Difficult 1st labour, easier 2nd labour stories please!

[PrincessWatermelon]

My first labour was 24 hours and ended in forceps. My MW said it's likely my DD was in the wrong position, so labour didn't progress and then she didn't descend and that's why I couldn't push her out.

I'm now pregnant with no 2 and desperately want to hear some positive stories about second labour! Thank you

DD-40+13
DS-40+6

Yep, I agree.
1st baby, quite horrid. Post partum haemorrhage blood transfusion, fairly distressing.
2nd baby shot out, it's a good job someone was there to catch him ,no pain relief (due to time not me being hardcore) was in the delivery room about 50 minutes start to finish.
3rd time-currently breach at 35 weeks, so please someone reassure me all will be well?!?!

Dc1 3 and a half days of labour. Waters broken by mw after 3 days, lots of pain, epidural, ventouse. Pph. Born at 41 weeks.

Dc2, 20 mins from eating my dinner to holding a baby. Unplanned home birth with no pain relief. No tears. Amazing experience. 39+5

Dc3 planned home birth at 41+2. 2.5 hours labour. No tears. no problems.

Every time different but first was definitely the worst!

im only pregnant with my 1st now but can tell u that my mum had my older sister 2 weeks over due had nearly 48 hour labour that ended in forseps and over 100 stitches inside and out but when she had me a few years later had around 12 hours at home just gas and air had me on all fours no tearing and theres pictures of my mum an hour later drinking tea watching corination st on the sofa with me in arms so i believe it is possible!

Ds just like yours, slightly shorter...Ds was looking the wrong way for exit. Had forceps in the end. Dd was quicker and everything was right.

First was six hours pushing, failed ventouse, forceps, SCBU.

Second baby eighteen months later crowned before I even realised I was ready to push. I only had to push twice, once for head, once for shoulders and he just slid out. He weighed a pound and a half more than my first too. Was a brilliant experience.

1st labour was a traumatic and long back to back labour, on gas and air and pethedine. I also lost 2 litres of blood and took a while to recover from it all.

2nd labour was induced at 40+14. Waters needed to be broken, but after that, things progressed quickly, I was able to use the pool and after 1hr 50mins of established labour (with only gas and air) and 3 mins of pushing, I had DC in the water. It was so much easier than my first labour!

3rd labour - will know within the next few weeks!

My 1st labour was horrible with my ds he ended up with no heartbeat was just getting pushed out my room for emergency c section when I was shouting it was too late he's coming managed to give birth he wasn't breathing and was stunned I needed episiotomy ect and I nearly died too had to get transfusions ect

2 years later I had my dd and labour and birth was perfect no problems at all

But they do say every birth is different

First was back to back, 15 hours, contractions every 30secs but no results. Then at the end contractions stopped, I was pushing for hours. It was horrendously sore and I didn't cope well at all.

Second labour I was induced. The end was a little blip caused by a silly MW and I nearly passed out. But honestly, up to that point it was so much better. I went without pain relief until 4cms. Then I had two blissfully calm hours. The contractions were sore but I felt more in control, and they were actually moving it along.

As a pp said, it was only after I had my second that I realised how traumatic my first had been, and how much easier it can be.

I took 3 years to build up the courage to have a second. Now I would get pregnant again tomorrow (one year on) if we could afford it!

My first labour was exactly the same as yours. .. 24 hours, DD was in wrong position ended in forceps and agonising recovery. Second was induced and after waters were broken I went from 4 to 10 cm in 20 mins.. pushed for a further 20 mins and then DD 2 was born. It hurt like hell but for a lot less time and this time I could push against the pain and had overwhelming urges tobpush whereas last time I could do nothing but suffer the agonising contractions. .my recovery this time was easy despite needing some stitches. Also I knew what was coming and felt more determined not to let it end in forceps which forced me to regain control. Everything was led by animal instinct this time and I just 'knew' what to do.i felt a real sense of achievement second time round too. I really think your body knows what to do second time round.

Hurrah on all these successful birthing stories! I will hold to your positivity and am not dreading it now as much as I thought. Thanks

Thank you so much for these lovely stories. I had a shitty first birth too (in a weird way it helps to know so many people do despite all the preparation and active birth stuff).

I believed NCT thought if I avoided the epidural it would all be ok but actually it just meant it really, really hurt when I ended up with forceps.

37 weeks now and so desperate for a happier time. The midwife who delivered DD said to me at the time 'no one gives birth to their first child twice' and I cling to this advice.

Pasta - There really is a lot of truth to the idea that your body 'remembers' what to do second time round. Midwives talk about a 'proven cervix', meaning that (even it had to be nudged along with drugs and what have you as mine did), your body got to the finish line once and can do it again.

I'm so glad I decided to read this thread as I'm in exactly the same position as you, pregnant with my second and due in 4 months time. I had a really traumatic first birth experience which was over 30 hours, epidural which didn't work properly, I ended up with forceps and episiotomy and a week later all my stitches came away so had to go back to hospital with an infected perineum. This time I really fancy a home birth with just gas and air, but I'm praying for a much better experience second time round.

I really hope so penguinsdonteatkale. My midwife has pointed out loads of positives in my first labour that suggest an easier second but you still get the fear when you're this close that it will all go the same

In essence my DD was sick and needed to be born quickly. I was actually very lucky that she was fine after resuss and I'd made some progress in the 20 minutes I pushed for so didn't have to even go to theatre as they could 'lift her out'.

I know I should be able to cope with the pain and the effort it takes but I also know I will go to pieces if it goes pear shaped again. That's what I'm afraid of to be honest. I held it together last time but I don't think I can again.

Ok another positive one..
First labour induction because of high blood pressure and 10 days overdue. Failed ventouse, forceps, episiotomy, 3rd degree tear.
Second labour 2 and a half weeks early, taking little more than 3 hours until DD shot out after just 3 pushes.
I think it's very common that second labours are quick.

1st labour 4 day induction. Syntocin, epidural, ventouse. Episiotomy 3rd degree tear...

2nd labour waters went at 8am. Dropped dd at nursery then started organising childcare, making beds, cooking dinner. Called dh to come back from work around 4. Went to the hospital at 5. Ds was born 6 minutes after I arrived at the hospital. No pain relief, no stitches.

I'm also finding this thread really reassuring. My first birth was 39 hours, I was screaming for an epidural and didn't get one, it was agonising and then I was pushing for hours.

I'm now looking forward to champagne cork baby DS2!

Another thanks for posting this thread - this is exactly what I needed to read right now (34 + 5 with DC2).

First labour was a bloody nightmare despite all of the hypnobirthing bollocks preparation... 36 hours, back-to-back, failure to progress, baby distressed, 9 hours on syntocin drip, epidural (after 29 hours - what an idiot!), trial forceps in theatre, heamorrhage from wound, 2.5 hours of stitching, blood transfusion.

Petrified about no. 2.

My tale will also cheer you up.
DC1 born at 40+15 after a 40 odd hour labour inc induction, drip, 2 hrs pushing, forceps in theatre & DD on resus bed for several minutes. I could hardly walk for a week afterwards.
DC2 practically fell out. Due to be induced at +12. On +11, I had reflexology, a stretch & sweep (at which I was told I was "ripe"), did the supermarket shop & walked a mile to pick DC1 up from nursery and then pushed her home in the pushchair. I collected her at 4pm. As I carried her down the stairs at nursery, I had an excruciating pain but thought that was just DC1 pushing down on my bump. At 5pm, I was sick twice but had had a slightly odd back-of-the-fridge-and-after-use-by-date concotion for lunch. At 6pm, I had a really uncomfortable bump but it was exactly the same feeling as I'd had a fortnight previously for 6hrs before doing a massive fart and realising it had just been wind! DP came home at 7pm and said I was looking really pale and, after I explained the circs, he put DD to bed and I called the maternity unit. They said to see how I felt but I sounded fine (was able to chat to them easily) and they'd see me in the morning unless anything changed. About 10mins later they called back and said that, as we lived 45mins away and they were having a quiet night, why didn't I go in now "just in case". We left about 25 mins later (just after 8pm)...after all, there was no rush as I wasn't in labour and wanted to make sure DD was asleep before we left. About 10mins into the journey, I had another excruciating pain and felt pressure in my bum and yelled at DD to get a move on. We did the 45 min journey in 25 mins, spent about 10 mins getting stuff out of the car & finding the labour ward etc & DC2 was born 26 mins later with no intervention other than gas & air and reassurance that an anaethestist was on his way to talk to me about the epidural despite being 5cm on arrival and 8 cm when they checked me 10mins later. Like a PP, just two pushes, one for the head (when it wasn't until the MW said "congrats" that I realised it was the head & not a massive poo) & one for the body. It was all so quick that it wasn't until DC2 was an hour or so old that we realised DH's parents didn't even know we'd thought I might be in labour or had left for the hospital let alone had the baby (my parents were at home with DC1). I needed a few stitches so wasn't taken to the ante-natal ward until midnight & was discharged by noon the following day. The recovery was so easy. I wasn't knackered, I hadn't missed meals, I hadn't been traumatised, I wasn't in pain. I just sat there thinking "that's why some people don't worry about subsequent labours". I could easily have a 3rd, 4th or 5th now based on the labour alone.

my first experience was identical to wimblehorse following induction at 39+2 for medical reasons.

managed to get consultant to support me going just over term this time and going in to be induced tomoro. cervix a lot more favourable this time, but additionally this thread is really helping. thankyou so much.

Purple, you're due the day after me

littlemachine here's to our delightful champagne corks!

Good luck today ilovekittyelsie.

Really hope you have a happier time and a baby to cuddle ASAP!

It is really reassuring to read these positive second birth stories :)
I had a fast but traumatic first birth (3.5 hrs active labour, although contracting every 2 mins for 6 hrs before this) with heavy meconium, fetal distress, episiotomy, DS needing resus, pph, loss of consciousness, needed transfusions. Felt awful, physically and emotionally, for ages afterwards. It's now 3 years on, and I'm in the early stages with baby no.2 and I'm scared of another pph, but I'm also very scared of having an unplanned home birth alone, when I want to give birth at the birth centre with midwives.