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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:
DuffBeer · 15/05/2019 22:50

About 4 hours.

Was fully dilated about 1 hour after waters broke. I pushed for about 90 mins then got transferred to hospital when they figured the baby was stuck which was a 40 min journey and they were born about an hour after that.

SockQueen · 15/05/2019 22:57

I think about 1hr 15 mins. 10 hrs is a very long time!

TheSheepofWallSt · 15/05/2019 23:03

I think maybe an hour and a half?
They certainly told me at the hour mark that I had another hour before they started thinking about intervening.
He came pretty quickly after that - I was NOT up for intervention if I could avoid it in any way at all...

Caribbeanescape · 16/05/2019 07:22

Six hours. It was a difficult labour though, she was back to back, and eventually born with forceps.

Namastbae · 16/05/2019 07:53

First one I got to 9cm and then midwife manually got me to 10 (I was already pushing beyond my control by then and had been for around 30 mins). Then I pushed for 2 hours before she was born.

Second one I was checked - midwife said I was 6-7cm dilated. But I could feel the urge to push building. Started pushing (despite being told not to as I wasn't dilated enough yet - couldn't help it). He was in my arms within about 10 minutes.

MustardScreams · 16/05/2019 07:55

At 9cm they broke my waters (had been in labour for 23 hours at this point) and I started pushing about 3 minutes later. Totally involuntarily, it was a bizarre feeling! Dd was born 45 minutes later. So just under an hour.

WhenZogateSuperworm · 16/05/2019 07:56

I was 2cm when I arrived, 80 minutes later DD was here.

Original poster
yadayadayesokay · 17/05/2019 15:54

Thanks everyone for sharing, it’s interesting how it varies but seems to be mostly on the shorter side of things. I really envy the mums who had quick labours, although I’m sure that very quick is difficult in other ways!

@RainbowFox Yes 10cm is the pushing phase and you generally go with what your midwife advises. I had no desire to push whatsoever but did when I was told and there was no movement at all. Turns out my daughter was in the wrong position, back to back and very stuck. (And as my baby wasn’t in distress my midwife just left me like that for hours Angry)

@Nuttyaboutnutella God that must have been intense! Was this your first?

@csam Do you know why it was so long for you? From reading about it afterwards I found that most hospitals will leave it 1-2 hours before intervening

@vroc81 That must have been awful and frightening, what reason were you left for so long?

@EggbertHeartsTina Congratulations! That’s a very long time to be pushing, hope you feel better soon Flowers

@belwiz That sounds so similar to me! With the midwife changeover, the first lovely midwife was hanging on in there with me long past the end of her shift and she was certain things were progressing nicely and baby would be here very soon, she left around 10pm. She couldn’t believe it when she came to work the next day and was told I had only given birth at 10am. Also sadly with you on the piles thing! And the horrible woman who gave me my birthing debrief tried to blame me by saying I was tired and not pushing well enough. My horrendous piles said otherwise! Thanks I am better now as it was over a year ago but it still plays on my mind especially now we are considering trying for another.

@Ginlinessisnexttogodliness 5cm in 5mins?! I can’t imagine this, ouch!!

@Caribbeanescape sounds like mine, I hope you had a smooth recovery Flowers

OP posts:
csam · 18/05/2019 13:10

I've no idea why left but was on a midwife led birthing unit with just had and air.
I'm glad I had no intervention and got there eventually!

bearface45 · 19/05/2019 16:16

30 mins with my first but would have been quicker if she hadn’t got stuck. 14 weeks now so we’ll see this time

Alyosha · 27/05/2019 09:09

5 hours of pushing here..I dilated to 10cm in about 3 hours so I was disappointed it took so long!

Alyosha · 27/05/2019 09:11

And terrible piles/fissure here too :( 7 months out now

Helsvamp · 27/05/2019 11:28

90 mins

ADogRocketShip · 28/05/2019 14:51

Think about an hour and a half to two hours from being told fully dialled and ready to push until the baby arrived. Bloody long and knackering two hours though!

hazandduck · 05/06/2019 14:52

Was examined and told I was 9 and a half cm and ready to push (just before a bloody epidural and told it was too late), DD was born 20 minutes later.
10 hours is a very long time. How are you feeling after the birth? You can seek help and talk to someone if you feel understandably traumatised by it all. Birth is a scary thing to go through.

hazandduck · 05/06/2019 14:53

Also my Dd was back to back too, came out face up. I had no idea until she came out and DH said she looked like a little alien staring around the room lol.

PoppyHxx · 05/06/2019 15:00

I wasn't even fully dialated. They had to cut me 🙈🙈 as my little girl was coming to quickly at 8cm dilated 😫 ouch

Youngandfree · 05/06/2019 15:03

Dc1 I started pushing at 11.50 and she was born and 12.06 do 16 mins (3 pushes)

Dc2 was a different story I think I pushed for 30mins and then we realized that I had a part of my cervix blocking or something (can’t remember the proper term) I lost a lot of blood but it took two more Pushes after that.cant really remember 😭

Nogodsnomasters · 05/06/2019 22:42

3hrs 15 mins from 10cms examination to ds being born. He was facing the wrong direction they wanted to wait to see if the contractions would turn him but they didn't so I pushed for 2hrs to get that damn baby out lol

ShowOfHands · 05/06/2019 22:54

8hrs.

Like you op, dd was back to back but her head was transverse and her ear coming first. She was bloody twisted and ended up with muscle damage in her neck and shoulder. I never had an urge to push either. Waited an hour once fully dilated, tried 3 hours of directed pushing at home, in every conceivable position. Then they called an ambulance and I transferred in. Tried a few things then called for an anaesthetist but none available so waited. Then had 3 attempts at a ventouse, one attempt at a manual rotation and then an emcs. I pushed for so hard and so long that I tore a muscle, burst all the blood vessels in my eyes, had hideous piles and also haemorrhaged when she was finally delivered.

It was quite traumatic tbh.

Hmmmbop · 06/06/2019 20:07

DS- 5ish hours. Almost 4 pushing.
DD- 10 minutes, but she was a c section

Cloudyyy · 06/06/2019 20:14

3cm to birth in under an hour!

Mummyh2016 · 06/06/2019 22:13

4 hours, that was with a back to back baby though. I should've had an instrumental delivery however I was in an MLU, the main delivery suite in the hospital didn't have a bed for me and as there was nothing wrong they said to keep me on the MLU.

LottieBalloo · 09/06/2019 10:23

Inactive labour for 18 hours then waters broke and I dilated very fast then two hours of pushing. Once I got the urge to lysh, it was just uncontrollable tbh.

LottieBalloo · 09/06/2019 10:24

Push, not lysh!! Weird autocorrect!

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