Was your third labour quicker than your second, especially at 39?

[Historian0111101000]

We’re thinking of having our third baby and I’ll be 39 at the time of delivery.

I’ve had two previous natural births with no complications. First was an induction, second started on its own. Both pregnancies were straightforward and births went fine overall.

What I’m a bit worried about this time is how fast my second labour was. It was about 5 hours total. I went into hospital when contractions started, and by the time I was 5cm they were about to offer an epidural—but I went from 5cm to fully dilated in about 20 minutes after they broke my waters. The pain was absolutely intense and things escalated really quickly.

I genuinely think if I’d followed NHS advice and stayed at home longer I would have ended up giving birth on the kitchen floor, because I didn’t really feel much until I was already quite far along.

So I’m just wondering—if your third labour was your fastest, how did it compare to your second? Did it end up even quicker, and did you have any complications because of the speed?

Any experiences would be really helpful.

I had a similar experience with the nurses during both of my births.The second time, they examined me and said I was 5 cm dilated. About 20 minutes later, I told them I had the urge to push and kept asking what I should do. They just looked at me and shook their heads, saying it wasn't possible.After the third contraction, I was screaming for someone to check me because I really felt the baby was coming. And he was.
I still don't understand why they wouldn't believe me. Who, in their right mind, would make something like that up?

No, my third was about the same length total as my previous birth, but the second stage was much longer (26 minutes as opposed to 4) and harder (he was born with both hands on his head which took some effort to deliver, and hurt).

But all my births have been between 2.5 and 3 hours total labour.

My third pushing stage was very quick, contraction stage was similar to my second. But my experience was that as it was my third they trusted me and what my body was saying to me.

4 children here.
1st was 1 hour and 15 minutes. I was 32
2nd and 3rd both around 3 hours. I was 34 and 38
3rd when I was 41 was hell nearly 40 hours of strong contractions and then a forceps delivery.

Edit to add the first 3 were natural labours but the 4th was induced due to my age.

The midwives attending the home births do have medication in the event of a PPH and would inject you with Pitocin and I believe they have other options too, an ambulance would usually be on stand by in case it was needed. I was transferred to hospital with my first and it came within about a minute of them calling. The homebirth midwives then come with you to hospital as well so you’re very well cared for. Maybe have a chat with them about your fears and expectations and see what they say.

Maybe your second labour wouldn’t have been as quick if they didn’t break your waters for you? Unless I’ve miss understood the OP.

First labour - 32hrs, 2 hrs of pushing, assisted delivery.
Second labour - 16hrs, 2 hrs of pushing, assisted delivery.
Third labour - stop start minor slightly uncomfortable contractions on and off for about 24hrs before I knew I was properly in labour, from that point it was about 3.5hrs until the birth. I was involuntarily pushing for maybe 15 minutes or so? Needless to say baby was born at home before the paramedics could even arrive. Thankfully everything went smoothly despite the shock of it all!

Yes they all got quicker and one did deliver at home before the midwife arrived, wasn’t a huge deal, advice would just be not to wait too long with subsequent babies because they are often quicker

First was the quickest, third child next quickest, middle child longest labour. So I don't think you can predict these things personally

My second DC arrived after quite bit longer labour than first. (First was about 4 hours, second more like 7 or more). So….you never know!

Third was almost identical to my first, weirdly. Longer than my second. I spoke to a friend who is training as a midwife and she said it often goes that way.

Obviously I can't say what they'd agree to at your hospital/trust, but the plan of being admitted at 39 weeks was put forward by my consultant (who I asked to see due to my anxiety, technically pregnancy wasn't high risk to begin with) well before we had any health concerns for baby. 39 weeks was suggested because my other two came at 39+6 and then 39+4. I was repeatedly assured that they would believe me and keep me admitted any time I turned up at the hospital, even if it was a repeated false alarm. I know that couldn't possibly have been true given they could have not had enough beds etc but I trusted them that they would listen to my concerns.

In labour they watched me like a hawk and the second I said "there's pressure" it was all systems go haha.

1st- 24 hours for our first,

2nd- less than 2 hours from first mild contraction to birth (10 minutes from being 4cm dialated to baby being born with less than a minute pushing)

3rd- was induced on due date due to low fluid, was induced by breaking the remaining waters, no pessary or drip, baby born literally less than 3 minutes after.

I was 35 and second was 59 mins, third about 6 hours from onset to baby

There’s been a lot of criticism of homebirth midwives recently as sadly there have been some truly tragic outcomes in the last year or two. They’re really not all wonderful - I think sometimes it’s hard to separate out great midwifery skills from a low risk woman having a 2nd+ baby who wouldn’t need much help anyway.

Certainly in the cases I’ve seen when confronted with an actual emergency they were like headless chickens, with tragic outcomes.

People saying third babies are notoriously tricky/unpredictable etc, any more info/examples?? @ParentsTrapped @Herewegoagain8 @Twisterlollies

My first labour was about 50 hours and the second 5 hours. Both home births. Am trying to approach this third one 5 years later with zero expectations about timings or where we'll end up or anything! 😅

my 3rd was longer than my 2nd but was still under 3 hours
i think the position they’re in makes a difference. I don’t think your age has anything to do with it

My mw told me the 3rd is a “wild card” 🤣

I haven’t had a third baby! Just the 2, although my first labour was 12 hours and my second was 18. Both induced.

Interesting to read about subsequent babies not always being easier though.. I thought it was just me.

@mintleavesandthyme seems from this thread alone there's no rhyme or rhythm to any labour tbh! Difference between 50 hours & 5 felt pretty wild to me already 🤣

I can report back when I know OP. Have a max 2 months to go before I have #3 at age 39!

Third was a planned home birth after the speed of no.2 I didn’t want to take any chances

@Fatiguedwithlife and what happened? was it quicker? Did you manage to stay at home?

It was for me. Each birth got progressively faster…in fact, weirdly I’ve just realised they halved each time! First was 16 hours; second 8 hours and third 4 hours…but that’s probably more coincidence more than science 😂 I was 39 when my third was born.

4th baby was about 10 mins from first twinge - now that was wild 😂😂