How long were you in labour for????

[nik76]

I woke at 3:40am and had DD at 11:20am same day. I was 9cms when I got to hospital and had told DH I didn't need to go yet - this was due to being told by mw after mw that it takes hours and hours. I really believe that if DH had listened to me I would ahve had her at home!

How long was your labour? and do you feel that MWs give a wrong expectation?

OMG

So many of you having the same thing being told not to come in and nearly having them at home!!!

Luckily the hospital said its time to come in when you can't call us yourself or cope with the pain. So when waters broke about 7:30 Dh called hospital and said we're coming in.

Is this why so many of you have a homebirth second time round???

My first was about 8 hours from start to finish, my second was 3 and a half...I was told 15 mins after ctx started that I should ring in an hour if they were regular and painful, which they already were - they were almost 3 minutes apart from the start really so I rang back after 20 mins and they sent someone who arrived about an hour and a half later, by which time I was 4cm. He was born another hour and a half after that.

I am that you didn't realise you were so close though! I really knew about it, but then I am a panicker in the extreme

It was planned as a homebirth btw but I half wanted to transfer during it - hdn't realised it would actually hurt without an epidural!

Nik I think it's because a lot of us hated being in hospital!!

I was the opposite - I had 3 days of early labout (no sleep due to contractions) then 14 hours of first stage (4 hours at home - I was 5/6cm dilated when I went in) - then 4.5 hours of second stage. We phoned after an hour of active labour and were told to stay at home for as long as I could cope, or until my waters broke.

I would have been gutted if I had gone in and been told to go home again, so I think that in my case the MWs were right. I have no idea what to do for my second though, as everyone says that second labours are much shorter. And we're further away from the hospital.

I am that you didn't realise you were so close though! I really knew about it, but then I am a panicker in the extreme

Had been told by 2 different sets of classes that it would be hours and hours and hours, hubby must bring food with him, you must bring something to do inbetween, you'll think your there and come in and we'll send you back.

My mum came with me to one of the sessions and was so mad after as she felt they were over playing it - I just thought my mum was trying to make me feel better!!!

11 hours

21 hours

29 hours DS; 13hours DD - they told me second births are always quicker. OK so they were right but I had been hoping for a couple of hours max!

DD1 was 14hrs
DD2 was 3hrs
DD3 was 2hrs
DD4 was 3hrs

18 hours if you count from the moment my waters broke, but did not hurt.

If you count it only from when it hurt, just before half time during the last england world cup match, so 1pm? until 11:40pm, 10 hours.

Felt like nothing at all.

my labour was 36 hrs and yes it HURT FROM START TO END SORRY BUT IT DID my sisters births were all 4 hrs no pain she even went shopping atfer the second ( 2 hrs after ) i was not prepared for 36 hrs [SHOCK] my dd is my 1st, my last, my everything and i would do it all again for her x x

ds midnight sunday start labour. arrival 7am tues.31hrs (back to back)

dd midnight monday start labour. arrival 7am tuesday.7 hrs (side on)

I started off about 5am but nothing got really serious until about 5pm when I demanded to go to hospital and then started to worry I was going to have a baby in the car. Turns out I was right to worry as I was fully dilated shortly after we got there. 17 hours from start to finish which I think was really just right. Enough time to get used to it, enough time for my body to adjust, but not long enough to get really tired. I do think the antenatal classes gave a wrong expectation. If I'd waited to be unable to talk through a contraction or for them to be near enough together for me to go to hospital according to what they think, I'd have had my baby at home or in the car.