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Childbirth

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

Original poster

How long were you fully dilated before baby born?

51 replies

yadayadayesokay · 15/05/2019 20:55

For me it was around 10 hours from being examined and told I was fully dilated to my baby being delivered. I now understand this was an unusually long amount of time. Just curious how long it was for others from this point until delivery?

OP posts:
Babysharkdododont · 15/05/2019 20:57

Crikey I don't really know. I was 5cm arriving at hospital, then it was a blur of 3 hours and baby was born, I don't think I had another internal so wouldn't have known when I was fully dilated. 10 hours certainly does seem like a long old time you poor thing!

Ohyesiam · 15/05/2019 20:57

About 40
Mins with the first .
Wasn’t examined withthe second.

RainbowFox · 15/05/2019 21:37

I'm not sure, but I was 7cm when I got to hospital and DS was born an hour later, so doubt it was long. Do you not push once 10cm? Or are you meant to wait for something else to happen before pushing? (I just did as I was told by MW Grin)

MissKatyKat · 15/05/2019 21:38

About half an hour but probably would have been quicker if I'd been in a different position. I was pushing for quite a while but she was born almost immediately after I changed position.

RiddleyW · 15/05/2019 21:39

About 90 minutes of pushing

Nuttyaboutnutella · 15/05/2019 21:43

A few minutes! Went from 6cm to birth in under an hour.

Itwouldtakemuchmorethanthis · 15/05/2019 21:44

Minutes

csam · 15/05/2019 21:49

I was 4 hours fully dilated... and it felt like an eternity!!

vroc81 · 15/05/2019 21:50

9.25hrs.. well from when I demanded an examination to EMCS was that long.. could have been a bit longer..

SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius · 15/05/2019 21:52

With ds1 I was pushing for 90 minutes after being fully dilated. With ds2 it was a minute and a half, and with ds3 it was even less.

EggbertHeartsTina · 15/05/2019 21:53

With my first only 30 mins. With my second (born last week) 4 ish hours and pushing the whole time. It was horrific and has ruined my back!

Ffsnosexallowed · 15/05/2019 21:53

Well, mw didn't believe I was in labour, examined me, I was 9cm, had her about half an hour later

ruinedeverthing1 · 15/05/2019 21:57

Minutes
5cm to delivered in 50 mins

belwiz · 15/05/2019 22:00

You poor thing - that must've been exhausting. With the first of my 3DC it was about 5 hours from full dilation to birth - I remember the midwife assuring me through the gas-induced haze of the transitional phase that DS would be born by the time she went off shift at 9pm as I was almost 10cm and yet hour after hour passed until he was finally born around 2.10am. This was down to several things: he'd been breech and turned by ECV at 37 wks so in a not great position during labour, head not engaged beforehand etc. He was also a big baby with head circumference on 90th centile! And what was more confusing for a first time labour was that my contractions just sort of petered out for a while. Despite this, the midwife insisted I keep pushing, getting me out of birthing pool and onto a bed as she was worried the water was slowing labour. I didn't know any better so just did i was told and ended up exhausted. A subsequent midwife, when I had DC2, told me that contractions slowing or stopping during labour was sometimes just your body's way of giving you a break if reserves are low and that pushing through it was counterproductive. Sorry if TMI but it left me with really bad piles Angry Anyway that was 11 yrs ago and the next two births were much quicker - about an hour from 10cm to birth.
Hope you're feeling ok now. It can all take a while to process. I really needed to talk it out with close friends afterwards as tbh I was prob in a bit of shock.

DragonMamma · 15/05/2019 22:02

40 mins for the first and around 8minutes for the second. The first was B2B but the second was clearly not!

troppibambini · 15/05/2019 22:14

With dc1 when they examined me and I was 10cm I started pushing straight away and she was born around 45 mins later.
Dc2 I had a nap for a hour at 10cms then pushed for half an hour and she was born.
Dc3 I was supposed to have a nap for an hour but he had other ideas and my body was pushing without me trying he was born about an hour after being fully dilated (30 mins sleep 30 mins pushing)
Dc4 about 30 mins sleep then his heart rate dropped so he was a ventouse delivery probably took ten minutes to get him out (so around 40 mins in total)

The sleeping was because I had epidurals with the last three so because I was reasonably pain free they wanted the baby to come as low down a possible before I started pushing.
No way could I have had a nap with dc1 at 10cms dilated!!Grin

HalfBloodPrincess · 15/05/2019 22:16

10 minutes, 7 minutes and 3 minutes. Took longer to deliver the placenta the second 2 times. I do have fast active stage labours though.

DramaAlpaca · 15/05/2019 22:19

I'm not sure with DS1. I'd had an epidural & couldn't feel to push so I ended up having a forceps delivery. So maybe a couple of hours?

With DS2 it was 20 minutes & it was less than five minutes with DS3.

HelpAFattieOutHere · 15/05/2019 22:21

No idea, had an epidural and induction. Less than an hour though, I was examined at 8pm at shift change over, nothing happening to cervix and nothing on monitor. An hour later I was convinced I could feel something and he was well on his way (faulty monitor!). Couple of pushes and a bit of supposed help from the salad tongs (which did absolutely nothing besides tear, didn't have a mark on him so couldn't have done much with them!) and out he popped.

Flyingkites123 · 15/05/2019 22:22

About 40 mins for 1st and 2nd labour 2.5 hours start to finish. 10 hours fully dilated?? Ouch 😩

Bythebeach · 15/05/2019 22:23

First DC was emCS before fully dilated, DC2 an hour, DC3 a couple of pushesGrin

Ginlinessisnexttogodliness · 15/05/2019 22:24

Fully dilated with first at 6.35 am (4-10cms 41 weeks in an hour and a half) DS 1 born 6.40 am two pushes, almost born in his water
DD fully dilated 22.55 pm ( drip induction dilated last 3cms in minutes) born at 23.02 pm two pushes
DS 2 born 3.10am. I dilated five cms in under five minutes it was unreal pain. My established labour time was classed as six minutes. Here in three pushes.

Dinosauratemydaffodils · 15/05/2019 22:32

6 or 7 hours with dc1. He needed to rotate so they gave me time for that. Then I pushed for a couple of hours. Then they tried forceps and then they finally admitted defeat and delivered him by emcs.

PlinkPlink · 15/05/2019 22:32

About 10 minutes.

I'd reached the point of "I cant do this anymore" so they examined me and I was 10cm.

My waters still hadn't broken until the very, very last second and boy, did they explode Blush all over the lovely nurses.

DS arrived monumentally quickly after that... 2 pushes.

Whole labour was quite quick really... 6 hours in active labour? I consider myself lucky.

heydiddlediddle21 · 15/05/2019 22:33

Second baby about half an hour, third about 12 minutes I think. I arrived at hospital fully dilated and had baby 12 minutes later.

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