridor to get him to start breathing and no sign of my husband who had been sent home as there was no point in hanging around.

Poor DH didn't get to hold him for more than a week as he couldn't be taken out of his incubator in SCBU before then.

With labours 2 and 3 I was told it was really all my fault as I wasn't making enough fuss so clearly couldn't be in advanced labour!

I was induced at 38 weeks and in total it took 14 hours from having my waters broken which I understand isn't very quick and I still had to scream at the MW to check that he was coming.

I was begging her to check me as I really needed to push and kept being told that it was too early to check and she wasn't to check me for something like another 4 hours and that she wouldn't check as nothing would be happening yet. In the end I had to scream at her and beg and when she eventually did (only because I couldn't stop myself pooing ) I was told that I was fully dilated and she could feel an ear but not to push for another hour! Wtf! Anyway, DS became distressed about 10 minutes later anyway.

That wasn't my experience. I had a quick first birth. For my second, I was planning a home birth. The midwife primed all her team that they should head over to me as soon as I rang. With my third birth, (which was very, very quick) I spoke to the midwife as she made her way over to our house for planned home birth. I asked at what point I should be calling for an ambulance. She said, "now", because when a woman thinks their baby is coming, it generally is. And she was right. Baby arrived before ambulance or midwife.

Ds1 took 4.75 hrs, ds2 1.5 hrs currently pregnant with dc3 and worried it will be quicker still. I went in when waters broke withds1 and was told it would be hrs, midwife checked me I was 4cm she assured me it would be at least 1hr per cm to progress and said she didn't think it would be her who delivered ds1 as her shift would finish before I had him. Needless to say she delivered him.

With ds2 waters broke, went to hospital got sent home as no contractions. Started with contractions about 2 hrs later went straight to 4 mins apart. Back to Hosp mw took one look at me and said we'd better get you into a delivery suite ds2 born about 1hr later. I will always remember arriving at the hospital clinging to DP as I was having a contraction and these two people asked me for a lighter. My not so friendly response was; I don't smoke and am not really in any fit state to find you a lighter right now anyway.

I think if you've had one speedy labour then you will be taken seriously. Also, you will know what to expect, more than you did with the first. Like most posters on here, I didn't know I was in labour and was easily persuaded that I wasn't! If I had another baby I would definitely not let someone tell me that I'm not in labour if they hadn't examined me. I was told it would be hours and hours before anything happened. I believed that, and I understand that for most first labours it does take hours and hours. Most of us on this thread know that there's always an exception to the rule!

I had a speedy induction with DD1 -6 hours

went into hosp with DD2 (mainly to miss the traffic as didn't want to go at rush hour lol) was checked and was 2cm -they were going to send me home, checked my notes which said fast delivery so they cahnged their minds and kept me in and DD was born 20 mins later

they were really on the ball and I was really pleased :)