Speed of labour

[Mog]

I started a thread a while ago about having a very long first labour and worried about how long second labour would be now I'm pregnant again. Today I got talking to a lady in Marks and Spencer whose sister just had her first baby in 2 hours! I'd love to know the secret, but can anyone put an anecdotal finger on why some people have quick labours and others are very long?

My 2nd labour was much quicker/easier than my 1st. I don't think there's a secret, it's just your body/mind know what's going on so there's less anxiety and stress. But that's only my opinion, I'm sure there are mant exceptions to the rule. Good Luck though,when are you due?

I'm due mid-February. But I am interested to know if there is some physical/genetic/lifestyle reason why some people have much quicker births. I really don't think it is down to mental attitude, some people just do seem to be programmed to be much quicker at it.

My SIL had a 90 minute first labour and a 35 minute second one. I was so disappointed they never went for a third baby!!

sobernow, you give me hope!!!! My first labor was 40 hours followed by a c-section and I am now 8 months preggers hoping for a VBAC. 1 1/2 hours would be greatly appreciated!!
I had a vague theory that I did too many pelvic floor muscle exercises the first time around (very successful in terms of not pissing myself during pregnancy), so this time I've done almost none and am leaving big wet patches everywhere I go...Hopefully it will mean a short labor.

Well I have had four children, 2 hrs 20, 1 hr 50, 1 hr 11 , and 22 minutes. I have a collagen deficiency which is hereditary, and my mother had her children very fast too. Doctors have told me that this is possibly the reason I have them so quickly (thank goodness), as the cervix is full of collagen, which needs to thin out so we can dilate and deliver. As I have less than usual I guess I ping open that much faster !

LOL sobernow! - if we see a little line of wett patches, will you be at the end?
Really don't think there is an answer to this question - if there was I could make myself rich! Second labours are (generally) quicker than first labours because your cervix has opened before - it's a bit stretched and baggy (can't think of a better way to put it!), and tends to respond rapidly to labour - almost like it remembers what it has to do.
However, ther are other factors too. Some women contract very intensely, very quickly, and as a result can labour more quicky. Other women have more regular contractions, building up over a period of time - who knows why?
The environment a woman finds herself in can also be a factor - those women who are relaxed and happy with the way things are going will tend to labour better - those who are tense and worried maybe not so well. those who stand up/squat/move around etc can get gravity on their side, which helps - those who lie flat on their backs and wait for labour to wash over them can be slower. The way a baby is presenting also has a say in the length of labour - if he/she is lying a bit awkwardly (say 'back to back', or 'occipito posterior' for example), this can affect rapidity - a baby lying like this has a bit further to rotate to get out, so this can take longer.
Pain relief can also leave its mark - an epidural will often slow a labour, as you tend to be less mobile and don't push as well. Pethidine given very early in labour can also tend to slow it down.
These are just some scenarios, all of which only CONTRIBUTE to the way you may labour - they are only factors - I do believe we are all just made differently, and some of us (not me!) were made to have babies.

my 1st was 32hrs but as he was 10lb 3oz and I only had 2 stiches & no drugs, I reckon it was natures way of breaking me in gently, if you know what I mean

my first was 2hrs - although this sounds glorious i don't think it is necessarily as great as it sounds. The hospital didn't believe that i was that close - so tried to send me home, i knew i wouldn't get there so waited in the foyer and popped up every 20mins until the believed me! The labour seemed so fast that i think my body and the baby did become traumatised by it as it didn't have a chance 'to keep up' (i couldn't even think about the labour for months) , there was no time for pain relief and my theory is that with short labours the pain in condensed in to that time. I screamed noises i never thought were humanly possible! I've heard people that have had 'average' length labours talk about their labours with absolute joy wheeras mibe was a blurred panic! I didn't really have any choice or say in anything that happened and i don't think dh knew quite what had hit him! Having said all that, i wouldn't for a moment try and compare it to some of the horrendously long and difficult labour stories i have heard and know that despite my moans i'm sure i was very lucky.

Hoping for clear roads when no. 2 comes in december!

Emilys, that's just what happened to my SIL, too. For 45 mins they said she wasn't in labour and couldn't have any pain relief, then when they agreed that she was in labour, they said it was too late for anything!! She was very shocked afterwards and my DB missed both births.

I found that I was discouraged from going to hospital when I rang. I rang again about 1/2 hour later at DH's instigation and was made to feel distinctly like an over anxious first timer. Even thought it was rush hour and a good 30 mins to the hospital. I was then ignored for an hour. And when I was finally examined found to be fully dilated and allowed to push (at last!). That was a 9.25 hr labour with a 9lb 10 oz baby.

I found that after my 2 hour labour that the immediate aftermath was much more traumatic than anyone else that I have talked to. I continued to have very deep, intense contractions for an hour after he had actually come out; it was kind of like my body went into over-drive and I lost about 4 units of blood. I went into shock, going from being very hot with the labouring process to needing wrapped in lots of blankets and essentially babied afterwards. I cried when she asked if I was getting up for a shower because I didn't think that I would ever stand again and was given a very lovely, gentle bed bath. I didn't see ds for the first half hour after he was born and wouldn't have managed if he had been given straight to me - instead he went straight to dh who just thought that this was magical and I'm really glad that he had that immediate bonding experience. This all sounds very negative and the pain was so intense that I still have vivid flashbacks/memories of it. But, the recovery time was ultimately much quicker because there were no after-effects from any medication, ds hadn't experienced any medication and breast-feeding established really quickly. I'm due with no2 at the beginning of January and my community midwife is already worried about a carpark baby!

Harrysmum - isn't the hot to cold thing quite common? I was cold for several days after DS - I think my body was adjusting to the loss of insulation. Sounds like it was more extreme for you though.

i'm so glad i got this response! I thought everyone was going to jump down my throat for complaning about a 2hr labour! harry'smum - your experience does sound v. similar to mine. i remember days later being astounded by the fact that having spent 36 weeks thinking about whether it was a boy or girl and what he/she would look like - when my ds was born it didn't even occur to me to ask what sex it was. Sometimes 'mother's instinct' does out weigh medical experience, we should all have the confidence to rely on it - i know i certainly didn't.

Emilys, Thanks for your description. Having had a very long labour myself, your description helped me to understand for the first time that a really quick labour can be more traumatic.

Bozza, interesting what you say about the hospital. With dd (2nd baby) I was 7 hours from starting having contractions (every 3 minutes right from the start of labour ) to delivery. I held on at home as long as I could, then went in at 1 a.m. At 1 a.m. I was only 2cm , and the hospital made it quite clear that they thought I was jumping the gun coming in and were quite keen that I go home again. I refused (no car park deliveries for me, thank you ). At 2 a.m. I was 7 cm and dd was born at 2.30 a.m. - I'm so glad I went with my instincts and didn't let them persuade me to go home, because I definitely wouldn't have made it back, and who knows where dd would have ended up being born?

Azzie got the impression that they thought I was an over-anxious first timer. Actually I was amazingly calm - I'm like that over big events its the little issues that get me worked up.

I agree with the reaction from hospitals, I ended up delivering 2 at home because of their slowness to respond!

I've heard that being fit tends to promote fast labours. I jogged & cycled to 38-39 weeks both pregnancies. 1st labour (3cm->birth) was ~7 hrs ; 2nd labour about 2hrs.

First baby I arrived at hospital 3cm and they told me they wouldn't even look at me again for another 7 hours because they only expected me to dilate 1cm /hour as a first time mother.

I was fully dilated within 4 hours... sigh.

However.... a friend who is not fit only had about 3-4 hrs with her 2nd baby, too (after 1.5 days with first (induced) labour). 2nd baby nearly born in the kitchen she left leaving for hospital so long!

Well with my 1st labour being 2 hours and 20 minutes and second being under an hour, that's yet another very good reason not to get fit!

Like most others here... first labour was 24 hours with a 6 hour second stage... 2nd labour was 5 hours from begininng to end !
There is hope

I had a 7 hour labour with dd1 from first twinge to babe-in-arms but with dd2 it was 22 hours (took ages to "crank up" because of my age the midwife helpfully told me half-way through. Made me feel good.)

DS1 was 23 hours from 1st twinge to bitter end. DS2 was a mere 18 hours from 1st twinge to the end but he did arrive after only 18mins of pushing which was a vast improvement on DS1!

Ds was about 33 hours from start to finish, heres hoping for a speedier delivery of No2 in a few weeks time.

Zebra,
I was really fit during pregnancy, running about four times per week but had a really long labour (5 days from first twinge to delivery!) I am an older Mum though (37 at first pregnancy) and wondered if this was connected to long labours as some older friends had lengthy labours.