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Original poster

What's the actual definition of 'active labour'?

60 replies

Shootthemoon · 03/12/2014 13:14

I'm always really interested in threads where people take about how long they were in labour, but I can't help but wonder if people are including different stages in their estimates.

How long was your labour, and at what point did you class yourself as 'in labour'? And is there an actual medical definition?

My waters didn't go until I was pushing, so that can't be it. And I went into rapid contractions from the word go - though the MW told me on the phone that I couldn't possibly be in active labour as I wasn't making enough noise. (I was at 8cm) . Do some people count it from when they are assessed and a MW confirms that it is indeed active labour?

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MisAnneThropy · 03/12/2014 17:57

mrsmilkymoo · 03/12/2014 18:08

I had a very long painful labour, but no idea when it became active. First contraction hit hard on a Tuesday night, and I had no sleep from that point on, but they came irregularly. Sometimes every two minutes, then changed to every 9 or even as far apart as 15 at blissful moments! I was told not to come in until they were regular but by the early hours of Saturday morning, I couldn't cope with the exhaustion and went in anyway.

Pain was manageable if I moved around and clung to the towel rail when a contraction hit but there was no way I could sleep. Dd was back to back, and I was only 2cm, but had got high bp by this point so I stayed in. Dd ended up being born by emcs Sunday morning.

Although the point before I reached hospital may not technically have been active labour, it was bloody hard going. And also very different to how I'd imagined things would pan out as the contractions never ramped up in intensity but were strong from the start. Clearly not hugely effective though...

Original poster

ShootTheMoon · 03/12/2014 18:27

Milkymoo I slightly think you deserve a medal for that! A friend of mine had a rapid first birth and was primed for a home birth after midwives were worried they may not get to her in time.

Her DC2 was a 50+ hour back to back labour

OP posts:

BeginnerSAHM · 03/12/2014 18:38

Blimey - you poor things... Most of these stories sound grim. Luckily for me, I had two very rapid 'precipitous' (sub 3-hour) labours, although they bl**dy hurt and I really thought I was dying the second time. Pretty sure I was in 'active' labour the whole time. Am hoping number three is the same - just not so rapid as to have the baby in the car though. (Can't have homebirth as would take longer for midwives to get to me than for me to get to hospital...) I don't fancy 50 hours plus of that pain... I am in awe of some of you. (I realise you had no choice, but still...)

Original poster

ShootTheMoon · 03/12/2014 19:15

So beginner, what are you counting from - first contraction or the moment the MW said you were in labour?

OP posts:

MrsMonkeyBear · 03/12/2014 19:35

Active labour for me was when I couldn't talk during a contraction. So I'd say about 7 hours. I was 6cm on admission and dd was out 5hrs later.

BeginnerSAHM · 03/12/2014 19:56

Heh - I'm counting from first tiny twinge... Number one was 2 1/2 hours after waking up (feeling like I was badly constipated) and number two was 1 hour 15 mins from first very mild period-like pain - thankfully I noticed it as I was awake. (Mind you, I was shouting in pain about 15 minutes in...) So, I have no idea if I was 4 cm dilated or not. I guess my 'active' labour was probably a little shorter. I was fully dilated when I arrived at hospital with number 1 (and shouting a lot for an epidural...because i was expecting labour to last a loooong time) and was 'only' 7 cm dilated when I arrived with number 2.

MostHighlyFlavouredLady · 03/12/2014 20:13

If you don't allow internal examinations then you are in active labour when you say you are.

MostHighlyFlavouredLady · 03/12/2014 20:18

The reason I refused internal examinations after my first child was BECAUSE I was in pain so severe it has caused me to suffer from PTSD since and yet according to the midwives I hadn't reached 2cm.

Due to my screaming they had the sense to not send me home. However they insisted on jabbing me with pethedine against my birth plan notes and refused gas and air until that was done.

They also made a bit thing about me having to calm down because if I wasn't coping now, how would I cope when it REALLY hurt. (It never hurt more, it stayed the same and actually got less painful by the end).

The PTSD had a lot to do with the denial of my experience by those supposed to be helping me, so I wrote in subsequent birth plans that I would not accept internals and that I was in active labour when I told them I was.

MostHighlyFlavouredLady · 03/12/2014 20:21

mrsmilky In hindsight I realise that my first baby was undiagnosed back to back. 2cm is bloody painful and comes with an urge to push. There is no build up, but more of a build down as you get more tired and lose the will to live.

yazz21 · 03/12/2014 21:35

I woke up at 3am with my waters breaking, and painful, intense contractions started immediately. I got to the hospital an hour later (4am) and was fully dilated and started pushing. Daughter was born 20mins later.

My notes recorded labour as an hour 15mins. Even though I was only at the hospital for the last 20mins. So they didn't record my labour as starting from when I'd been checked by a medical professional. ITMS.

PrincessOfChina · 03/12/2014 21:41

I was admitted on a Tuesday morning at 3cm (after a day at home and at 12 days over due). Had contractions lasting 2 minutes every 5-7 minutes for the next two days when they broke my waters. Contractions stayed the same but I progressed to 9cm until on the Thursday evening they decided on an EMCS.

Absolutely the worst of all worlds - I was exhausted from natural labour and recovering from emergency surgery. But never in actual labour by the book.

elliejjtiny · 03/12/2014 21:58

I always thought it was from 4cm. Although with DS5 they started counting when they put the drip in when I was 2cm. I wasn't 4cm for another 3 hours.

elliejjtiny · 03/12/2014 22:04

I was in latent labour with DS1 for 3 weeks. Thankfully this got shorter with each DC so with DS5 it was only 4-5 hours.

IdaClair · 03/12/2014 22:10

If the definition is from when a MW confirms dilation or contractions then I have never been in active labour. I have never been examined in labour, had an internal or been attached to a monitor.

I count it from the first contraction. But I have always been thrown head first into regular, long, painful contractions from the very first one. So no uncertainty about it. Literally one minute fine, next minute fully labouring.

3littlebadgers · 04/12/2014 08:16

All my three labours were between 10 and 12 hours the longest being DC 2. With DC 1 I was contracting painfully every 2 minutes but when I got to the hospital I was only 2 cm dilated! I was devastated. This time I'm just going to sneeze and give birth

nottheOP · 04/12/2014 09:35

I'd say about 7 hours for me. From admission to birth it was an hour and fifteen minutes.

Original poster

ShootTheMoon · 04/12/2014 09:45

Ooh, heads up, we're in Discussions of the Day

3littlebadgers I wish you a speedy sneezy birth, in that case

ellliejjtiny three weeks?. We have a winner!

PrincessOfChina, a close friend of mine had the same - it's a very tough way to start parenthood, with that level of knackeredness.

OP posts:

mrsmilkymoo · 04/12/2014 09:49

Princess, yes, it's really tough, I was exhausted by the point of the c section and was gutted that that was how it ended up. By the time I got home, after 2 more sleepless nights in the hospital, I was practically hallucinating from exhaustion. At that point I really wished I had family or friends nearby! But we struggled through and dd is now 4 months old and that time seems a blur.

GrouchyKiwi · 04/12/2014 10:04

I think it's difficult to define because people can be so different.

I basically had to bully the labour ward to let me come in with DD2. They wanted me to wait for the "3 in 10 minutes" thing but I knew it was time. Thankfully my community midwife had written (in caps) "will probably go quickly" in my notes so they gave in. (My entire labour with DD1 was seven hours.)

When we arrived at the labour ward I was maybe 1cm dilated. DD2 was born 2 1/2 bloody painful hours later. There were no breaks between contractions until the baby arrived.

I'd say, though, that I'd been in latent labour with her for two weeks. Hellish.

RosieProbert · 04/12/2014 10:11

I've just had a look at my notes on the back of this thread. It says:
Length of first stage : 5.10
2nd stage: 0.56
3rd stage: 0.11

Does that mean labouring, pushing, placenta?

EllaJayne123 · 04/12/2014 10:12

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Livvylongpants · 04/12/2014 10:19

This reply has been deleted

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cdwales · 04/12/2014 11:06

Hi shootthmoon - I had a similar experience to you! Both times I was completely unaware of first stage - even sitting in a cattle market during an auction with my parents! When I felt contractions it was the start of second stage. Also they were not painful at all - but very powerful. And it was the same the second time around so my 'labours' were about an hour. We are all different and I would have thought that people would be interested to explore why I did not have pain - but no it is as though I am implying that others are making it up!!!! Why on earth they react like this I do not know - but I want my daughter to have a painless labour too so I am still interested as to why this should be...

elliejjtiny · 04/12/2014 11:30

ShoottheMoon thankyou [bows and accepts trophy]. I have to say that the 9 days between my waters breaking with DC5 and him being born was worse though. I was constantly gushing and I was worried that my 2 maternity pads and toddler sized nappy would leak on the school run!

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