Those who have a history of fast labours..

[CoffeeAndCaramel]

Hi everyone!! So basically I have two children age 8 and 5 and I'm pregnant with number three. My first labour was 2 hours start to finish and my second was 45 minutes start to finish. I'm really worried I won't make it to the hospital this time, but because I haven't had a baby For a long time is it less likely it will be quick anyway? I will talk to my midwife about it again, she suggests a home birth but I really don't want one. Would really appreciate some outsiders thoughts. Thanks x

I also have very quick births but a medical condition too so have to be induced. They induce me a week before my due date and if I were to go into labour before hand I was told to ring an ambulance.
As soon as my contractions start, the baby's come!

My first was 2 hrs 45 so planned a home birth for my second. In the end I didn’t have one as my waters went first so I went in as was worried about infection risk. From first contraction labour was 2 hours so while obviously still fast it wasn’t the 30mins the midwife told me to expect! If you don’t want a home birth then maybe request an induction.

My first two were also crazy quick. With #3 I had group B strep so I was told I couldn't have a home birth. In the end this baby was the longest labour! It was still pretty quick-but we had plenty of time to get to the hospital as soon as I suspected things were kicking off.

@CoffeeAndCaramel I just had to comment to disprove your midwife's theory I am tall with big feet, and I have straightforward but annoyingly slow labours. Even DC3 took 5 hours. I'm most envious of women who have fast labours.

I had DC3 as planned home birth, more because I reckoned hospitals slowed my labours down. It was magical, a wonderful experience.

Dc1 was 5 hours, Dc2 was 2 hours and Dc3 was 20 minutes (from first twinge) If I wasn't in the car with ex I would have had the baby at the side of the road. That would have been fun with a 3 and 5 year old in the backseats.

OP I am 5'4" and have size four and a half feet.... so no

I think it's genes. My sister had a 3h labour with no pain relief with her first and our granny had 5 children and apparently "couldn't understand why women made a fuss about childbirth, it only takes an hour or so" - !!!!

Thanks for good wishes, it was a scary time and DS had to have an MRI at 24h old and was under a paeds consultant till recently, but he survived and is sleeping next door to me. He'll be 3 in a few weeks

I had DS1 4 hours, DS2 1h 30, DS3 homebirth as I was worried I wouldn't make it to the hospital (25minutes away). That was nearly 4 hours, so I could have got there, but tbh it was much nicer at home, and it was lovely to be able to get into my own bed afterwards.
Btw, I am not tall, and don't have big feet, although DH is and does!

Love all the updates!! Feel a little bit reassured that I'm not alone xx

@CoffeeAndCaramel interesting ... I'm 6ft with size 9 feet ....

@Twizbe wow! Pretty much the same I'm 5.11 and a half and size 9 feet too! Apparently big feet means wide pelvis ( this was confirmed in my scans ) which kind of makes sense! Xx

You can plan for a home birth but also plan to go to hospital if you have time. Keep your options open and see how it goes on the day.

I'm 4ft 11 and size 3 feet.

Ds1 was 2 hours, ds2 was 90 min and dd was 30 min.
We just got to the hospital on time with dd as hospital 25 mins away.

After reading these responses. It seems this baby is going to fly out isn't it 😬

@CoffeeAndCaramel

After reading these responses. It seems this baby is going to fly out isn't it 😬

My second was a bit slower up to the pushing stage but then pretty swift. Definitely go in once waters go!

My first labour was 8 hours, second 4, third 2 hours. I opted for a home birth with my fourth mostly because I was worried it would be quick and the labour was around 7 hours.

[quote CoffeeAndCaramel]@CornedBeef451 that's what I'm wondering! It's less than a ten minute drive,and my mum would get to me in about ten minutes to look after the DC. It's just the apprehension of not knowing where I'll be and who with ect!

I think I shall do as I did last time and go straight to hospital soon as the pains start/waters break. It's just impossible to plan x[/quote]
The last part of your post is a good plan. That’s what I did with my 3rd.

I left for the hospital as soon a I felt regular twinges in my hips! No pain, just regular hip ache. I had to google ‘hip contractions’.

DC3 born around 50 minutes from when I checked into birth centre.

Thanks again xxx

If you plan for a home birth you get all the kit at home (including gas and air!). We had planned a homebirth but DD came so quickly my DH ended up delivering her with no midwife present. Because of this, an ambulance came and it meant we had all the waterproof towels, resus kit etc ready to hand if it was needed.

@ILoveAnOwl Thankyou for that I really didn't know that. How soon before is this organised? It sounds so silly but I have no idea how it works.. where do you even give birth? The idea of being in bed is appealing but you'd have to try and be so quiet not to wake the children x

We got it two weeks before the due date as that's the earliest our trust allows a homebirth. Ds1 I gave birth in a birthing pool in the kitchen, DD 1 was in the bedroom. In both cases all healthcare professionals were out of the house within two hours and we were left at home to carry on with our lives. Lovely experiences for both births.

You might not get a choice re homebirth if you deliver that quickly. Isn’t it better to have a planned homebirth than an unplanned one, or worse, a baby born in the car?

I had a 3 hour Labour with dd1 with a full induction ; dd2 I arrived going into labour and had a c section but my waters broke on way in and she would have been a really short labour if she hadn’t been breech. 5 years between them.

I would say though I had lots of signs SOMETHING was happening that day so I could have got in faster if I’d paid attention.

Definitely not liking the idea of a car birth .:

My first was 2.5hrs start to finish (no active duration listed as we didn’t get there in time) she nearly died because she was stuck and in severe foetal distress when we got there and needed emergency obstetrician support to get her out and ok. I was advised to have a home birth for my son and swore not to as I was so full of fear the same would happen. My trauma is deep rooted so they agreed that a 38wk induction was best for me to stop any likelihood of spontaneous labour at home. Which I went into at home at 37+5
The night I went into labour I couldn’t sleep and felt “wrong” so called them to ask if I could come in and be checked and they reluctantly agreed (I was having no contractions, no waters broken and no show but our hospital was 40min away). My contractions started 10min from the hospital and I had a longer labour (active 49min or from first pain 3hrs) they said it was longer than with DD because his waters didn’t break until his head came out. It was a much better birth than previous, despite me haemorrhaging (which again just made me grateful to be in a hospital!).
If you don’t feel right please don’t hesitate to ask to be checked!