Please encourage me: anyone have marathon labour and very slow progress for first baby but much quicker labour for second?

[Gemzooks]

Just trying to work out how long 2nd birth is likely to take as planning homebirth this time.

With DS, had contractions every 10 minutes from Wednesday afternoon at 4 pm, quite painful and couldn't sleep either Weds or Thurs nights. Continued through the day on Friday, and at midnight waters broke. By Saturday 4 pm I was only 4 cm dilated and making no progress. Had synotocin and epidural, DS was born at 11.20 pm on Saturday night.

In other words, it took a very long time and I had the feeling I would never have dilated to 10 cm without the synotocin.

Then I had a miscarriage naturally at 14 weeks and it took 5 hours, very painful contractions, like a mini birth. But at least I felt as if my body knew how to have proper contractions.

Now 31 weeks pregnant with DC 2, and planning a homebirth.

Any experiences welcome, please reassure me it won't be so slow this time!

I can't compete with you but my first was a difficult 29 hours - second much easier and only 13. Good luck.

My first was 36 hours of slow labour which ended in a C-section, my second was a much shorter 11 from start to finish.

Good luck xxx

That is epic - jeez. Don't think this is something you can work out to be honest but generally it does get quicker - has been the case for pretty much everyone I know in RL.

My pattern has been

26 hours with TENS and then late epidural in hospital

12 hours with nothing but a warm bath at home - gave birth after being hauled out of bath, standing up

3 and 3/4 hours with nothing at all at home - all fours

Good luck - I think a home birth is fantastic if all goes well but be ready to change plans and kind of make that flexibility part of the plan - so if you have to transfer to hospital you're not too disappointed.

my three-

number 1- 38 hours (posterior presentation)
number 2- 21 hours (also posterior)
number 3- 4.5 hours (not posterior, had learned my lesson about posture in pregnancy...)

1st doesn't count as ecs.

2nd - started at 9.30pm. Stuck on 1cm for a very long time. 3 massive contractions about 8.45pm. 20 minutes pushing and baby born at 9.25pm.

3rd - started att 9.30pm again. 6am was 1cm dilted. Expected same again. baby born 10.15am.

eek
i had a very long labour too but not as long as that!! 50-odd hours from waters breaking and contractions starting and was needed a hormone drip to get to 10cm.

also planning a homebirth this time and very much hoping it'll be alot quicker

sounds promising so far....

we should compare notes after the event (am 32 weeks +5)

There's no fixed ratio between duration for first and second births. But you knew that.

Sorry to hear about your miscarriage, but take comfort from the efficiency of the contractions, which sound like a very good sign.

Be warned, though, it can catch you out: after my first (38 hour) labour, I had a homebirth with DS2. After 4 hours of contractions I called the midwife, who turned up 30 minutes later and asked if I wanted gas and air. Thinking I would really need to feel the benefit in a few hours time I said no, through gritted teeth.

DS2 was born 45 minutes later. Next time I'm going to be inhaling entonox from, ohhh, shortly after conception.

My first took ages as the cord was wrapped around his shoulder so I was dreading the second but he came out like a bullet. Waters broke at home, went to hospital, baby was born almost straight away. Wish I'd had a home birth.

My first was just over 24 hours and the second was feet already out within 3 hours.

A friends 3 births were all under an hour for each birth.

good luck

thanks all! Sounds encouraging so far...

Catissleepy, let's compare notes as your 1st labour sounds similar to mine..

I was also under a lot of pressure in the hospital (Belgium) to progress because I'd tested pos for strep b and my waters had broken, and I did NOT feel relaxed with this horrible doctor coming in every 2 hours and threatening me with all kinds of procedures to speed things up. Prob had I been at home for longer, things might have progressed on their own (maybe!!!)

1st - 28 hours
2nd - didn't realise I was in established labour til MW came out and said oooh you're 10 cms.
3rd - EDD 15feb. Hoping it'll be short and sweet.

btw - ds1 planned HB but ended up in Hosp. Ds2 successful HB. Much nicer. Hope you get yours

My first birth was very much like yours (almost idenitical) but second was 4.5 hours start to finish - only got to hospital 10 mins before baby was born, 2 pushes and she was out!I felt fanstastic afterwards compared to feeling as if I had been in an accident like after #1. Third one was even quicker!

gemzooks-i'll let you know how it goes
am hoping that being at home (hopefully) will make things go differently
it seemed to me that going into hospital (on the evening of the first day and then again on the morning of the 3rd day) slowed it all down for some reason

DS1 48 hours, agony, epidural, ventouse etc etc

DS2 5 hours start to finish, no pain relief - wasn't painful except crowning. At home in water with a doula present - it made all the difference. It proved to me that every labour really is different.

My first labour was very like yours - contractions started Tuesday afternoon and baby was born Friday morning, after syntocinon and ventouse. I was expecting the same kind of thing second time round but it was all over within 6 hours. DS2 was born 15 mins after arrival at hospital, no time for gas & air etc.

Good luck!

ooh this is all very encouraging! great, thanks

Thanks for asking this - I had a horrifically long labour with 1st, started Thurs and was 10 cm by the following Wed - it was so painful for those days and I want to have (gulp) about 4 dc's so I'm terrified about the next few! Good luck gemzooks!!

me

induced labour with DS1 - 3 hours and an epidural later it was forceps-ed out.

Fast forward 19 months - DS2 was born after 2 hours labour and 3 pushes

Yes, definitely can confirm what others have said.

DD1 - Contractions started on Monday at about 4am, every 10 mins or so, waters broke some time on Monday (but only slow leak so took me a while to realise it wasn't something else leaking ), was 2cm by Tuesday morning, 3cm by Wednesday morning, had synto drip & epidural at 5pm on Wednesday while 6cm (as waters had been broken for over 48hrs and I was too exhausted to do anything any more), then ended up with threatened emcs (baby in distress) but managed to push her out with a spinal block in at 7pm Wednesday.

I truly don't think I would have progressed without the synto so I know exactly what you mean.

I was very worried about the 2nd birth. Everyone promised me it would be quicker (in fact the mw was telling me this while I was STILL in labour with dd1 ).

DD2 - Twinges woke me at 5am, contractions started mildly at about 7.30am, was 2cm when checked at mw unit at 10.30am, asked to have a bath assuming things would take a long time (mw thought things would be quick so asked me to stay in and I was quite happy to do that), got in bath at 11.15, contractions got really strong, got out of the bath probably in transition looking back, felt v strange, begged for epidural or cs (!) as assumed I was only about 4cm and had hours to go but only got entinox as mw said I was about to start pushing, waters broke, mw told me to push, DD2 was born in 5 pushes (8 mins) at 12.57pm.

Good luck!

blimey bella and majormajor.. it seems quite common then for first labours to take that long. Thank God for synotocin, I think it does have its place sometimes!

Going for homebirth in Holland this time so no pain relief except tens and pool, in a grim kind of way I'm quite looking forward to experiencing a 'real' birth without epidural (I'll remember I said that during the labour), as not planning any more after this one, my reasoning is however bad it is, I won't be doing it again!

First 36 hrs ish.

Second 7 hrs

Gemzooks - no advice but just wanted to let you know I'm in the same boat and similarly not looking forward to another three day labour.

Last time started contractions at 8.30am on Wednesday, every ten minutes (apart from a six hour break on Thursday afternoon) until Saturday morning. I wanted to stay at home for as long as possible and the midwive was coming round twice a day to check progress but kept saying I was in 'pre-labour'. Saturday morning I called her and said that I wanted to go to hosptial and have an epidural, anything to let me have some sleep. By this point I had reached the end of my tether, three nights without sleep and no progress. She examined me and I was only 4 cm!!!

Unfortunately at that point she also discovered that DS's heart rate was 300bpm, off the scale. So whipped into hospital and EMCS, 17 days in SCBU for DS, a year of PND for me and DS has a long term (but not life threatening) heart condition.

Anyway, I'm trying for a VBAC this time and I'm petrified of another three day labour only to be told that I'm 4 bloody cms!!

My concern is that unlike you I never got past pre-labour so will my body know what to do? Has anyone else not got past 3/4 cm first time but had a relatively quick birth second time round?

dd; twinges from about the thurs/friday... was definitely having mild irregular contractions on saturday, very bloody show saturday night. went for a walk on the beach sunday to shift things and kept having mild contractions til about 9pm when they became regular (every 5 mins) but still weren't hugely painful. toddled into hospital at 12 as they had been regular for hours and were getting closer together but not too much stronger. was told i was half a cm dilated but definitely in labour . buggered off home as couldn't stand the thought of being on the ward in labour. contractions got longer and stronger all night, couldn't sleep or rest but they were still about 3/4 mins apart. went back in at 12 the next day and was told i was only 3cm they broke my waters which were bloody and i was on continuous monitoring as a result until dd was born at 14.53 with the cord around her shoulder.

ds; went to bed on thurday night feeling pregnant but not as if anything was happening... woke up at 6am having contractions, think i'd been having them a while as i'd been contracting in my dream! pottered about the house all day nipple twiddling and contracting... they got to 1 min apart and almost a minute long at about 2pm but still weren't awfully painful. rang mother who was an hour and a half away to come mind dd and she turned up at 4 ish.... still didn't feel that i was 'imminent' so waited til about 8ish to go to hospital... labour stopped when i walked in but they examined me and i was 3cm so they broke my waters at about 9pm, had ds at 11.47.

was due dc3 yesterday and hoping for a slightly quicker one this time but not getting my hopes up

With ds I was having "contractions" from 6.30am Monday morning and he was born 9am friday morning. I was knackered!! The midwives kept saying it was "fixing" pains caused by the baby's head, not real labour.It still kept me awake for 4 days though. I ended up having syntocin drip, and diamorphine. Hope it would be somewhat quicker if I do have another baby, it was a bit of a slog. Hope you have a nice quick one this time, sounds like you have got a good chance from reading this thread.