What's your blood type and what was labour like?

[RetroHippy]

At my 25 week check today the mw commented that I am A+ and it was a good blood type as in her personal experience A+ves have quick labours.

She was referring to her experience on the wards, just wondering what your experiences are and if they back up her findings? I'm intrigued!

O-neg

Wonderful induction experience, very easy and no epi.

O+
DD1 12 hours, induced, epidural, natural delivery. Induction drugs made me throw up but not too awful.

DD2 4 hours, tiny puff of Gas ad Air, really easy delivery!

The midwife did say to me - O pos? Oh you must have Irish ancestry. As it happens I do but surely all O + types don't!!?

I'm O rhesus neg and had v quick labours - 7 hours and 3 hours but severe PPH after 1st and small PPH (as was controlled with drugs) after 2nd

O+, both straightforward G+A only deliveries. First was longer than the 2nd (7.5 hours v 2.5 hours) at the hospital MLU.

A+
Hideous. Failed induction and EMCS.

Not Irish though! Think lots of old wives tales are being perpetuated here! Best wishes with your own delivery though. What I can say is that they are all different but only a means to an end. Enjoy your baby.

A+, two quick and easy births.

My mum was O-, she also had two quick and easy births.

Lots of women are fortunate to have quick and easy births. I bet you so too!

A+. Total disaster of a first labour ending in an emergency CS. They wouldn't even let me try labour the second time due to risk of rupture.

Anecdotal, sure, but how on earth could it make a difference?

I'd have thought the physiology of your pelvis, efficiency of cervix contracting, size of baby's head etc would have more of a bearing on proceedings tbh but what do I know?

puddy - some interesting facts from the Irish blood transfusion service (alas none relating to giving birth):

• The most common blood group in Ireland is O positive (47% of the population)
• The rarest blood group in Ireland is AB negative (1% of the population)
• The most common blood group is O, accounting for about 46% of the world's population. However, in some areas other blood groups predominate, in Norway for example, type A is the most prevalent
• People in the West of Ireland are predominantly of blood group O
• There is a higher concentration of Group A blood in counties which historically received Viking, Anglo Norman and English population settlements
• There are more people with Rhesus negative blood on the East coast than the West

O Neg

DC1 - 2 weeks early by ELCS due to pre-eclampsia and breech

DC2 - VBAC and fast, only stitching required was due to DS's long nails scratching me as he came out, no tears, or cuts required.

My mum is A neg - 2 very fast births for her.

So not convinced, actually.

0+
4 .12hrs
4 .03 hrs
20 mins

I think it is more to do with my huge arse and hips than blood group.
I was discharged from hospital 6 hours after DC3 and did a Tesco shop on the way home

O+ - DS1 was a horrible, long labour. DS2 was a middling length but unproblematic labour. DD was an easy, fairly quick, delivery.

My best friend is O-. She has five DCs & five sneeze births. Barely made it to hospital with any of them (even the first).

My DM was A+ - she had a horrendous labour with her DC1 (my brother), so much so that she was told she wouldn't have any more children. They were wrong.

0- (there seems to be lots of us here): 'easy' 12 hour labour

A+ first Labour was 12.5 hours from first twinge. Baby was back to back so prob would have been even quicker if facing right way round. Am hoping for sub 6 hours when the next one comes in March!

Say after me…correlation does not equal causation.

O neg 2x emcs after hideous long labours then one calm elcs. But I think small frame and lower back injury plus big fat babies had more to do with it than blood type!

O positive, five births all long and difficult

Two sisters A positive, seven births between them and they barely had time to get into hospital before their babies arrived, in fact one was born in the ambulance en route.

0-

First long and tiring, but straightforward and at home, no tears, easy recovery.

Second fast and very, very easy.

Another A+ with a terrible labour: 7 days of pre labour contractions, back to back, ended with forceps etc

A+ - 1st labour 2 1/2 hours from waking up, 2nd labour 1 hour 15 minutes from first tiny tiny twinge...

But I totally agree with grimbletart!

AB+

DS 36 hours ventouse
DD 1 hour nothing, no time!

A MW said the same to me when I went in to have DD: I was 7cm when I was first examined and had been a wedding all day (and walked in in a dress and high heels! ) - she was quite impressed and asked my blood group; she explained she'd expected me to be A+ as those women tend to labour quickly and with little pain. It certainly wasn't quick for me - labour started Tuesday evening and she wasn't born until Sunday morning! - but it was pretty straightforward and the pushing bit only lasted 40mins from start to finish. No tears or anything.

Like others, I think that's rubbish. I'm sure a link like that has never been properly researched.

FWIW I had long slow labours x 4 though 4th WAS a bit quicker. Several complications - 2 CBs, a forceps, a PPH, big tear, a brain-damaged baby. In no particular order. Blood group - O neg. My mum was O neg too - and had quick labours though she did have a retained placenta with me. Maybe it's the fact the babies were all O pos that made it harder for me.