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Childbirth

Share experiences and get support around labour, birth and recovery.

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Original poster

back-to-back labour - your experiences?

42 replies

williaminajetfighter · 18/10/2013 17:36

Would love to know about any experiences of back-to-back labour and how/if it was worse than 'regular' labour, if you're able to compare.

Did you know the baby was back-to-back or did you only find out once baby was born? Did it change your birth plan? How much harder was it and how was the pain?

Any experiences/stories appreciated!

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FrameyMcFrame · 20/10/2013 22:19

My experience is that back to back is more painful as I've had one of each.
I expected to have an easier birth second time around but back to back complicated it and made it longer and more painful x

Heath27 · 20/10/2013 22:27

First two normal deliveries, 3rd child back to back, didnt find out until I started the pushing phase, extremely painful up to that point, I was unable to get off the bed to move about so that possibly made things worse, every time i stopped pushing my dd went back up birth canal a bit, after an episiotomy, ventouse and forceps with no joy a midwife basically put her hands inside me and held/pulled dd's head out, she had the cord round her neck too which didnt help matters!

VisualiseAHorse · 21/10/2013 12:01

My boy was back to back. I had no pain in my bump really, it was mostly concentrated in my legs and tailbone. It did really hurt, I'm not going to lie to you. But it was an average length labour, 14 hours from waters breaking to baby, 10 hours of quite intense and irregular contractions, I laboured in the pool and got out to deliver as I was very tired.

I wanted to poo, I kept shouting that I needed a poo, but I think that my boys head was at an odd angle so pressing on my bottom made me want to poo!

ZebraZeebra · 24/10/2013 21:25

I was under pressure to be induced, they kept me on the bed to monitor things, and at some point during the first 12 hours, he turned. I was still only 4cm and could have coped with the coming/going of contractions - but the constant back pain was agony.

I ended up having an epidural, which was great, but by the time I got to 10 cms it had worn off around the back but not the front. So I couldn't push but could feel the pain in my back. It does really hurt. I'm sorry, I don't want to upset you! I ended up with forceps and a full episiotomy.

If I had known, I wouldn't have let them strap me to monitors - I would have moved about and got on all fours - anything to help him move. I fully believe it was the non-active birth that did it. I had planned for a completely active birth, but the induction put paid to that.

My advice would be to as upright and mobile as you can be. Gravity helps a lot, as does movement. Lying on your back will just make it worse, and eventually unbearable. How they help you manage it will make a great deal of difference. I felt pushed into staying immobile, and it was the worst way to handle it.

Good luck - it doesn't have to be terrible. It is painful, but my DH was back to back and my MIL laboured for six hours before he turned and gave birth to him just fine. It's not an automatic "it's going to be terrible" situation. Mine was - but that was also to do with a whole load of fuckery from my MW's that added trauma to it!

cathpip · 24/10/2013 21:39

My ds was back to back, 54 hours later I had an emergency section for failure to progress. I had not dilated past 4cm's, was pretty painful till they put the epidural in after 40hrs.....

ThePuffyShirt · 24/10/2013 21:44

My first was back to back. It was painful, but I had nothing to compare it to. I had no drugs and an average length labour and a whopper of a baby.

2nd wasn't back to back and it was less painful, slightly.

mewkins · 26/10/2013 22:18

Also had a loooong three day labour, painful contractions, hardly any dilation (4cms after 3 days!), dd started to get distressed and when a cs was mooted I jumped at it - despite having been on gas and air for 8 hours I was apparently surprisingly lucid! After being taken into theatre , given the spinal block etc, I aas on the operating table and the surgeon said I had suddenly got to 10cms so I could try for a forceps delivery! I thinkI may have been quite forceful about the cs at that point! Several midvices, the anaesthetist and my mv told me aafterwards that I had made the right decision as may have reasulted in a cs anyway so double the healing.

fuckwittery · 27/10/2013 01:45

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

MrsDavies · 27/10/2013 08:30

my DS was back to back, he is my first and only baby. I didn't find out he was back to back until I was pushing had a slow labour with contractions lasting approximately 20 hours before I went to hospital, and when I got there was only 3cm dilated! then I got admitted had pethidine (which personally I wouldn't have again) and went from 3cm to 9cm in an hour!

I ended up having a forceps delivery and episiotomy as DS' heart rate kept dropping too low with every contraction and it was taking a while to push him out,plus meconium in my waters.

he's 5 months old now and a gorgeous little thing

UpsideAndAround · 27/10/2013 15:37

My back to back was exhausting rather than more painful, 33 hours. My fasted birth (24min) was by far the scariest and more painful yet I had no issues.

wevka112 · 28/10/2013 20:01

My daughter was born 8 weeks ago back to back. I was fairly sure she was b2b in the latter stages of pregnancy and tried hard to move her (yoga, hands and knees, long walks, always leaning forward on chairs etc) to no avail. I felt all the contractions in my back/spine which was excruciating to be honest. My labour was 52 hours and very painful- sorry!! Right from the start I did everything I could to move her (a friend had a b2b baby and managed to move him during her labour by being on hands and knees and wriggling hips). However it didn't work for me! I spent hours and hours on hands and knees, went for walks, walked up and down stairs sideways, leant over the bed, swayed and circled hips. Lying down on my back (which I only did when I had to for assessment by midwives) made the pain worse. Best natural thing for pain relief was hands and knees in shower with husband directing shower head at my lower back. Had dimorphine (which I swore I wouldn't) and eventually an epidural at hour 46. Good thing I did too because otherwise would have had an emergency csection. Baby's heart beat slowed right down so she had to come out, and had a ventouse delivery. Would never have had the energy to push without the epidural which have me a few hours sleep after two nights with no sleep! Epidural was lovely :)

juniperinNZ · 28/10/2013 20:06

Very long, waters broke on the Saturday night and DD wasn't born until Tuesday night in theatre. Most of my labour wasn't that painful, definitely bearable. Nobody picked up that she was back to back though which I think was the main problem - I was in the birthing pool for most of Tuesday, where the pain wasn't actually that bad and I found it really helped me, but after 3 hours of pushing and no progress (and my midwife not listening to me) it must have pushed DD into a worse position against my back as when I stood up it was absolute agony! Was eventually wheeled down to consultant who sent me straight into theatre for a spinal and what was planned to be a C-section but actually managed to get DD out with forceps and an episiotomy.
Mine was an unusual case though, as turned out DD's shoulders were wedged in my pelvis which is why she wouldn't turn, so I had complications other than the back to back (DS1 also had this, shoulder dystocia, although he was a very, very quick labour up to that point, and DS2 was a planned C-section due to two shoulder dystocias).

So, don't worry too much about having a back to back labour as most of the pain was bearable, although be prepared for it to be long, just make sure those around you are aware - although I think the case of my midwife is very rare - found out after she has a very bad reputation...

bundaberg · 28/10/2013 20:13

ds2 was back to back.

was my nicest birth of my 3!

6 hours start to finish. longish pushing stage (1.5hrs) but it was really fine.
I had him at home, so no pain relief. Didn't want the gas and air because I don't really like it.
he was 9lb 5 and had a giant head too

he came out squished but fine, and I escaped with merely a graze.

early labour involved a lot of backache, which felt quite weird. I found I was only comfortable kneeling up leaning over the sofa which is how he was born.

HaveYouTriedARewardChart · 28/10/2013 20:14

Not good :-( failure to progress (most probably cause head not pushing down on cervix in right way) caused midwife to break waters (avoid if possible), then unmanageable pain hence epidural and classic chain of intervention culminating in section. They did not know he was b2b until the incision. Possibly breaking of waters meant he wasn't able to get into right position? As they're them squished much more. Anyway, there's more recognition these days in obstetrics about how bad it can be. But lots of these stories are quite positive so take my doom and gloom with pinch of salt!

JackieBrambles · 28/10/2013 20:27

My ds was back to back - I had no idea before labour, and I had a scan at a fairly late stage too as mw was concerned he was breech!

I had a sweep in the morning and my mucous plug went at midnight. Straight away I had full on, really bloody painful contractions. No pain in bump at all though but of course I had nothing to compare it to! I was expecting a long drawn out first phase (with strong period pain contractions) so the intensity and the fact that they were every 2 minutes terrified me. I was concerned I was progressing too quickly so after 4 hours of leaning over the bed with the tens machine I went into hospital and was only 2cms dilated!

Thank god they saw the state I was in and didn't send me home!

The pain was so bad I just wanted an epidural, gas and air didn't touch the pain and by that point the contractions were near enough constant - they honestly felt like there was no break at all! I was expecting at least a couple of pain free mins in between to get my breath back! :-/

Sorry, this is long isn't it?

Anyway I finally got the epidural (it didn't work) but by then ds was getting distressed. It was only then they told me he was back to back!

So after 17 hours I had an emcs. The spinal block was utter bliss (I told the anesthetist I loved her).

juniperinNZ · 28/10/2013 23:00

JackieBrambles you are not alone, I told my anaesthetist he was my hero at least 8 times after the spinal block

slightlygoostained · 29/10/2013 14:47

Am guessing mine was back-to-back as he came out face to front?

I had no pain in my back at all though, contractions "normal" as far as I could tell, and labour was about 7 hours, pushing stage an hour. Felt like hard work but only had one so nothing to compare to! Had an episiotomy at midwives' suggestion, & he came out pretty soon after that. He had his hand up by his shoulder so that didn't help.

Don't know when he wiggled round as he was LOA in the scan 12 hours earlier.

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