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Childbirth

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

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Original poster

Are second births always easier/quicker?

83 replies

Mirage · 30/10/2004 14:06

Everyone tells me that second births are much quicker & easier than first births.What do you all think & what were your experiences?

The reason I ask is that with DD,my 1st baby,from show to actually delivering her I was only in labour for 4 hours.It would have been a lot quicker if I hadn't been so rubbish at pushing.Even so,I didn't even have time to unpack my bag before she arrived.

The midwives told me that if I ever had another baby,I should camp out in the hospital car park 6 wks before hand to be sure of getting there in time.Therfore,as I am due in June,I'd be interested to hear if it is always the case of 2nd babies arriving faster.
Thanks.
Mirage

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blossomhill · 30/10/2004 14:29

Lou - yuk! That is seriously gruesome!!!

lou33 · 30/10/2004 14:30

She didn't get to it though, panic not .

blossomhill · 30/10/2004 14:32

I bet it was the last thing on your mind at the time!

lou33 · 30/10/2004 14:34

Yes!

All sounds v dranatic doesn't it? Heartbeat stopped as well, and she was coming out facing the wrong way, so they had to give me an episiotomy and I tore on top. Dh nearly fainted when he saw the scissors going down

DelGirl · 30/10/2004 14:35

i must stop reading this thread

lou33 · 30/10/2004 14:39

Dg, these sort of things only happen to me, honest! It's because I am with dh, and he brings along a whole range of calamitous japes into my life

blossomhill · 30/10/2004 14:39

I just take my hat off to you lou that you went on and had more! Mind you I had an obscene amount of sticthes with ds as his shoulder came out first [sorry if you are eating] so should have been put off my self.
Although dd was not planned, infact it was a shock as ds was only 10 months!

emmatmg · 30/10/2004 14:43

Should have added too, DS2 was born at home, delivered by paramedics. 15 minutes after they arrived.

I was on my own with DS1 as Dh had gone to get my mum so we could get to the hospital.

DS3 was born about 10 minutes after midwife arrived, I chose a homebirth this time to avoid the panicky phone call to 999 as I was about to deliver.

So don't waste any time

lou33 · 30/10/2004 14:47

Yes I was set up in a domino type scheme, just in case I couldn't get to hospital in time, so they were aware that chances of a home delivery were high. I only delivered in hospital with dd2 because we were on holiday, and v nearly had her in the ambulance. Dh said they were arguing about whether to pull over or not, as she was pushing into my tights! Just got there in time. Didn't have any time for getting into an ambulance for ds1, so he was born on my bed

tortoiseshell · 30/10/2004 16:22

Ds was about 10 hours, first contraction to birth, dd was 3.5 hours - she was a homebirth, and I was 10cm when mw arrived, dd born half an hour after. Would have been quicker if mw hadn't moved me onto bed - when she arrived was feeling like dd was about to come out, but lying down stopped it entirely, moved back onto floor, and voom, out she came! Had epidural with ds, nothing at all with dd. So would definitely agree that for me the second birth was WAY easier!

motherinferior · 30/10/2004 16:53

I wrote an article on this a while back. Yes, second births usually are easier - the way one midwife put it is that your body has been 'programmed', like a computer, by the first birth. It isn't always the case, by any means, but more often than not.

My first labour was a 36-hour nightmare ending in a ventouse and nearly a Caesarian. My second was seven hours from first twinge, incredibly straightforward, home birth.

janeybops · 30/10/2004 17:04

Yes my second was 6 hours, 45 mins compared to first one 14 hours (plus 24 hours before getting to labour room!!!
My friend has 4 and were
1st = 2 and half hours
2nd = 1 hour fifty
3rd = just under an hour
4th = 10 mins........

luckymum · 30/10/2004 17:28

Mine were

ds1 14 hours
ds2 7 hours
dd just under 2 hours

Personally I didn't like the fast labour, it felt seriously out of control . The middle one was best, very calm and lovely(except for a gross poo moment.....sorry TMI!!)

luckymum · 30/10/2004 17:29

Motherinferior - that was very brave to opt for a home birth after that awful first one!

Lonelymum · 30/10/2004 17:39

Each of my labours was progressively quicker and easier (I have had four) with the possible exception of No. 4 who was about the same as No. 3 but then he was presenting the wrong way round so you could say that, given his position, he came relatively quicker than No. 3 (IYSWIM). I do think you will know the symptoms of labour earlier than perhaps you did the first time round so that may give you a few minutes more to get to hospital.

bonym · 30/10/2004 18:16

Does anyone know if there is any truth in something I read (or thought I did!) that if there is more than 6 years after having the 1st, 2nd is no quicker? Hope not as there will be almost 7 between mine!

lou33 · 30/10/2004 18:25

no idea bonym, the gap between 1 and 2 for me was 4y 8m

pupuce · 30/10/2004 18:54

Generally 2nd labours are quicker but if it was fairly quick the 1st time, the 2nd time isn't always.
I had one of my client who had a 17 year gap between number 1 and 2.... labour was still much faster 2nd tine around.

Skate · 30/10/2004 19:26

DS1 - induced, epidural, labour around 9 hours

DS2 - wasn't sure if I was in labour at all but 8cm when got to hospital , baby born 40 mins later (I was perfectly fine, didn't even take bag into hospital, no serious pain until waters broke then all hell broke loose and he was out in a couple of mins - no time for any pain relief). In retrospect, labour was probably about 5hr 45 min but didn't seem it.

DS3 - recognised it was labour this time so wasted no time getting to hospital - start to finish 2.5 hrs. Just gas and air and birthing ball (can't recommend enough) - the best birth ever, totally in control, breathing worked a treat and I was so, so proud of myself for that one!

Don't waste ANY time - go as soon as you think something's happening - with DS3 in the preceeding few days I went into hosp. twice and called midwife out twice as I was so scared of being at home on my own with the kids and giving birth in the bathroom!

golds · 30/10/2004 19:32

DD arrived start to finish 2 hours, I was so nervous beforehand and dreaded the very thought of giving birth, that when she arrived I thought it was better than I imagined.

ds, well I went in all cocky thinking, it would be a doddle, this won't hurt, IT DID, it lasted 5 hours and was 20 times worse than with dd.

Sorry for the answer that you probably didn't want to hear, but everyone and every birth is different, I hope it goes well for you.

leglebegle · 30/10/2004 19:41

Ds1 was a 30 hour labour, forceps, epidural, horrendous. was dreading ds2, 2 hours start to finish. got to hospital at 9.30am, holding the baby and drinking champagne by 12 noon (well I only had a sip come on). so in my experience, definitely quicker.

CP · 30/10/2004 19:42

My 2nd was even later than the first, had to be induced and then took his sweet time coming out anyway...

nightowl · 30/10/2004 23:22

is this second labours or second babies? if you dont have a labour first time round does your second count as your first? just wondering because first time i had a c section at 33 weeks and my (second baby, first labour) was days! (on and off) and god knows how long it would have gone on because i did end up having another section. always wondered about this?

Skate · 30/10/2004 23:25

Nightowl - I think it would be second labours because isn't it that your body 'knows' what it's doing and just does it more effectively/efficiently second time and perhaps the cervix dilates much easier because it's dilated before.

Could be talking crap here but just a theory!

mears · 31/10/2004 00:10

Second labours do tend to be more 'efficient' and therefore faster second time around. But beware - sometimes the expectation of a quicker labour leads to admission to hospital too early. Had that scenario today where a poor woman thought she was doing much more than she was and was soul destroyed to still be in labour hours later. Had she spent more time at home before she came in she would not have had such a 'long labour' in her opinion. However, she did end up having a wonderful waterbirth with a lot of encouragement

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