Pregnancy & Childbirth

» NikiN72 - very fast labor

Hi,

My cousin is going into labor, and I've been looking on the internet for some answers to her questions when I came across your story. You went through the same kind of labor I did. When I went into labor, it was nine days before my son's due date. My water broke at 12:30 am. I had intense back labor, and being a procrastinator, I didn't have my bag ready for the hospital. So most of my labor was spent running around my house trying to get everything together. I didn't realize I was having contractions...just severe lower back pain. When I finally got to the hospital, I was dilated to 8cm. I didn't have any medication and had him naturally as well. He was born at 3:01 am, just 2 1/2 hours after my water broke. I had the same concerns you have when I got pregnant with my daughter five years later. My son came so quickly that I wanted to be prepared for another quick birth. My doctor was very understanding and told me that when I was dilated to 5 cm, I could either go home and have her naturally or he would induce me. When I went in for that last check up, I was dilated to 5 cm. I decided I wanted to be induced the following morning. I was scared I wouldn't have time to get to the hospital if I waited. So the next day, I went in, he broke my water at around 7:30 am, started petocin to start the contractions, sent me to get the epidural (which was awesome after a natural delivery). I came back to my room and took a nap. When I woke up, I felt pressure, and told the nurse I thought my epidural was wearing off. She checked me and my daughter's head was crowning. The doctor barely had time to get his gloves on before I started pushing. I had my daughter at 10:31 am. I was very lucky with both. It sounds like your body is made to have children with easy labor. I hope this helps. Let me know if you have any other questions. I wish my cousin was having such an easy time...but she isn't...she's gone to the hospital with false labor several times...thankfully she's less than a week from induction.

-- posted by NikiN72

» 4timemom - very fast labor

I had a very fast labor w/ my 2nd. My first wasn't that long either (just under 6 hours start to finish,) but my 2nd was 3 hours. She was about 2 weeks, and maybe a few days, early & I didn't know I was in labor at first. I thought they were just Braxton Hicks but then they were regular so I went to my midwife's office. She said I was already dilated to 5 cm & to go ahead to the hospital. I walked & walked after getting there, a little more than 2 1/2 hrs., and then pushed for only about 10 min. (if that even) and she was out. I missed out on drugs too since I missed my window of opportunity but since I delivered her in a kneeling position it wasn't as bad as the first time around - gravity does help.

My 3rd child was induced just like my 1st. Never got the pitocin, just cervidil for both & that kicked it in. #3 was almost an exact labor as the first (except w/out the episiotomy & I delivered #3 in the same position as #2.) My third time around it took about 5 1/2 hours start to finish.

I guess each labor is different just as children are. Don't worry & just make sure you have everything ready for the big event (bag packed, list of #'s to call, etc...) & ready to go at the drop of a hat. I think one of the biggest things to remember since you already have a child is to have someone you can count on to watch your son at a moment's notice. That way you can concentrate on this baby & not have to worry about your son too.

Good luck to you & your husband if you decide to go for it. I'm due in approx. 6 weeks w/ #4 (last one!!!) and I don't know what to expect either. Because of experience I'd say it should be fairly quick but who knows. I'm just going to have all my ducks in a row & pray that I make it in time. If not, he gets to clean up the car.

-- posted by 4timemom

» vickitrice - very fast labor

Hi, i read your post and had to reply.
I have two children, and an currently 33 weeks with #3. With my first i was very unsure of what to expect, as all 1st time mothers are!! I was due december 10th, and sailed past this date!! Christmas day at 10.33pm my waters broke, but i had no contractions or pain at all so i just sat at home. My mum called the delivery suite and they said just to come up and see what was going on as it was christmas day, if nothing was going on i would be able to relax, sleep and go back boxing day if nothing had happened. We arrived at the hospital at 11.15pm, got to the ward at 11.20pm, and the midwife said i was only about 4cm, so i had hours if not days to go before my baby was born, basically go home and come back tomorrow afternoon. The midwife got to the door, and i felt the urge to push... and 3 minutes later my daughter was born!!! labour recorded as 18 minutes....
With my 2nd, over 2yrs later, they wanted to induce me to prevent risk of being on my own etc. I went in to the hospital 2 weeks before my EDD, they examined me and they said i was no where near labour, and the cervix wasnt 'ripe' enough, so they would give it 24 hours and see the next day if i was suitable for induction. So my husband and i sat around the hospital, they allowed him to stay with me thankfully, and waited for permission to have our baby!
Basically, at 2.10am, just as we were drifting off to sleep, my water went again, i have no idea what happened after that, and my son was born at 2.15am!!!
recorded labour time...5minutes...
So if you have any worries just thank the heavens that less than 1% of labours last less than 2hours, let alone less than 1 hour!!

-- posted by vickitrice

» frida_swerdloff - very fast labor

Loved your post! I'm a student midwife (changing careers after moving to NZ) and am writing a paper of precipitous births. I have 3 kids, 18,16 and 6, and had 6hr, 1.5 hrs, and 53 minutes births respectively. I had my 3rd one at home with a midwife. I had advised her of my very fast #2 and mentioned that my mother and grandma had given birth fast as well. She was at my house less than 20 minutes after I called her.

I do find these incredibly fast births intense, but never having had any pharmacological help with the pain, they are certainly doable. I remember with the last one, sitting in a tub outside my house, looking at the stars and literally feeling my baby descending and opening me up. I think, my endorphine levels were high sky because I continued to feel euphoric for days afterwards. I did make it from the outside into the bedroom just as I started to want to push. It took two pushes for her to shoot out. The kid practically had skid marks!

I LOVE fast birth, both as a mother as well as a midwife. Its an incredible rush. There are dangers, for sure, but with a bit of planning for the unthinkable, they are also a joyous ride. I didn't feel tired, for example, since the whole thing took an hour from waking up to "baby is out", I felt exhilarated and wanted to celebrate.

My advice for a mom that is anticipating fast birth... Birth at home, its the safest place!

-- posted by frida_swerdloff

» Brenda Lane - very fast labor

I agree!

» bowribbonmama - very fast labor

I too, had a fast labour, but it was with my second child. I'd went in at 41 weeks with be induced. I was already 3 CM, but could be streched to 5 CM. I was in labour for 2 hours and pushed for barely 5 minutes. I went from a 5-10 in 10 minutes. I did it 100% naturally also, because I didn't want anything.

-- posted by bowribbonmama

» Holly Pateman - very fast labor

Hi Jcobsmommy,

I, too, had a very quick labor - though not quite 2 hours, more like 5, with only 2 being at the hospital. I was 10 days early, there was no time for drugs and the nurse was preparing to deliver me when the doctor whisked in at the last moment to catch the baby. As with you, it was very intense for me, but in retrospect I feel quite blessed because I wasn't exhausted as so many of my girlfriends were starting mommyhood. I am now 3 months in with bean #2 and my doctor has told me to prepare for a potentially even quicker labor. She said if I am at all dilated after 37 weeks that she will send me to the hospital to break my water. I guess all we can do is prepare for a fast one (luckily we live 3 blocks from the hospital) and hope to god there's enough time for a little bit of drugs ;)

» cmoore5480 - very fast labor

Hi jcobsmommy and everyone else. This is a great discussion.

I had a fast labor too, and am a bit nervous my #2 will come even more quickly. I like what frida_swerdloff wrote about having the baby at home b/c it's safest. My first baby was born at home and the labor was fabulously easy (hardly any discomfort) but he was distressed (probably b/c of the swiftness of his arrival) and there was concern he had breathed meconium, so he was whisked away from me before I even got more than a spit-second glimpse of him in an ambulance to the hospital, put on antibiotic, and then kept there for four days of monitoring! He started out in the ICU and I didn't even get to hold him for two hours after he was born! Turns out he hadn't breathed meconium, and they say that if he had been born in the hospital the pediatrician would have had a better tool with which to verify this (than what the midwives could determine at my home).

Where to have baby #2? Many of the midwives on the team who would deliver me at home live outside the city and might take 60 minutes to get to me at home. We live 15 minutes' walking distance from the maternity hospital, five minutes by car (we don't have a car). So even though my husband wants another homebirth, and I myself would love another one, I think we're going to go to the hospital and hopefully have a quick delivery in the midwives' unit plus an early discharge (within a couple hours). Do any of you have thoughts on this?

My first baby came approx. 2 hours after my water broke, during a dinner party. I was completely relaxed and happy at home, having a great time, eating all four courses of my dinner, in no pain. Then when things got heated my lovely dinner guests turned into my birth assistants until the midwives got there (barely before the birth).

How fast might my second baby come? I do not want to have this baby in a taxi! I also do not want to be induced (I am prone to migraines).

-- posted by cmoore5480

» Brenda Lane - very fast labor

Tough call since staying home might be safer and easier but not if you have to wait an hour for your midwives.

Leave with the first sign of contractions if you go to the hospital.

Also be prepared with emergency homebirth supplies should you need them - and DON'T leave if you feel an urge to push. You will never make it.

Unless your baby is a less than favorable position or your body acts differently - for example starts with contractions and not your water breaking, you could have another fast labor and possibly faster. Remember water breaking spontaneously does speed things up so if your labor starts with contractions this time it might not be as fast as your first.

Brenda

» cmoore5480 - very fast labor

Thanks a lot, Brenda. You said "leave with the first sign of contractions" -- can I ask you to clarify that for me? With my first delivery, I woke up with a very mild (pleasant) sensation that came regularly all day. I didn't know it at the time, but these were contractions and they were 9-10 minutes apart. (They felt a little like menstrual cramps, but not at all unpleasant.) By 5pm they were about 5 minutes apart. By 10:40pm when my water broke, they were 2-3 minutes apart. My baby was born about two hours after my water broke, at 12:57am. It was only after my water broke that I felt challenged by the labor. If I had been doing a hospital birth that time around, when should I have gone in? When the contractions were 5 minutes apart? And how far apart should they be for this next delivery, when I start seeking assistance (i.e. go to the hospital if that's the plan)? Many thanks for your advice!

-- posted by cmoore5480