My friend is in labour... but its not going well ...

[EnchantedWithEdwardCullen]

She was a week overdue Saturday and the midwife came to her home to give her a sweep at 8am, she examined her and found her to be 1-2 cms already .

After that she started getting pains, found this out at about 2pm saturday.

Since then the pains have been getting worse, but she didn't go to hospital until last night (i had a feeling things wouldn't go smoothly, her mum had really long labours and contractions were still 10 mins apart when she left for hospital but she couldn't cope with pain)

At hospital she was given gas and air and pethedine but when examined early hours this morning she hadn't dialated at all

She was put on a drip this morning and things are getting going again now I think (haven't heard from her mum in a good few hours)

Can you just send some vibes that she starts to get going please! Its her first abby and shes only 22,

I don't want this going on for days!

Mine was going soooo slowly (24 hours) then I had my waters broken and baby was out faster than an epidural could go in! Sending baby vibes

I'm hoping they will do that for her.

I want to snuggle the pink baby!

The reality of labour is really making me brick it about giving birth myself in 11 weeks though

Well, rest assured that now she's on the drip (assuming you mean syntocinon drip to produce artficial contractions?), it won't 'go on for days'. She will be on a pretty tight schedule for delivery within a certain number of hours - expect a baby by this evening one way or another!

Best of luck to her

Yes the 'contractions' drip

Makes me realise how lucky I was with my births, I don't think I could do one of these marathon labours.

I'm hoping for 3 hours max this time!

Last time I had the drip but they broke my waters first thing (after the gel though). Hasn't she had them broken yet?

A word of hope from here - I spent about 20 hrs of DS's labour with regular contractions, but when they examined me there was NOTHING happening (not effaced or anything), he was born within 5 hours after that

DD was similar, but a shorter timescale.

Some people just need to do all the pain beforehand and then it all goes with a whoosh imo.

• ve birth vibes to your friend.

might be her baby is OP.

best thing she can do is be mobile, active and upright, if she can sit on a birth ball or stand by the bed, anything is better than lying down flat.

i had loooong latent stage with DD, when i started dilating, it was done and dusted within 3 1/4 hours

They will have broken her waters before putting the drip up, very probably.

It's a really common scenario with first babies, tbh. The pain comes as such a shock, no matter how prepared you are. So you feel you can't cope, go into hospital for pain relief and unfortunately once there you end up on a bit of a conveyor belt. Labour stalls, you get the interventions starting, time limits kick in etc. It happened with my first and I see it happen again and again to lots of women. The latent stage can be a real bugger

Like lulu says, if she can stay upright and mobile it will help. You'll be cuddling that baby soon...

TBH, I am amazed she as admitted at 1-2 cm and 1 in 10... usually get sent home and told to have a bath and a paracetomal

Well, yeah me too lulu... but I begged to be allowed to stay with ds and as they weren't that busy they let me!

I should have been sent home and told to get in the bath - ds didn't arrive until 30 hours later

She was examined saturday morning and at 2cm... she went in satnight and was given G&A but not examined till the morning i think and was found to be 2 cm still.

I think she was in alot of pain so they assumed she was dialating iykwim.

I would have thought she would be sent home too, but she really wasn't coping with the pain

oooh, snaf.. 30 hours ! eek !

enchanted, i am sorry for your friend, but either way, her baby will be here sooner rather than later., and if she can retain some mobility and work with her body and the contractions it will help..

Thanks

I think its more stressful waiting for someone else to give birth than doing it yourself!!

I was admitted with DD Lulu - I went in for anti-emetic, it was quiet and I was still feeling queasy so begged to stay so I didn't have to face another car journey

It's difficult if someone really doesn't appear to be coping well and is scared to leave the hospital and really needing pain relief. As a mw you know that it's not the best place for a woman in very early labour to be, and you can kinda predict the outcome really, but equally it's hard to force someone to leave once they've arrived!

And then there are always those tricksy primips that go from 2cm to 10cm in an hour - rare but it does happen. God forbid you get one of them deliver in the car park because you told them to go home and have a hot bath

also true snaf...

darn those precipitate labourers and their pesky cervices!

Are you a midwife snaf?

Do you think my labour will be qick (please say yes!)

first ds was induction - born 5 hours from pains starting.

DSwas natural birth at home, 5 hours from pains starting!

I keep fluctuating from ... this one will be a breeze... to OMG Ive had 2 fab births this is going to be a 20 hour nightmare!

Well, exactly lulu!

I have a lot of sympathy for first-timers who are finding it all completely overwhelming and terrifying, because I was one. But they still really, really need to Stay At Home if at all possible - this is something that antenatal education needs to address much more clearly, I think.

In my opinion when you go into labour the last thing you need is to be put in a bed on your back. It just doesn't do anything for continuing to the birth...or for dilating.
My first was 18 hours of hard labour and it was pure misery. He was through the hospital but my 2nd and third were through MW and I didn't need anything for pain etc. I just walked until it was time and then 30 minutes of pushing and 20 minutes of pushing. I'd wish everyones labour was that way. Unfortunately, everyone is different. I hope your friend has a whirlwind delivery once things get going.

I'm qualified but not registered yet, enchanted. Start my first job next Monday

Of course I'll say yes, it'll be a breeze! Seriously though, as long as that baby's in the right position, no reason to think it shouldn't be absolutely fine. You are clearly an effective labourer Are you having this one at home too?

Thats the plan!

Am amazingly disorganised this time round though, I really need to start planning things.

I know I have 11 weeks to go but its flying by so fast

I dreamt no-one made it in time to the birth and DH delivered her

Congratulations on qualifying BTW

I would love to be a midwife

Thank you. And best of luck, but you'll be fine. And so will dh

bear in mind, enchanted, a birth that quick will be that quick because it is totally straightforward with nothing holding the baby back ! when my friend was planning her homebirth we talked about BBA and she said if things went too quick, she would call 999 then text me with the word 'marigolds' and i was to go running over to hold the fort until medical help arrived ! but the MWs made it there in loads of time

it seems quite a common theme for 3rd timers to really worry that their birthing luck will run out, but it really sounds as though you should be just peachy!