This was my last labour - how do I use it to plan my next one? <long>

[MortifiedAdams]

My first labour went as follows -
Woke at 3am to cxns every 3mins, managed to have a bath and paracetamol and stave off a visit to the hospital til around 10am. A quick check over, and they are about to send me home when I get five contractions straight off. They change their mind and keep me there.

I should add, I tested positive for Strep B so knew I would need the antib's too. This meant I was very very keen to stay at the hospital. I didn't know whether dd would come quickly or not, and knew they needed to be administered at least 4 hours before to be effective.

A lot lot of pacing the hospital room, managing to handle the pains, examined at about 12noon and told 4cms. I had a bath after this, which was so so relaxing but in my opinion, slowed the progress. Back to pacing after this, examined again at 4pm - still 4cms.

They then decide that if I am not further along by 8pm they will induce. 8pm, no further along, so I get a drip of induction stuff (no idea on the name). Pains at this point become much much worse. I get given the G&A and lay on the bed, where I end up staying for the duration. I was quite disappointed about this as I had been OK walking round, and thought that was the best way to be.

Eventually, the G&A is not strong enough for the awful pains caused by the induction drug and they give me diazepam. This takes away most of the pain, and in theory I could have got back up again, but by this point they had a clip on dds head and a belt round my stomach, so felt pretty confined.

I eventually get to 10cms and am told to push, even though, frankly, I felt no need to (had assumed my body would know when to push). Tried to push and struggled, and they checked and DD had turned face up. Tried some more pushes and in the end just couldn't do it. By this point it was 2am. I am prepped for a CS, taken to theatre, where they administer epi and say they will try forceps first. The relief when the epi went in was instant and amazing. A small cut, a push with the forceps and she is out.

Sorry for the length of the post. But - how can I use what happened last time to prepare me for the next time (am newly pg)? I don't want to ever be given induction drugs again - they totally took over my body and I feel things just spiralled out of control after that. I also feel like the bath I had was partially responsible.

I want to feel better prepared next time round.

Am interested in replies as currently 39 weeks with DC2 and nervously waiting! My first was induced at 38 weeks because of complications that haven't occurred this time round. Because of the induction I had an epidural and was fairly bed-bound, was prepped for CS but they got DD put with forceps instead. So a similar end to your story, although it began differently. Have been told 2nd time easier but interested to hear similar experiences.

Each birth is different, with the first normally being very different to subsequent ones. So planning is just as difficult second time round.

For me first was long back to back labour where planned home birth due to exhaustion lead to epidural and vontuse extraction. While second was a week of false labours, with genuine labour of 2.5hours with gas and air only.
My third I did not even realise I was in labour for 1/2 hour, then born at home less than hour later as too rapid to get in car. (No time for antibiotics for me during labour!)

I think planning for labour can sometimes lead to disappointment, try to just be aware of all options and go with what you feel is right at the time, is my advice.

I've given birth 5 times. 4 of my babys were back to back. Ive had long 25 hour labours & short 4 hour labours.

Im expecting my 6th baby next January so i do understand how pregnancy makes you remember in hideous detail your previous labours & births.

Your next labour may not feel anything like your other labour. Its a different experience with a different baby. What you learnt from your 1st labour is that, you can do this. You can give birth. Your body now knows how to give birth.

I know its easy for me to say but labour & birth are such a small length of time. We waste energy&time worrying about something that dosnt generally last more then a day or two.
I will remind myself of all this in 5 months!!

Take care of yourself. Try not to stress or worry too much.

I agree with the poster who said that each birth is different. The MAJOR mistake I made with DC2 was to assume it would be the same as DC1. It wasn't (DC1 almost 3 days from start to finish, epidural etc, DC2 1 hr 15 mins from start to finish). DC2's birth was a real shock because I was trying to manage the birth as if it were that of DC1.

Not sure if this makes sense. But I think there is no point looking to what happened last time and you should approach this as an entirely new event.

Good luck.

It sounds like you had a rough experience the first time. I was strongly advised that an epidural was a good idea with the induction drug (I was induced at 14 days), so I'm not surprised to hear that you found that painful on gas and air. Just think though, you went into labour spontaneously, and delivered vaginally, and those are very positive things with which to arm yourself for your second labour, which 9/10 women I seem to speak to say is easier. Just a thought but may be helpful to find an ante-natal class to go to this time, where you can go through your first experience and lay it to rest?

I've also heard that second labours are generally easier than first (currently expecting DC2 :) )

The only thing I have read about which may be worth considering is not pushing immediately once you get to 10cm if you have no urge to push - give it some time and see if it starts. My body had been pushing almost by itself then stopped for some reason. My head was telling me to keep pushing but the midwife told me to wait a few mins, shortly after my urge to push returned.

Remember that you did an amazing thing, you gave birth vaginally to a healthy happy baby :) you will be fine next time too!

It sounds very like my first labour. The things I would say are:

• first labours are longer and tougher, on average;
• the way we manage labour means that slow first labours often end up medicated and turn into complicated labours;
• you don't know what this one will be. You could end up with a planned section for breech for all you know.

One major thing you could consider if you want to think about options you might plan is refusing internals. It's harder to clock watch if you don't have that magic chart to refer to. I had in my birth plan (although in the event it wasn't needed) that I wouldn't have internals unless there was reason to believe one or other of us was in some form of danger.

Also, I was told that this form of first labour was no counter indication to a difficult second birth. What medics are interested in is that you have a vaginal delivery and a 'proven cervix'. I had a homebirth for DD2.

Thanks for all thehelp, I suppose you are all right, I cant plan too.much! Damn my controlling ways

Amanda I absoloutley hated the internals last time. Pain beyond belief. I didnt realise I could refuse them!

Yes, you absolutely can refuse them. Experienced midwives have other ways to assess progress. And actually all an internal tells you is where you are at the moment you do the internal. Plenty of women dilate irregularly, or suddenly speed up, so actually the value is limited. They are very over sold as a necessary step in labour. Of course, if DD2 had been in distress and they needed to decide on options (or any other sign of a problem) I would have agreed like a shot. But in normal circumstances I felt the benefit was outweighed by the pain and what it did to my emotional state.

Unfortunately as you found out with your first you can't plan for a birth - you have to see how it pans out and just be mentally prepared for all options.

Someone on another thread said they went from 4cm to delivering in 17 minutes - so progress definitely can be irregular!

I didn't have internals with my 1st dc and labour seemed to progress fine without them. I was in water for the whole day, (8.30am- 5.30pm when dc was born), although dc was back to back initially, so maybe part of the day was him turning round? I'm not sure the water slowed progress, but it did make the pain more bearable and I managed on g&a and hypnobirthing stuff I'd done.

i am so so keen on a waterbirth, but had strep b and told I couldnt last time. This will more than likely be my last birth and I really want a water birth