is 2nd child labour easier?

[22ann]

considering whether or not to have 2nd child, first was very quick labour felt labour pains about 5am after waters broke and we went to hospital, about 6.30am. had ds @1pm.
it was as many are very painful & they had to use ventouse & forcepts also had to have an episotomy.
i only had gas & air but would like to have an epidural possibly next time.
is your 2nd child's labour easier?

Every labour is differnt however my first labour was v. similar to yours. Second was 4 hrs, third was somewhere between 1 & 1.5 hrs, even though induced at 38 wks. First one I had gas & air, next two nothing though the induction the most painful.

have a look at this thread!

However.....

epidural can make labour longer, can stall labour, can stop you feeling when to push and can make the likelihood of a forceps / ventouse delivery with episiotomy more likely.

pethidine is a good IMO...if you have a quick labour, first, might well be quicker second time and might not have time to have an epidural!

Definitely easier 2nd time round - your cervix is already part way open and you're not as scared because you've done it all before.

ps has epidural first time round - got on fine with gas & air for 2nd

My first labour was induced, Epidural, 27 hour labour, DS born with aid of ventouse, I knew 2nd one could not be that bad! DD was 9 hour labour, only Gas and air - perfect labour really, but as others have said they are all different, and on average 2nd one is easier.

1st Labour with ds was 16 hrs i had gas & air, petherdine & epidural & aepisotomy & stitches.

Dd's labour was 7hr 45 mins i only had gas & air done most of it at home then went to hospital at 3.30am & dd was born at 5.14am, 2nd time round more painful as felt it all but if i had to choose between the 2 it would be the 2nd.

First labour was 33 hours, ended in theatre with ventouse delivery, had every pain relief going. Came very close to c-section, luckily final ventouse atttempt worked.

2nd time was 3 hours, gas and air only, no intervention for actual birth (was induced as 12 days late though!).

As a general rule, 2nd time is easier because your body has done it before and the exit route has been paved for the subsequent babies . There are exceptions of course but it sounds as though your body is pretty good at labour. A bit of help at the end is quite common, I think, especially first time around. I'd agree with lulumama, you may well not have time for an epidural next time anyway .

Hi 22ann, I had a very similar birth experience to you 1st time round except it was a bit longer. I'm pregnant again and praying that it won't be anywhere near as bad 2nd time round.

I know this time I won't have the forceps near me under ANY circumstances.

They can all be different..with both mine I was induced. Ds was 90mins start to finish from first pain and he was my first. I stupidly assumed DDs birth would be similair as again induced etc..however it was 8hrs, horrendous as pain relief wore off and was threatened with CS a couple of times...makes me a bit more weary for when I go into labour this time!!

quick question (sorry 22ann for a bit of a hijack) what if ur first is a c-section - waters broke, no contractions then gel and syntocin. head high, contracted for 8 hours, head still high, c-section. does it follow that 2nd will be easier? her head never made it down so wondered if anyone been there...

Everyone's different.

My pregnancies (3) got better, but my labours got worse.

DD1 4h 20m gas and air only hurt like hell, loads of stitches afterwards

DD2 2h 30m gas and air only hurt like hell, no stitches even though she was 3lbs heavier than her sister, felt great after second labour recovered much quicker was a homebirth too.

Mine was about 10 times easier - 42 hour induced labour with ds1, 4.5 hour natural labour with ds2 - lovely!

onweemite.....if your waters went before baby 'ready' then it does not mean that your second labour will happen the same.....unless there is a good reason baby didn;t come down.....eg too big to come through pelvis.....or malpositioned.....which may well not happen again.....xxx these are things that can be looked at before you go into labour again.....

In my case yes it was much easier. DS was a shortish labour - pains started at about 3 am and DS was born at 12.01pm - so 9 hours. Last two hours were pushing and I had an episiotomy and was very uncomfortable afterwards.

DD was an even shorter labour. Pains started at similar time and DD was born at 7.46 am, at home with a 3 minute second stage, no stitches etc.

Pain relief in both cases was tens followed by g&a.

Was easier for me but because it was much much quicker (4 hours vs 24 hours) and I knew what to expect which made me more relaxed. It was a lot more real this time around as well and I think more painful but only for 30 mins or so. Both times I was talked out of an epidural....the first time I regreted that but was the right decision for me the second time around.

Sprry to say this but my 2nd labour was worse! I was labouring away for about 18hours because my DS was still really high in my pelvis! They put me on a drip to see if that would help but he was refusing to budge. In the end they prepared me for a CS and just before I was wheeled into theater DS dropped and finally gave birth at just after 1 in the morning. He was 10lb 10 though so maybe that was the problem. Stupid me though now PG with my 3rd!!

My first labour with my daughter was not a great experience - epidural followed by failed ventouse, and then forceps and a very nasty third degree tear and 7 days in hospital due partly due to complications with the tear.

I had my son this summer and as cliched as it sounds, had a wonderful second birth - at 3pm 2 weeks before due date in a routine check my midwife told me I was 3cm dilated (I didn't realise). I walked to meet my husband at the tube at 6pm, gave my daughter a bath at 7pm, read some stories to her (through gritted teeth at this stage), put my tens machine on, left for the hospital at 8pm, walked in at 8.17pm, two pushes on all fours and my son was born at 8.25pm, no pain relief and a small tear.

I think this was in part due to having no pelvic floor and everything being so loose, and the fact that I had tried everything whilst pregnant - perineum massage, visulisation, pilates, homeopathy etc. etc.

I do hope that this does not sound too smug, but for those of you who had bad first time experiences, I hope that you have a positive experience like me. I nearly had an elective c-section this time round, as we were so concerned about complications if I had another tear. I am so glad that I decided on vaginal delivery.

hmmm, don't think mine was easier (sorry) though not hugely different and both were straightforward and quick

i certainly made more fuss about it second time!

thanks for your messages i feel more positive about it now, although i think i might leave it a little while longer.

i also used a tens machine, forgot to mention that, it was a very good distraction for both dh & i in the early stages!

next time i will try visulisation techniques & take a small mirror with me to hospital. i felt when i was in labour before i lacked the knowledge of where my baby was exactly, if i had known or been able to feel his head emerging i think i would of found it easier, rather than just feeling like i was dying!