How long were your labors?

[Camille]

First baby 21 hours, went to my 38th week appt to find out I was 3cm dilated/ 40% effaced, went straight to the hospital, I was told that we dilate about 1cm per hour but it doesn't apply to all......I went from 5cm to 10 in two hours. Pushed 7 times.

Pitocin on my second child due to baby stress [@35 weeks] OB broke my water after 6 hours of being induced [60%] much faster, 8 hours. SAME thing, from 3 cm to 10 cm went rather quick. .....no time for epidural

our 'tiny' baby was 2lbs & 21" long, talk about Naturale, pushed 3 times.

 

[waxing lyrical]

Date: 8/4/2009 6:46:04 PM
Author: Pandora II
I had to have the pitocin as I was getting nowhere in terms of dilation and my waters had broken over 36 hours previously (they always start induction and IV antibiotics at that point to avoid the risk of infection).


Turns out that my lack of dilation despite very strong contractions was due to her head being stuck and so not putting the pressure it should on the cervix.

Fetal malposition. A crooked or poor angle of the head can do that. I really dig spinningbabies. It''s a good way to keep track of the baby''s position. It can also help get baby in the prime position for birth. If there''s no pressure on the cervix then labor can''t progress or will end up stalling if the membranes rupture spontaneously.

 

[upgrade]

Baby #1- 6 hours total. He was posterior so that slowed things down significantly. No drugs- ouch! I *really* wanted drugs but went from 4 cm to 10 in about 30 minutes and it was too late. I pushed for almost 2 hours.

Baby #2- 45 minutes total. No drugs yet again (too quick) but this one was facing the right way so it was much, much easier. I pushed twice.

If there were to be a baby #3, I think I would end up giving birth on my front step!

 

[MonkeyPie]

Question - why won''t they give you drugs once you''re fully dilated?

 

[DivaDiamond007]

I started having contractions on June 30, Had my 36 week appointment on July 1 and found out I was 4cm dialated, was rushed to L&D, sat around, sat around, sat around. I dialated about 1cm per hour, the nurse broke my water at some point and I got an epidural at 8cm. I started pushing at 12:15 a.m. on July 2 and James was born at 2:44 a.m. That''s about 50.5 hours total, but it wasn''t bad at all. I could breathe through the contractions and I only got the epidural because I didn''t want to not get it and then wimp out

Baby was sunny-side up (don''t know the technical term) and needed the vacuum to help him out.

 

[waxing lyrical]

Date: 8/4/2009 8:13:49 PM
Author: MonkeyPie
Question - why won''t they give you drugs once you''re fully dilated?

From what I''ve read, narcotics shouldn''t be given too late in labor or just before the second stage because it gives less time for the baby''s system to metabolize the drug. If it''s not metabolized yet then the baby has a higher chance of coming out lethargic or difficult to stimulate.

Others have said there''s really little point in administering an epidural in transition because it''s too close to the second stage and because it''s very difficult for the mother to keep still during transition. For multips the second stage can end before the catheter is in place and the meds kick in.

The cut off time depends on the hospital. It varies.

 

[Blenheim]

Um, a long time? I had some painful contractions on Saturday night, my water broke around 5 am Sunday, contractions continued to get stronger but were still sporadic, I hit transition on Monday evening - got really bad sometime between 7 and 8 pm - and I started pushing sometime around 10 pm-ish (I was pushing according to my body''s urges and so there wasn''t really a definite start, it just kind of gradually built). And then George was born at 12:56 am on Tuesday. I think that my midwife charted it as lasting 43 hours, but it was really only bad for that last bit. He was pretty malpositioned though - breech and posterior.

Peepa - my experience with a long labor was that the pain was very manageable until transition, but even at the end I was able to get breaks between contractions. I was somehow able to take naps between contractions that were something like 3 minutes apart and my perception was that I had 20 minutes between contractions (I stayed away from clocks for most of labor). I was so confused when I saw my chart! I was also so far into laborland that time was just flying by. I didn''t get an epi.

 

[swingirl]

Labored at home, nothing too uncomfortable. Went to hospital at 3:40am. Was 4-5 cm dilated. Baby delivered at 4:40am. No drugs. I only pushed twice. Once for the head, once for the shoulders.

I was 34 at the time...a long time ago.

 

[sbde]

11 hrs from first contraction to baby.

4 pm began feeling contractions
7:30 pm went to the hospital - got an epidural soon after
3:00 am had the baby

 

[Richard Sherwood]

We had our (three) babies at home, naturally, just my wife and myself, except for the last with a midwife in attendance.

My wife (a chiropractor) had previously had a hospital birth (my stepdaughter), and swore she would never have another hospital birth.

First baby, ~ eleven hours labor.

Second baby, ~ nine hours labor.

Third baby, ~ six hours labor (she was starting to get the hang of it by then).

 

[waxing lyrical]

Date: 8/4/2009 11:47:28 PM
Author: Richard Sherwood
We had our (three) babies at home, naturally, just my wife and myself, except for the last with a midwife in attendance.


My wife (a chiropractor) had previously had a hospital birth (my stepdaughter), and swore she would never have another hospital birth.


First baby, ~ eleven hours labor.


Second baby, ~ nine hours labor.


Third baby, ~ six hours labor (she was starting to get the hang of it by then).

I''m not the only "crunchy" here.

 

[Richard Sherwood]

Hi Waxing.

What''s a "crunchy"?

And what''s a "metta"?

 

[waxing lyrical]

Date: 8/5/2009 12:05:29 AM
Author: Richard Sherwood
Hi Waxing.


What''s a ''crunchy''?


And what''s a ''metta''?

"Crunchy" is one of many euphemisms for those that opt for alternative routes or care. In year''s past it was synonymous with tree hugger or hippie.

Here''s a fun quiz:

How Crunchy Are You?

As for metta, it means loving-kindness and is often used in the same way as namaste or best regards. It''s part of the Buddhist and Hindu tradition.

 

[Richard Sherwood]

Ahhh, thank you.

Took the test by the way, scored 165. "Ultra crunchy".

Hah hah hah...

"Loving kindness". I like that.

 

[qtiekiki]

Date: 8/4/2009 8:33:12 PM
Author: waxing lyrical

Date: 8/4/2009 8:13:49 PM

Author: MonkeyPie

Question - why won''t they give you drugs once you''re fully dilated?

From what I''ve read, narcotics shouldn''t be given too late in labor or just before the second stage because it gives less time for the baby''s system to metabolize the drug. If it''s not metabolized yet then the baby has a higher chance of coming out lethargic or difficult to stimulate.


Others have said there''s really little point in administering an epidural in transition because it''s too close to the second stage and because it''s very difficult for the mother to keep still during transition. For multips the second stage can end before the catheter is in place and the meds kick in.


The cut off time depends on the hospital. It varies.

When I was getting the epidural, the anesthesiologist said they don''t do epidural when fully dilated b/c there''s higher risk of complications. The reason he said was that the contractions are stronger and closer, so there''s less time to locate the epidural space and insert the catheter (since they have to do this in between the contractions when the patient can stay still). So it''s a safety precaution to not administrating epidural at later times.

 

[puffy]

re: epidural, i received my epidural when i was almost 8 cm. yeah by then, i should have just tried to go natural, but i was in so much pain, the anesthesiologist gave me a "double" dose cause it was not working, and i was feeling every contraction. but when i was getting checked to be administered, they did say that if i was set on an epidural, that they would have to get me up to a room immediately. i do think it is more chance of a complication if you wait longer, just because the contractions are so close together.

 

[E B]

30-something hours.

I was admitted to the hospital on a Wednesday afternoon for induction, was given Cervadil shortly after, and had the Cervadil removed just a few hours later because it was working TOO well. Had lots of contractions that didn't do much (less than 3 centimeters in 24+ hours). Late Thursday evening I was given Pitocin, and I had my son Friday morning at almost half past 1:00 a.m after 1 hour of pushing.

 

[Pandora II]

Date: 8/4/2009 7:00:19 PM
Author: waxing lyrical

Date: 8/4/2009 6:46:04 PM
Author: Pandora II
I had to have the pitocin as I was getting nowhere in terms of dilation and my waters had broken over 36 hours previously (they always start induction and IV antibiotics at that point to avoid the risk of infection).


Turns out that my lack of dilation despite very strong contractions was due to her head being stuck and so not putting the pressure it should on the cervix.

Fetal malposition. A crooked or poor angle of the head can do that. I really dig spinningbabies. It''s a good way to keep track of the baby''s position. It can also help get baby in the prime position for birth. If there''s no pressure on the cervix then labor can''t progress or will end up stalling if the membranes rupture spontaneously.

Indeed it was fetal malposition. She was in perfect position - LOA - they did a u/s to check the position after I''d been in labour for over 30 hours - but then her head was caught on the ischial spines and never rotated from OT to OA.

My waters broke before labour started so I was walking around for a good 30 hours of the labour. Due to weird contractions (five minutes long with 30 second breaks at times) and having to be on IV antibiotics I had to be on constant monitoring and therefore had to lie down. Which was a shame as I was having a mobile epidural so if it wasn''t for the need for monitoring I could have stayed upright.

They told me that it actually wouldn''t have made any difference - they think my pelvis is not a good shape and that is why she was stuck, especially as she wasn''t a ''big'' baby.

 

[jas]

Water broke at 1:30, Twin A''s foot "came out" at about 3:45, they were out via c/s by 4:30.

Only problem was getting used to everyone and their mother sticking their hand up me like I was a muppet. (in the hospital. I don''t want to imply this happened at the grocery).

 

[Jas12]

Water broke at around 6:30pm on Tuesday night. Tolerable but still uncomfortable early labor until 7:30am Wednesday morning. Given induction drug at 8am and then had *severe* pain until baby was born at 5:23pm that evening.

So:
13.5 hours of tolerable labor
9 hours of very, very painful labor
approx. 20 min of pushing (not very painful)

For a total of 23 hours

 

[Jas12]

re: pitocin. I think the majority of women who have a hospital birth in the US are given Pitocin. It has almost become ''routine'' and is going in that direction in canada too. I don''t know the exact stats, but it is very high.

 

[lili]

Wow, some of you ladies had really long labors.
And it is good to know that labor is shorter w/ your subsequent kid.

10:00 AM - water broke
11:00 AM - first contraction (thought it was stomach cramp and that I needed to clear my system)
11:30 AM - checked in at hospital and was fully effaced and 4 cm dilated
12:30 PM - unbearable contraction (transition stage)
01:15 PM - asked for epidural but dr said that I was ready to push and pushed for 15 minutes

So I guess it's 2.5 - 3.5 hr depending on whether you consider water breaking as start of labor.

 

[somethingshiny]

Date: 8/5/2009 10:58:49 AM
Author: jas


Only problem was getting used to everyone and their mother sticking their hand up me like I was a muppet. (in the hospital. I don''t want to imply this happened at the grocery).

LOL!

 

[Jas12]

Lili--i hate you

 

[lili]

Date: 8/6/2009 11:16:26 AM
Author: Jas12
Lili--i hate you

Haha, but I''m paying for it after birth w/ a non-sleeper

 

[somethingshiny]

Date: 8/6/2009 2:22:11 PM
Author: lili

Date: 8/6/2009 11:16:26 AM

Author: Jas12

Lili--i hate you

Haha, but I''m paying for it after birth w/ a non-sleeper

I''ll take the 39 hour labor over the non-sleeper any day!!

 

[Burk]

I was induced. I started pitocin around 5pm and dr. broke my water shortly after that. I got an epidural around 8 or so when I was about 4 cm. I pushed twice just before 4am and then had to wait 20 minutes until my OB got there to deliver the baby!

Pushed 2 more times when he arrived. So all together, 11 hours.

 

[ChinaCat]

Some of you are scaring me!

Due date is tomorrow.

I''ve been using that emoticon a lot lately!

Great thread though, this is fascinating to me that everyone is so different.