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!

Hmmm. Not buying the 'less pain' thing at all.

From my vastly statistically significant experience of just my own two labours (hah): A+ blood group, two extremely fast (precipitous) labours, and lost control totally during both - screaming very loudly and I thought I was dying both times. Poor midwives... Don't even have red hair.... But they were very fast. But I did tear quite badly (not unusual if very fast). Not sure how labour 3 will be but I'll let you know shortly...

B+, induced at 10 days overdue. Gas and air only, and baby delivered 9 hours after being given the pessary. No stitches or problems.

I'm A+ and had a quick and easy labour. I've heard of midwives saying this before too.

A+
Ds1, induced, quick labour but awful ended up in HDU with a big PPH.
Ds2 spontanious, started on sunday, didnt have him til friday afternoon, he got stuck for 2hr, ended up assisted delivery and then on i.v anti biotics for 3 days due to a bacteria growing in my blood.
Ds3 started monday had him sunday afternoon, long but lovely birth in the end.

A+ Two very quick and easy labours.

Being A+ is also definitively associated with living longer, being richer and being cleverer, although nobody is quite clear about the direction of the causal link between the three. Presumably those with A+ have a slightly different heritage and there must be linked genes close on the chromosome that are good to have. As ever, it's just stats, and no doubt loads of MNs will come on to say they know lots of very thick, ill and poor people with A+ blood types.

O -

Long first birth ending in emcs.

Opted for elective section for no.2.

But you're going to have a fairly short, easy delivery anyway so why worry? :)

B -

Two labours, one v long, one v short, both horrendous

How interesting. I've never heard about this, but my blood group is A+ and all three of my labours were very quick and easy (4 hours from first 'twinge' to the baby being born) and I didn't need any pain relief. I did have a few stitches each time, but nothing major and absolutely no problems after the birth.

With DD2 (my third), I took the kids for their swimming lesson on the Tuesday evening, got them to bed, started feeling contractions at about 10:15, got my parents over and went to hospital with DH. DD2 was born at 02:18 and we were home by 7am just as DS and DD1 were waking up. It couldn't have worked out more perfectly!

Just flicked through the thread and there's no link to any peer-reviewed paper on the subject, nor even to articles in the press.

So the answer is - we don't know. (And a thread full of anecdotes is not going to change that).

Of course there's no (or very little) scientific evidence and this is a thread full of anecdotes... I think it's more light hearted chat than serious medical predictions of what your labour is likely to be like. Well, that's how I'm viewing it anyway!

There are some really 'interesting' beliefs about blood types and personality in Japan that have reportedly led to discrimination against people with the 'wrong' blood types.

Yes, I know it's just people chatting and sharing experience to no particular purpose, other than their own enjoyment and that's fine of course.

It just seems an odd thread to pick as a 'discussion of the day', given it raises a specific question and the answer is 'we have no idea and can provide no enlightenment on that topic'.

A+ and 2 long painful labours.

1. 24 hours, ended up with epidural and forceps delivery
2. 12 hours, painful but quick delivery.

I decided I wasnt a natural at giving birth so left it after 2.

My thread made discussion of the day?!

It was only meant to be an idle ponder, personally I have no intention of expecting a nice 6 hour breathe it out labour based soley on my blood group. It's always nice to be optimistic though .

And if the current bump activity is anything to go by, this little one is likely to come out disco dancing and rip me to shreds

A positive here and my first labour was slow, protracted and ended in an emergency C-section. recovery also slow and painful.

Yes, I suppose my thought is that sometimes, on a very specific topic, a few people come along with lots of knowledge and we do learn something.

It is interesting that no HCP has come on and said 'oh yes, that's well known and evidenced / found not to be the case / there's something more to it / it's being looked into'. The only input from HCPs had also been anecdotal. That suggests but doesn't tell us, that there may not be a known link.

So, I'd be going back to your midwife and asking her to point me to the evidence - then perhaps querying why she was sharing untested anecdote with patients, or passing off personal observation as medical knowledge.

But, like you, I'd take any declaration about 'how things are going to be for me' with a big pinch of salt and as 'cheery nonsense chit-chat' anyway. In the end, unless you have a very specific known risk, variations at population level will have no bearing at all on your, unique, personal experience.

So good luck and I hope it is a quick, easy one!

But what a bonkers idea. This suggests to me that the midwives are spending too long leafing through medical notes. If there were some plausible physiology behind this, wouldn't someone have funded a study by now?

I think that is the most bonkers thing written on the thread! It takes seconds to find a blood group in someones notes and is actually a very important part of pregnancy/labour/postnatal care as all those with a negative blood group can attest to.

No one is saying its fact, it's just an old wives tale that seems to have some grounding in my personal experience however no one actually believes it's written in stone and would change anything based on it. It's merely an observation that has provoked lighthearted discussion.

On and as an HCP I did say earlier I wouldn't share my observations with a labouring woman. The last thing she wants to hear I'm sure!!

I am a -

First - 22 hour long slog. Tear, stitches and forceps. Every pain relief going. Not as bad as it could have been though

Second - 4 ish hours, no dramas or pain relief other than gas and air.

I am pregnant with no 3 so will see how the theory goes..

A+ 17 hour active labour, 2 hours pushing, forceps, mega tear. I feel robbed

i understand there are scientific studies linking blood type to life expectancy and to wealth. Let me look for them and return. A+ is the one to have btw. It is therefore not implausible that there might be a link to labour too. Perhaps someone reading this thread might pick it as a subject for their PhD? I will suggest it to my medic DD.

Type B blood is associated with exceptional longevity (over 100yo):

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15501027

"Our findings suggest that blood type B might be associated with exceptional longevity. Responsible mechanisms need to be investigated."

Peer reviewed published study.

Will look for the one linking wealth and greatest average age with A+ that I know I read once...

Ts is is so why midwives need to stick to FACT and shut their mouths when it comes to basically bullshit opinion. They are medical professionals, they should not be allowed to just make shit up. If a GP did we'd be furious.