Is there any relation between the length of your first labour and your second labour?

[mumzyof2]

When I had my ds1, I was in labour for 40 hours, although, when it came to pushing, he was out in ten minutes, and the midwife said that I would have to go to hospital sooner next time, as ds came so quickly.
So, im pg again, is this labour likely to be as long as 40 hours, like last time?
Is there any indication of how long the labour will be, by the length of my first labour?

likely to be shorter

were you actually in established labour for that length of time?

My first was about the length of yours. My second was seven hours.

No, when I got to the hospital, i was 5 centimetres, and had him three and a half hours later.

so really, it was probably not 40 hours at all !! pre labour and twinges don;t count...

sounds like you could benefit from a homebirth this time, no need to worry about getting to the hospital on time

Oh no, they wernt twinges, I rang the hospital shortly after it started as it was inbearable, and im no softie.
I dont know why it took so long. Im just wondering if I will be in pain for two days again, because it really was bad, I didnt sleep at all, they were no less painful that an hour or so before I actaully gave birth. I just dont want it being dragged on for days again. Is that likely?

wow ! that must have been tough..
this time, your body knows what to do... you will be more relaxed as you know you can cope, so it will most liekly be much quicker....

Mumzyof2 - With my first I had a long back labour with my first, I got to 5cm ok but then despite intense pain with very short gaps between them I failed to progress for another 8 hours, then progressed slowly again after that. So I can empathise with your long first labour. However the good news is that it does not mean that it will happen again. My second labour was fast and furious. I had long pre-labour with fairly strong contractions but with 5 or 6 minutes between them, for hours on end but then stopping for a while, this went on for 3 days. But I was still only 1cm after the 3 days, the contractions had done nothing. But that night I got contractions again at 11.30pm thought nothing of it as it was just the same as before, then suddenly at just after midnight the contractions became only a minute apart and they said I was 3cm but it progressed very fast and I had given birth by 2am. Less than 2 hours of actual labour!

It is often the case that second babies come quicker than the first, so it is unlikely that you will have another extremely long labour. I hope this reassures you!

i'm hoping for a nice rapid 2nd one.

1st time round i started having 'proper' contractions at about 1am, stayed 1cm dilated for bloody hours, then DS shot out suddenly after about 5 mins of pushing stage at 9.35am.

Midwife has warned me not to mess about with ringing them for home birth, so that they get a chance to get here in time.

with both of mine its been 24 hrs since first twinge to birth.
with dd1 i was in established labour for 9 hours (from 3 cm)

with dd2 i was 5cm when i got to hospital and had her 1 3/4 hrs later. main difference i found was that 2nd stage was much quicker 2min rather then 1 1/2 hours and the pain was more bareable.

im now pregnant with dc3 and think if its any quicker then 24 hrs from first twinge ill get a bit of a shock, plus both my girls were born exactly the day after the due date. so if i have this one early and quickly id be suprised

DS1 took about 16 hours - don't know exactly as I was 5 cm by the time I got to hospital so had been in established labour for a while.

DS2 took less than 5 hours. Not sure exactly how long but he was born at home as he came a lot quicker than anybody thought - Probably about 2 hours of established labour and 20 minutes second stage although I didn't push at all as I was waiting for the ambulance to arrive! Gravity did all the work not me!

I think you can expect it to be quicker than 40 hours.

DS1 took 11hours from start to finish and he had some help in the end as we were both tired. DS2 waters went at 8pm, sent home from hospital at 11.30pm and told to come and be induced in 2 days by the time i got home (30mins) I was having lots of contracttions close together baby born 10mins after getting back to hospital at 13.05! very different births, second one was lovely!

Contractions started Friday teatime, but didn't need TENS until midnight.
All day Saturday contractions every 5/6 mins. Wnet into hospital midnight Saturday.
Ds eventually born by emergency c/s midday Sunday!

DD - contractions started during Dr Who on Saturday (dh not impressed).
Born naturally Sunday lunchtime - so a whole day shorter!!!

DC no.3? Who knows - but they're obviously not ever in a hurry to get out of there - I must be too damn comfy

With dd (1st dc), was in labour for 28 hours in total, took me about 18 hours to get to 3cm dilated. Was feeling insane w pain etc by then, got epidural, felt 1000000 times better, and dd was eventually hauled out by ventouse 10 hours later.
Obviously dreaded labour the 2nd time around, contractions started in park on sunday afternoon, carried on to do a tesco shop while dh timed contractions, went home, unpacked shopping, washed grapes, put flowers in vase (while dh still timing contractions and totally desperate to get me to hospital), went to hospital, examined after 1 hour (3cm dilated), ds born 4 hours later.
A total joy compared to labour #1!

I had very long pre-labour with both of my first two children, needing G&A before I'd even reached 3cm with no1, but virtually no pre-labour at all with no3. Overall, from 1st contraction to holding the baby: no1 48h, no2 27h, no3 2h. But if you've laboured before, you know. You just have to listen to your body to know whether you're in established labour - at least, that was my experience.

ds: 54 hours
dd: 2 hrs 37 min

So thats a no !

*to clarify 54 hrs 2 hrs 37 min from 1st contraction to entering world !

My first labour was 4 hours from first inkling to DS being born. Expecting twins this time so wont be wasting any time in getting myself to hospital. Thankfully less than 10 mins drive away.

My first was 2.5 hrs from first real contractions to delivery - although I'd apparently been in prelabour for 11 days, I was 3cm dilated when they broke my waters and real contractions started. #2 is on the way and although a shorter labour would be lovely I do need to get to the hospital, lol.

No, Ds1 45hrs, DS2 17hrs, both were ventouse though.

DS1 established labour for about 12 hours (although from first contraction to birth about 22 hours)

DD2 4 hours from start to finish. Made the hospital with 35 minutes to spare.

Ds1-36 hour labour from 1st contraction to birth.
Ds2-45 mins from 1st contraction to birth.

Ventouse delivery with both and lots of Raspberry leaf tea capsule taken the 2nd time around,so that may have helped.