latent phase - 1st vs subsequent labours

[ealey]

Hi. I just wondered if anyone had any input with regard to the latent phase in their various labours. I'm due my second baby in a few weeks, and may or may not have a natural labour, but I'm trying to prepare myself for one anyway. My previous labour was pretty horrendous, as my latent phase was very intense (as bad as established labour ended up feeling for me) and lasted for about 5 days and nights before I was finally admitted to hospital and put on the hormone drip to get things moving. It was a really scary time, as noone could do anything for me. I'm trying to get my head around whether I should expect the same thing this time, or whether it's less likely to happen in a second labour. So did any of you experience anything similar in your first labour, and if so, how did your second and subsequent labours measure up? Thanks!

Gosh, I'd like to know this too. Mine lasted two days and I was generally treated by the midwives as a silly girl who couldn't possibly be in any pain yet and was just making a fuss.

Sorry I don't have an answer Ealey, but hopefully this bumps your thread!

I had 3 days of latent labour with both my DCs. First time more painful as I had PROM too. Second time was annoying but less of a surprise. And less intense because waters hadn't broken, less worrying as I wasn't up a against a clock for induction too.

Both babies were malpositioned and both ended with CS though, so the long labour/prelabour fely like a bit of a swizz TBH.

The way the MW's referred to it a niggling when I was having irregular, but very painful contractions, really got my goat though.

Yes, niggling my foot! Latent phase with DD3 absolute worst; I was having cx every night, 2:10, between about 3-6am, would get in bath, wait for them to die down, they wouldn't, then stopped three hours later. Then I had to go and do a full days work ( worked up until 40+2) This went on from 37 weeks. I was knackered.

Oh dear. Midwives have made sympathetic noises and said that it's unlikely to happen a second time, but it obviously can happen again then. It really was unbearable, made worse by the fact that the midwives at the hospital just kept telling me to have a bath and take a paracetamol! I've been doing a bit of googling, and have read that the likes of diamorphine can be very good for giving you a bit of therapeutic rest before active labour kicks in, but I don't know whether my hospital would agree to that given their failure to offer anything when I was begging last time around.

Just thought of something else I wanted to ask on this subject. I've read that diamorphine can be effective during a long latent phase, just to give the mother a decent rest and time to regroup for the birth. I was never offered this. Has anyone else got any experience of this, and if so, did it help?

I was at home throughout my latent phases so just told paracetamol/bath etc. Oh and to sleep as if I could! I think if you had to be in hospital for some reason they sometimes offer sleeping tablets to help you get some rest/stop you moaning

my latent phase was 24 very painful hours, i was given diamorphine 21hrs in and it did help a bit but didn't last very long, i was in agony again after 3hrs and i definately couldn't have slept during this time but could lie in the bath without squirming like a mad women every 3 minutes.

As you said it is so demoralising when the MW act like you cant be in real pain because your cervix is not the magical 3cm!! my latent phase was just as painful as 'real' labour.

Thanks littler1, that's useful to know. So maybe it's not worth fighting tooth and nail for in the context of a multiple day latent phase then. I was thinking that it might give you a proper night's sleep, but it doesn't sounds like it did for you.