Tell me about your first labour

[MrsCK]

I'm 24 weeks with DC1 and would love to hear your stories!

Haha mine might scare you slightly but as I am now three weeks away from DC2 its trauma clearly didnt have a lasting effect. I also love a labour story so will enjoy reading this.

I went on a night out at 40+1 having had NO symptoms at all. Came home at eleven, slept, woke at 4am with contractions 2/3mins apart. Had a bath and paracetamol etc at home while I managed the pain til about ten am. Into hospital, had three contractions straight off the bat so was kept in.

Regularly examined, got to 4cm by about 4pm amd then stopped dilating. They popped my waters to try and speed things along - nothing. Then by about 8pm I was put on a drip to ramp up my contractions. Very painful experience, started using G&A, that wasnt enough, needed diamorphene, which was marvellous. Then got to midnight and was ready to start pushing.

As I was pretty immobile due to drip I was lay on my back most of the night and dd turned. She was getting distressed and I was exhausted. The pain was unbearable.

I was advised to go to theatre to be prepped for a csec where they would give me an epidural, try forceps, and if that failed, csec me.

Thw journey to theatre was only a minute long but leaving my G&A behind was horrific for the pain. As soon as the epi went in, life became bloody wonderful! No pain.

Into stirrups, screen up, little snip down below, forceps and me pushing got her out. No csec needed. DH took care of dd inrecovery room while I was stitched up and cleaned. We then had four hours in recovery while I regained feeling in my legs.

She was born at 4am, so all in 24 hrs.

I also had Group B Strep so was getting regular antibiotics every four hours, and am negative blood so needed anti d etc.

But as I say, much as it sounds hard work, I am about to have another one!

Mine might also be another scare story, tbh you might get a lot of those as they tend to be the ones that get volunteered a lot. Often people who had straightforward deliveries tend not to have a need to share this!

I went in for an induction when I was 41 weeks, as the consultant was concerned about my blood pressure and the size of my DS (big).

I had two goes at the hormone pessary over the course of 3 days in hospital which looked like it wasn't doing much until overnight I had contractions and then my waters broke. Contractions then started to slow down, so later that day I was put into the hormone drip. After 15 hours of ever closer and more painful contractions I was still not really dilated at all. This was with near constant contractions. So I was persuaded to have an epidural so they could turn up the drip to max to see if that would get things going. After another 15 hours I still wasn't any more dilated, 1.5 cm at most. At this point the midwife did another internal and realised that my DS was actually presenting wrongly, and was brow presenting. This meant he was never going to come out, and all the previous hours of contractions had just been jamming him into my pelvis rather than onto my cervix hence the lack of dilation. Suddenly it was action stations and prepping for an EMCS. Had the EMCS within half an hour of the decision, but as they pulled my DS out they realised that he and I had a massive infection. He was covered in pus and gunk, as was my uterus. He was whisked off to SCBU for lumbar punctures and IV antibiotics as he had a non-blanching rash that was spreading. I was delirious with the infection and exhaustion, didn't see my DS for about 24 hours whilst I also had IV antibiotics etc. Turns out that we had both got Group B Strep probably from when my waters broke.

DS spent 5 days in SCBU then 2 in the transitional care ward before we got home. I was in hospital for this 7 days too as I was still recovering from the infection.

Fortunately we were both ok in the end and I am not actually traumatised by the birth, surprisingly and luckily.

Boring one for you - mild-ish but 3-5 mins apart contractions for 20 hours. Complete stop for 6 hours. Strong contractions for 4 hours, an hour of pushing, a few decals, a slightly edgy midwife and an episiotomy later - baby. G&A and pethadine (which was almost entirely useless). Job done. On paper labour was less than 3 hrs as I wasn't dilated or engaged even when examined at 2am and ds was born at 5.19am but in terms of contractions it was obviously longer than that. Mundane.

Mine is not scary...

Have had 3 homebirths, all absolutely uneventful. (aside from the miracle of life of course...!!!)

1st hb - went into labour around 12am with mild contractions. Jumped in bath, was lovely stayed in for hours breathing through pain and 'in zone'. Called mw about 5.30 in morning, she arrived at 6, came to visit me in bath where I was managing but new it was nearly time to push. Decided to come out of bath around 6.30, downstairs onto birthball - pain v intense - felt pushy, examined, good to go - 3 pushes later dd born on a cushion as mw on phone for 2nd mw!! 7 hrs start to finish.

2nd hb - had bloody norovirus and had been v ill. obviously started things off, so went into labour about 7pm as putting other dc to bed. breastfed (close age gap) which consolidated things...!! got in bath, out of bath as still having lots of loose poo as result of noro virus (nice) like this for a while...then in bath again v.intense contractions, called mw arrived 30 minslater. warned re noro (sorry mw!!) then into living room immediately transition, sick (nice) then 2 pushes, out shot dd. Not that pleasant and involving way too much poo - but absolutely fine! 4 hrs start to finish.

3rd hb - niggly for weeks, on off bh/periody pain, backache etc. One night about midnight felt a bit odd and restless got out of bed. having usual bh/periody pain but sort of knew it was different. didn't trust instincts so wandered about for a bit, dh in bed. gradually intensified - woke dh, still not sure but wanted him to fill pool. he advised me to ring mw, didn't think I needed to, so he called them! I spoke to them quite rationally, mentioning my previous fairly fast labours (last was 4 hrs) they decided to come straight out. Very glad they did! suddenly intensified and got into pool (about 3cm deep!!!) just wanted water...it was nice and filled above bum level pretty fast. mw arrived 20 min after phonecall - I was chatting away totally fine - then ramped up huge pains on top of eachother - transition - felt head descend (odd feeling) then head and body in about 1 push!! I remember saying 'i can feel shoulders!' boy out and on bottom of pool, picked him up and he cried - amazing. then hilarious comedy episode when I tried to get out of pool, short legs, baby still attached...not a good look! In the end dh hoiked me out! placenta swiftly delivered, job done. whole labour from getting in shallow pool to placenta was 1 hour.

Whatever happens, it will be fine. Try not to worry too much.

Was induced on due date (had SPD and could barely move at that point)
Went into hospital at 8am and was checked and had first pessary at 9.30am, started straight away with period type pains but manageable I even went to subway for lunch!

Had second pessary at 4.30pm and things ramped up after that, tried having a bath but couldn't get comfy in it, tried gas&air but it made me very sick

Got sent down to delivery at 10pm (think they were sick of me moaning at this point!) and had some pethidine, took the edge right off the pain and I had a little sleep just waking up at the peak of every contraction for a few seconds and then dozing straight back off

Then had the biggest contraction yet at the peak of which my waters broke, got the midwife and 3 pushes later DS1 born at 1.30am weighing 7lb 7oz

Had a few little tears and needed stitches (hurt more than labour tbh!) but was discharged at midday that morning so all in all pretty uneventful and calm, had a homebirth with DS2 too and that was also fine (and a bit quicker!)

Good luck OP

40+5, decided (unusually) to have an afternoon nap, having lost the plug earlier that day. Woke to a powerful contraction and dashed to the loo for, ahem, a clear out.

Was hands and knees with regular contractions for a couple of hours waiting for DH to get home. Popped on the TENS machine. Doing hypnobirthing so very quiet and focussed, but called the MW unit as briefed when I started having three contractions within 10 mins. Was told that as I sounded calm I must have been in early labour.
Thought.

Called back an hour later as was bleeding quite a lot (no one mentioned that!) and told them I was coming in, despite their protestations that I would be sent home again. Had a tense car journey with cx 1 minute on, one minute off.

Dashed upstairs to MW unit while DH parked, waited while MWs faded, left alone with student MW for forever. Finally examined and was at 8.5cm after 4 hours of contractions. Hurried into a birthing room and reasonably straightforward from there! Didn't need pain relief and was on hands and knees the whole time, though did tear a little bit. Labour was about 8 hours start to finish.

Not a scare story here either!

I developed preeclampsia at 36 weeks so was being closely monitored. At 37+4 everything was still on its upward progression so they decided it would be best for us both to deliver sooner than later - I.e they took my blood pressure and protein levels at a routine check then told me to go home and get my maternity bag! I refused to go in that night (as they weren't starting anything then) and went in the next day.

At lunchtime they put a gel on my cervix, with the idea that it would soften it enough to break my waters, and we pottered around the ward. At 10pm they got me on the monitor, I rolled over on the bed and my waters went spontaneously. This kicked everything off and I went straight into established labour. Because of my BP they moved me into delivery quite quickly and I had an epidural (which didn't take completely but took the edge off). At 9am the next morning (11hrs from waters going) I was ready to push, and DD was born at 10.30, unassisted (but with a 2nd degree tear). We went home the next day.

Good luck :) it really wasn't that bad, I'd definitely say that the idea of labouring again doesn't put me off having another one.

I had a pretty easy first birth

Waters broke at 5am, went to hospital at midday as was starting to struggle with the pain.
The midwife tried to throw me out and go home when I was 10cm dilated (she hadn't examined me and I was in PAIN, she was trying to tell me it was very early labour and it's gonna be hours possibly days yet) I made it to the next floor down of the hospital to go back to the car and had to get out of lift as in so much pain, hanging off the window frame like a crazy women whilst people are walking past. A nurse from this floor was saying "you're not going home, I cannot believe they have tried to send you away. I'm not having this" Then she called the head of midwifery of the whole hospital who took one look at me, got a wheelchair and took me back to the midwife unit.

The midwife who had thrown me out was saying to me, as you made so much fuss and have insisted on it, I'm going to have to examine you now (and got well shitty with me) then she had a poke around and was like, oh yes, fully dilated, let's push when my body was already trying to push DS out.

It was too late for any pain relief not even gas and air, I did it completely naturally (not out of choice I should add!) and didn't have any stitches.

It took 1hr and 40mins from "established labour" to him coming out
My waters broke at 5am and he was born at 4.03pm at 38+5. He's 8 weeks old now and is amazing. I promise the second you get hold of your baby, you forget all about the labour instantly and you'll feel like Wonder Woman

In a nutshell, it took forever and some assistance, but all was well in the end.

Waters went about 3am morning on day 1, on/off contractions started late morning. Went in for induction the day after as nothing had happened despite regular contractions ever since. Arrived at the hospital at 7am, was finally put on the drip at 9pm, at only 1cm dilated. Was fully dilated by the following morning (after a very nice epidural so I could get some sleep!), DS arrived at 12pm. He did need forceps to get him out as kept pushing himself back in between contractions. Healed well, back on my horse after a couple of weeks and walking semi normally after the first week.

That mw sounds like a total cow cupcakes!

Mine was very textbook.

Early afternoon, I went to see the midwife to have a sweep (was 41 weeks) and started having mild contractions on the way home from the birthing centre.

8pm: Went to watch a bonfire parade and had a glass of wine in a bar, mild contractions still going.

Midnight: Contractions getting stronger so put TENS on and went back to the birthing centre and was examined. The mw said I was only 1cm dilated. I freaked out and told her I wanted an epidural. She gently explained why that wasn't going to happen :D She wanted me to go to the hospital so they could monitor the baby's heartbeat.

2am: Went to the hospital, got put on monitors for a while- baby's heart was fine. I vomited quite a lot into one of those paper hat thingies. Cried a lot. My contractions were pretty intense by now but the mw wouldn't examine me because I'd been examined so recently and she thought I was still in early labour so she sent me home with a couple of paracetamol and a sleeping tablet. I cried even more.

3.30am: At home. Tried to sleep. Couldn't sleep as was in a lot of pain. Contractions were making me pace the floor and bellow a bit.

4.30am: Removed TENS machine and got in bath. Told OH to phone the hospital. Spoke to mw and told her I felt like I needed to push a big poo out. She told me to come back in.

5.30am: Back at hospital. Was greeted by the mw who had sent me home 3hrs previously. She seemed sceptical but I was bellowing and pacing rather a lot so she agreed to examine me. She announced I was fully dilated at which point my waters broke quite dramatically.

6am(ish): Got on all fours and started pushing. Was offered G&A- had a few drags but found it made me want to sleep so I abandoned that and carried on trying to push. Couldn't quite get the hang of what sort of pushing was needed until the mw told me to push as if I was having a massive poo- that helped so I went for it properly then.

6.45am The baby was born. OH looked and told me 'it's a girl! We've got a little girl!'

Held DD and felt quite freaked out at having grown a person in my body and pushed her out into the world. Then had a shower and some much needed tea and toast. 'Twas brilliant.

Although it was uncomplicated and textbook, I did feel really out of control and frightened for quite a lot of it- especially all the time I spent in the car toing and froing between birthing centre/hospital/home. The next birth was a lot more calm, but for a first one, I couldn't really have asked for better.

Hope yours goes really well OP. Giving birth is an insane experience, but you'll get through it, one way or another!

She was @devon
I thought my mum was going to punch her

good for your Mum!

Cupcakes, my mw was a bit like that (although, unlike you, I don't think I would have been fully dilated when I saw her, I was probably more like 7-8cms but even so). When she gave me the paracetamol, she looked me right in the eyes and said emphatically: 'This is childbirth. It's a day or two out of your life and you need to just go home and get on with it'. Grrrrrr!

Long and slow! I know people said that early labour can be long and slow but blimey, that took me by surprise. I'm only sharing because I wish that someone had made it clear to me that it really can take a few days...

With hindsight, it was ok actually. With hindsight I can see that I was only at a 7/10 really, and it could have been a lot worse. Eventually DD got ill and had an emcs followed by her having a 5 day stay in NICU/SCBU. Probably won't sound ideal to anyone but really, I'd never quite got as far as imaging pushing a baby out so was secretly relieved when they said it was an emcs (in my defence no one had actually said at that point that DD would be going to NICU). Also having a baby in SCBU for a few nights meant I got some sleep alone on the ward.

Not for everyone but I can see now while it wasn't textbook - wasn't too bad either.

Thank you all so much! These are all amazing including the scary ones!! I'm quite relaxed at the moment about the idea of giving birth. I'm sure that will change as I get closer!!

Mine felt fairly slow and relaxed.

I woke up around 7am on my due date with some pains, pottered around a bit and realised they were probably contractions. Spent the day doing housework, watching TV and sitting on my exercise ball. Put my tens machine on around lunchtime as the pains were getting stronger but still perfectly manageable (spoke to my mum on the phone without her guessing anything was up). The contractions were getting more frequent and painful by about 7 or 8pm, I couldn't manage to eat much tea and struggled to concentrate on watching TV. We started timing contractions and I concentrated more on using my tens and breathing through contractions.

I decided at about 11pm that I wanted to go to hospital and phoned triage, but the midwife suggested staying at home longer. I tried but felt I was starting to struggle and panic so phoned back around midnight. Midwife (begrudgingly) said I could go in, but would probably be sent home again. Went in, waited in triage for a while and saw a midwife around 1am. She spoke to me and said I sounded like I was only in very early labour and would be better off at home. I asked her to examine me and I was 6cm dilated so they let me stay. We went into a delivery room, I paced around and knelt on the bed leaning on the headboard and DH massaged my back. Lovely midwife popped in and out but mostly left me to it. I was fully dilated by 5am, and after a little while I felt a strong urge to push. It look a long time, and when the midwives changed shift at 7am I got a bossy midwife who kept making me change position and I ended up lying on my back with her shouting at me to push harder. I was getting tired and starting to feel like I couldn't do it, but thankfully managed to push dd out at 8am. They wanted for the cord to stop pulsating (as requested) then DH cut it while I cuddled dd.

You really don't want to know. Trust me. Saw a similar one on obem once and cried buckets. Scared the crap out of dh. Ds2 was planned section cos of #1, however once at hospital he decided he might as well make come on his own terms and 8 mins later there he was (to my pain relief free screams of "I'm not meant to be f..ing doing this "!!!

@wading
When I called before going in, the midwife said "not to bother going in yet, it doesn't sound like you're in enough pain, have another paracetomol" I was a bit apparently this is a reliable way of examining patients.
Once I'd got off the phone to them my DM, bless her, was saying nope, I'm not listening, we're going in now. Good work mum. No one needs their PFB born in a car!

Sorry for hijacking your thread OP!

I was induced the day after my due date due to a slight leak of waters.
Induction started Friday night, dd was born Sunday morning, it was long and painful and tiring. Friday night I had a pessary. Nothing happened. Saturday lunchtime after a second pessary I was taken to labour ward and put on the drip.
The remainder of my waters were broken and then I started pushing. I had a bossy midwife who kept me in my back and told me exactly how to push. It took a really long time! Gas and air made me cry and pethidine sent me to sleep.

I'm due in a few weeks with dc2 and I will be trying to ensure I have a home birth and refuse to lay on my back :)

My first labour was very quick and easy.
at 37+6 I woke at 2am with my waters breaking. I rang the hospital after about an hour (when I was finally sure I hadn't wet myself!) who said its early labour and to ring back later. About 15 mins after putting the phone down the pains were coming very quickly and much more painful, so I rang back and they said to come in. I think I got to the hospital around 4.15am and I was 5cm dilated. I had pethadine (sp?) for pain relief, and fell asleep. Dh said I just wiggled a bit in contractions I woke at around 6.45 and by 7.16am dd was born.

Honestly couldn't have had a better labour. dd2 however was not quite so nice and easy!

Try not to think of people's stories as 'scare stories' op. They're not. They're just the circumstances of labour and delivery. During my first pregnancy I found myself adopting a 'la la la' attitude to what I perceived as 'scare stories'. When I ended up with the delivery I did, I felt woefully unprepared because I had dismissed anything outside a textbook delivery as something I wouldn't be going through. I was a bit of an ostrich about the whole thing. I realised that actually I had no idea what would happen during labour/delivery as I couldn't predict what the baby had in store for me. Knowing about what different interventions entailed was merely good sense.

If you're interested in my first delivery...

My waters broke out of the blue one night. I went into labour straight away. Contractions were a couple of minutes long and were painful immediately. They hurt as much at the beginning as they did at the end which is something I wasn't prepared for. Also, they didn't peak, no starting off at one level, building and then fading. Each contraction hit at maximum intensity and stayed there for two minutes.

I'd planned a home waterbirth and spent the first 12hrs of labour trying to get some sleep and when awake staying upright and mobile. The midwife came and checked me over and at 4cms I went into the pool. I managed to get from 4-10cm in about 2 hours while in the pool and then everything stalled. I had 90 minutes of no contractions, fully dilated but nowt happening. The midwife got me out of the pool and moving around to restart contractions. And restart they did. 30 second break and then 2 minute long contractions. It was exhausting. For 4 hours I pushed in every conceivable position despite having no urge to push at all. I stood, squatted, lay down, sat on the toilet, all fours, on a sofa, reclined, rocking, dancing and on and on and on. After 4 hours the baby hadn't descended at all and an ambulance was called.

I transferred to hospital and was re-examined at which point they realised dd was presenting ear first and was twisted in a weird position. They paged for an anaesthetist but they were all busy. I was in hospital for nearly 90 minutes before I was taken to surgery. In surgery they gave me an episiotomy and tried to get her out with a ventouse. 3 attempts and all they managed was to pull me down the bed. Another surgeon took over and tried to manually rotate the baby (both hands inside me, trying to twist her round and push her back up). DD became v v distressed suddenly and her heart rate was slowing right down and not recovering at all. I had a crash cs.

Everything was fine. DD was trapped in an unbirthable position and was very hard to get out, even during the cs.

I was in labour for 31 hours, including 8 hours fully dilated.

I did find it traumatic but that was because I was so unprepared. I'd decided to have a home water birth and that was what was happening. The gap between what I wanted and what I got was v hard to traverse.

Interestingly, I had a 38hr labour with my second and a similar experience including a repeat cs BUT it was the happiest, jolliest, loveliest experience because I wasn't so set on how it would be.

A positive back to back story I was 38+4 I went to sleep then at 1am I awoke jumped( literally) out of bed and my waters had popped. So I was hoping round the landing excitedly calling my mum and dp(was 17 and still at home).

Cc were every 3 minutes lasting 1min 30secs. I got dressed and went to hospital. It was hospital policy to put you in early labour ward if waters had gone so I was examined at 2cm and sent to bed at this point cc were constant.

12 hours later I was examined and told I was still only 2cm I became very distraught. They started saying if I hadn't given birth in 24hours they would give a csec.

I laboured quietly in my room then after 23 hours at 11:30pm I was desperate for pain relief so I asked to be checked again was told I was 2 1/2 cms. At this point I was crying I was tired and just wanted to sleep. So mw consented to a quarter dose of pethadine.

I had it and it kicked in quickly. I felt really relaxed and sleepy mw wanted to send dp and my mum home. But my mum said either my partner stayed or I went home. So they let my partner stay. I tried going to sleep but I started feeling urges to push. I told mw and she said I was being silly. This was at 11:45. I went to the toilet as the urges were getting stronger and noticed a lot of blood. So I went back to mw and she said no I was being silly. I insisted she check me.

At 12:00 she checked and said " Good god this baby is just sat here waiting to be born".

Dh called my mam who rushed back and arrived at 12:15.

I was transferred to labour unit. as I pushed DS head out I did feel a horrendous stinging pain down below. He came out still back to back with his hand up by his head.

He was born at 12:29. No stitches and a agpar of 9/10 on birth. He weighed 7lbs 2oz and was 59cms I am only 5ft so was surprised by his length. I was walking within 5 minutes. Great recovery.

Had a show about 9am, then nothing until about midday, when mild contractions started. Listened to advice to not call the hospital until contractions became ' unbearable' on their own, was midnight at this point. While on the phone, my waters broke ( luckily on laminate flooring). When examined in hospital, found it was 8 cm! Managed on gas and air and baby born just past 9am. Dc2 was induced and a nightmare in comparison though.

Woke up in Friday with mild back pain which was on and of all day but getting gradually stronger. Tried to go to bed at night and dozed until about 2am when contractions were getting too painful to sleep through, every 5 minutes. Tried a bath then put on tens machine and my hypnobirth cd while shaking on the sofa. At 6am my waters went and contractions to every 3 minutes so phoned hospital to say I was coming in. Faffed around for another hour (difficult to get ready when you're leaking waters and contracting constantly!) before a very painful drive to hospital.

Got there about 7.15am and had to stand for 30 mins hooked up to trace as baby's heartbeat was irregular - that was painful! MW examined me, turns out I was fully dilated and baby's head was right there - oops! Got in the pool and everything slowed right down so had 2 hours of making awkward small talk with MW (holidays, hobbies etc) with pushing every 10 mins or so. Heartbeat was getting more worrying so eventually had to get out pool and have episiotomy and desperate push to get him out at 10.30am. Pushing was hard work, not really painful but just very tough physically.

All in all it was a positive experience. The worry over his heartbeat was scary, and the knowledge that the clock is ticking to get him out before they have to intervene. One of my fears was having to get pain relief and feeling out of control but thankfully I didn't need any