How long was labor with your 1st child- natural birth?

[dcurry]

My husband is thinking 8 hours seems long to him, but I think from the beginning of labor (not *hard* labor, just any labor) to delivery for the first child is usually longer than that.

 

So- natural birth only, 1st child only, how long was your labor from the time you knew you were in labor until delivery?

 

(I had c-sections and for my 1st was in labor more than 24 hours before the c-section, so only want results for those who ended up delivering naturally).

 

Thanks!

 

(Poll following very soon)

 

Clarification: By natural, I don't mean no meds, no epidural, no help whatsoever, I *only* mean no c-section. If you've had an epidural or pitocin or any other help, you can still vote.

Edited March 22, 2011 by dcurry
clarification

[Harriet Vane]

My first labor was 14 hours. My second labor was 25. Both were without interventions.

 

8 hours is considered a short labor.

[Tohru]

I think with my first it was pretty close to 35 hours. With my second it was around 40 hours.

 

Now, most of those hours were just minor contractions and dilation.

Hard labor in which the contractions began coming fast and hard was pretty quick for me. I don't know how long, but my son was about 2 hours from loss of mucus plug to birth and my daughter was around an hour or so from transition to birth. My first was at a birthing center and my second was a homebirth.

 

ETA: No interventions on either.

Edited March 22, 2011 by jadedone80

[NanceXToo]

35 hours or so. I was 18 years old. I went into labor like 10:45 on a Thursday night, and my daughter was born 10:29 Saturday morning. My contractions were never more than like ten min apart in all that time. I had no sleep, occasional doses of Demerol for the pain, I was ten days past my due date, and I don't even know what my doctors were thinking, letting it go on so long!

[Jennifer3141]

Water broke at 6:30 a.m. on May 5 and DD was born at exactly 8:00 a.m. on May 6.

[Nakia]

When you say "naturally", do you mean v@ginally with or without pain medication or do you mean v@ginally with no epidural? I can't tell from your post. I was in labor less than 6 hours with my first, and I had an epidural. That was my shortest labor.

[Melissa in Australia]

I was having mild contractions for 12 hours before I went into hospital ( 100 km away). I then continued with moderate, to strong contractions for a further 3 days, 5-7 minutes apart. I was almost fully dilated ( baby sitting on the rim) for 24 hours. eventually I was so exhausted that I had "maternal fatigue", the contractions weren't progressing any more. the doctor gave me some marvelous drip to hurry things along and said 1 more hour until I would have to have a Caesarion. He was born in about 15 minutes. His head was almost completely born before the waters broke. I have always wondered why they didn't give me the drip a few days earlier. It took me over 3 months to get over the maternal fatigue.

[Dinsfamily]

Ok, my 1st delivery was very (too) fast but I was told at the time that the average was 15 hrs for a first-timer. Dh lived in another state at the time so we were counting to get him on a plane home in time for the birth. Good thing I went into labor during his spring break! Seems like 8 hrs would be slightly less than average.

[Michelle O. in MO]

9 1/2 hours start to finish, no drugs. Had to use vacuum cap (forceps) though, so not sure if that's considered natural.

[dcurry]

When you say "naturally", do you mean v@ginally with or without pain medication or do you mean v@ginally with no epidural? I can't tell from your post. I was in labor less than 6 hours with my first, and I had an epidural. That was my shortest labor.

 

No, I didn't mean no medication or help- I just meant no c-section.

 

Wow. 6 hours! How nice! :-) Was that your most difficult child by any chance? (For my sister, her easiest deliveries were her most challenging children).

[Classical Country Mama]

Early labor for me began mid-afternoon on a Wednesday, and dd was born at 5pm Thursday.

 

17 hours unmedicated, with about 12 of those hours being contractions every 1-2 minutes. Then pitocin, epidural, etc, and the little stinker STILL wouldn't come out for another 9 hours, including 3h of pushing.

 

She was a 10-pounder, though. :eek:

[Mothersweets]

Water broke at 10:30pm, pains started at 11:30pm, she was born at 1:30am. I was 19 years old with my first delivery.

 

No painkillers, just breathing. hee hee hoo hoo :) and a cleansing breath.

 

I was very surprised that it went so quickly. I was expecting around a 15 hour labor because that is what I was told was "average". After having 11 more babies, believe me, there IS no average.

[Kirch]

With my first, my water broke before I'd had any contractions (that I could feel, anyway) and he was born less than 2 hours later. We almost didn't make it to the hospital. :scared: He was 9# 11 oz.

 

I don't voluntarily share that very much. I get dirty looks!

[Nakia]

No, I didn't mean no medication or help- I just meant no c-section.

 

Wow. 6 hours! How nice! :-) Was that your most difficult child by any chance? (For my sister, her easiest deliveries were her most challenging children).

 

Actually, she has always been my easiest child. Now that we are in the tween years, she is a bit more challenging. ;)

[Jean in Newcastle]

72 hours. I threw up for the last 14 hours. They were giving me anti-nausea drugs that they give cancer patients to try and get me to stop. They finally got me into the ER for a C-section when the baby came naturally. They hadn't been able to get me in earlier because all ORs were busy due to an earthquake that caused tons of pregnant ladies to go into labor. Once I gave birth, both my veteran Dr. (25+ years as an OB/GYN) and the labor nurse came in to tell me how scared they had been for me. I was a high-risk pregnancy due to my chronic illness.

[Michelle O. in MO]

With my first, my water broke before I'd had any contractions (that I could feel, anyway) and he was born less than 2 hours later. We almost didn't make it to the hospital. :scared: He was 9# 11 oz.

 

I don't voluntarily share that very much. I get dirty looks!

 

 

This happened to me with my second. After all was said and done, I was pretty relieved and happy about it. But, while it was happening I looked like this :scared:! Going from 3 cm to 10 cm in 15 minutes is NOT fun.

[Cinder]

First one was 6 hours--no meds. It was in a military hospital on a Sunday. They had only 1 anesthesiologist and he didn't come in on Sunday unless there was an emergency. The OB almost didn't make it; there was a midwife on duty, but I don't think he was allowed to oversee the birth if there was a doc on call. :glare:

 

My other two weren't so quick and easy, but I had epidurals with both. ;)

[anewday]

77 hours

 

It was awful. :ack2:

[Jean in Newcastle]

OH MY GOSH! :svengo: That is probably the longest one I've heard of.

 

Mine was 32 hours. I hated hearing the nurses coming back onto their shift the next day say, "Are you still here?"

 

Dd9 made up for it. Her labor was 5 hours and only 15 min. pushing at the end.

[Once]

My first was 12 and half hours.

 

I was dialated to 3cm for the whole month before and had very strong Braxton Hicks for the last three months. It felt like I was in labor for those months but I wasn't. :001_smile:

[Maverick_Mom]

Around four hours, and they just got shorter after that. We started making jokes about pitching a tent in the hospital parking lot during the ninth month.

[AnitaMcC]

Well, I guess I shouldn't have voted. I didn't have natural birth but I did deliver v*ginally. I had an epidural and I also had to have pitocin (sp?).

 

Also, I had twins for my first. Not sure when I started labor officially but my water broke about 8pm and Ds was born at 5:46am and Dd born at 6:58am. So it was 10-11 hours at least.

Edited March 22, 2011 by AnitaMcC

[gardening momma]

When you say "naturally", do you mean v@ginally with or without pain medication or do you mean v@ginally with no epidural? I can't tell from your post.

 

No, I didn't mean no medication or help- I just meant no c-section.

I was wondering what you meant too. When I was pregnant with my first, my dr. asked me if I wanted a natural birth. I thought she meant v@g, vs. C-section, so I said yes. She replied, "You don't want an epidural?" :blink: Oh! Yes, gimme the drugs!

 

Anyway, my water broke at 7 a.m. No contractions for a couple of hours. Not until I was on my way to the dr's office. Had dd at 10 p.m. that night, so 15 hours. They did put me on pitocin around noon, I suppose because my contractions took a while to start, but my water had already broken (4 weeks early!).

[jujsky]

28 hours, but there wasn't much pain. I always said I'd rather take a long, painless labor over a short, painful labor. Guess I got my wish! I did end up getting an epidural the anesthesiologist tried to talk me out of it (male) because I "only had a couple more centimeters to go." I was like, "Buddy, do you KNOW how long it took me to get this far? I have no idea how long these last couple of centimeters are gonna take and I don't know if I'll have the energy to fight the pain at that point. Yes! I'm sure! Give me an epidural!"

[LaissezFaire]

I am thinking it was somewhere around 18 hours but it's hard for me to gauge exactly when labor started. I went to the hospital around 9pm and had them (twins) around noon. No interventions.

[m0mmaBuck]

I woke up around 6 a.m. with contraction, hung out at the house until 11:15 p.m., got to the hospital at 11:30 p.m. and he was born at 11:48 p.m. Wouldn't have bothered to go to the hospital when I did because I wasn't in that much pain but I felt nauseous and knew that was a sign of transition phase.

[silliness7]

Around four hours, and they just got shorter after that. We started making jokes about pitching a tent in the hospital parking lot during the ninth month.

 

This is me too. My last one came in 45 min. We barely made it to the hospital. But I do love it that way. I feel so terrible for mommas with long labors. I am a total wimp. I did go drug-free with the last four but if that pain had lasted anywhere near as long as some of the stories on here I could NOT have done it. Absolutely. No. Way.

 

ETA: Oops! Were we not supposed to vote if we had an epidural for the first one? Sorry.

[Sara in AZ]

#1 was 5 1/2 hours start to finish.

[Sue G in PA]

I didn't vote b/c my first did end w/ a cs. However, I was in labor for 18 hours before having it. At that point I don't believe I was even at 10 so labor would have likely gone much longer. 8 hours is short for a first child. My second child was a natural home delivery. I was in labor for 24 hours with him.

[meena]

About 10 hours.

 

Ten days before my due date, I went to my morning OB appt feeling great--no contractions or signs of impending labor. The exam was a little rough but being my first I didn't think anything about it. Right before I left, my OB asked if I had plans for the weekend (it was a Friday). I told her it was DH's b-day, and we were planning on heading to the city that evening for a baseball game (box seats). She told me to cancel our plans as she had stripped my membranes (without my knowledge or consent :001_huh:) and that I would mostly likely be in the hospital by nightfall.

 

I started having contractbions about 7 pm and our DD was born a little after 5 am.

 

DH and I still tease our DD about how she foiled his birthday plans and became his best present ever. :001_smile:

[Forget-Me-Not]

Both of my vaginal deliveries were 11 hours start to finish. One was an epidural birth, one was med-free (not even a hep-lock).

[Susan C.]

Barely made it to the hospital both times, and violent back-ache labor, so thankful it didn't last long!

[coffeegal]

3 or 3 1/2 hours with the first. I had my first 'real' contraction and my water broke, so I went and woke up hubby. We argued for a few minutes about whether the midwife should be called at 1:30 in the morning. :001_rolleyes: I won, and my midwife was called. 3 hours later and I was holding my baby in my arms. Most of my other labors have been faster.

[iona]

two weeks before my due date my water broke and ds1 was born in just under 5 hours...there was enough time to slip in an epidural.

 

the subsequent births got more painful(even with epidurals), occurred later and the labors were longer.

 

i was told that first babies tended to take longer and come later. it isn't always the case.

[TinaBlue]

I labored for 38 hours with #1 and 4.5 with #2.

[redsquirrel]

First was about 2 hours and he was born at 32 weeks.

 

second was about 90 mins and he was full term and a planned homebirth.

 

I had no drugs or interventions for either birth. Not that there was time.

[littlebug42]

Both of my children were inductions. From start of pains to birth, my first child was 23 hours with an epidural after 17 hours. Second child, pains began overnight and doc came in in AM to break my water. Approx 3 hours later, she was delivered so that one lasted less than 12 hours from start to finish.

[RainbowSprinkles]

I count my first birth from when my water broke. I had her the same day, but don't exactly remember when contractions started. I woke up at around 6:30 am and had my water had broken, I had her at around 7:30pm, so I guess it's took 13 hours.

Edited March 22, 2011 by RainbowSprinkles

[Peela]

Waters broke on the Saturday afternoon after husband gave me a massage for back ache. It was 3.5 weeks before due date so we panicked a bit- it was unexpected!

It took till Sunday evening for the contractions to start. I danced etc to get them going- we were concerned that the hospital would want to give me a c-section and I really wanted a natural birth.

Monday morning we drove to the hospital- all hopes of being at the Birthing Centre dashed because I was a few days too early.

Labour stopped and started all day.

By evening they were ready to give me a c-section but the baby, my one who never rushes anything, was showing no signs of foetal distress so my lion of a husband stepped in and refused a c-section but knew we didn't have long before they would insist.

She was born at 1am on the Tuesday.

[Kirch]

This happened to me with my second. After all was said and done, I was pretty relieved and happy about it. But, while it was happening I looked like this :scared:! Going from 3 cm to 10 cm in 15 minutes is NOT fun.

 

Since he was my first, I didn't have anything to measure by, so I didn't know anything was unusual until the nurse checked and discovered I was already fully dilated and went to call the doctor to tell him to come NOW. So we were really blessed that we didn't dawdle on the way!

[Britomart]

I went into labor at about 8 p.m. one day, and had her just before midnight the next day. I did about the first 20 hours without an epidural; but the best thing about the epidural, when I finally got one, was that I got to NAP before I pushed. The sleep was so worth it! :D

[scrappyhappymama]

My first baby, augmented with pitocin, was over 20 hours. All my subsequent babies, augmented with nothing :D have been 30-32 hour labors.

 

An 8 hour labor is very short, especially for a first time mum.

[Amira]

Less than an hour. You might not count me, since I was induced because the doctor didn't think I'd make it to the hospital if I went into labor on my own. And I wouldn't have, since I lived an hour from the hospital and didn't feel anything till I was almost ready to push (even with the pitocin). There is no doubt in my mind he'd have been born at home, and I wasn't ready for that with my first.

[dcurry]

Thanks for the responses! I love reading them.

 

And you can still vote if you had an epidural or induction! Only c-section means you can't vote (because then labor doesn't last until delivery).

 

I'm surprised at how many fast deliveries there were! And some very big babies as well! I found myself feeling miserable for those long labors as well. My first (and only) labor was 24 hours before they decided to do a c-section. He was so large (and I so small) that he wasn't even dropped. His head had been pushing against my pelvic bones with each contraction. The dr. hadn't thought I could deliver him, but we wanted to give it a chance.

 

Someone mentioned almost needing a c-section but their husband stepping in. I think that's wonderful that your husband is so supportive! As long as baby isn't in distress, I think that's the best way to go! I've always wished I could deliver naturally. But I am thankful for healthy babies.

 

My friend has miserable pregnancies, but her deliveries are so quick and easy (even her really large babies). My pregnancies are wonderful, but deliveries are always c-sections. I was wishing I could make a deal with her... I'll carry all the babies, but she delivers them all. I think between the two of us, we'd have had many more children that way. :)

[LindaOz]

5 hours from when I first started having pains but wasn't really in established labor. Less than that for 'the real thing'.

[Chocolate Lover]

My water broke without contractions in the rabbit barn at 10:15 AM on a saturday and I gave birth to ds at 10:04 AM on a sunday. This was a midwife attended homebirth where I spent some time in the birth tub, but gave birth in the bedroom. 7#. Active labor was about 4 hours.;)

[twoxcell]

My first labor was about 11hrs. I was 5cm dilated when I went in for the induction. They began at 12:00am, and I was fully dilated at 7:00am, but ended up pushing for 4 hrs. Ds was posterior, and 9lbs 7oz. Everything was natural except for a low dose of pit to get me started.

[MamaBirdX7]

First labor: Water broke at 1:20 pm. Went to the hospital, they almost sent me home because I looked too well. Baby born at 3:54 pm (approx 2 1/2 hours labor). No epidural, drugs of any kind, forceps, vacuum, wailing or gnashing of teeth. Baby was 9 lb 9 oz.

 

Good times!

Edited March 22, 2011 by ceecee75
clarity

[Devotional Soul]

About 60 hours of minor contractions (3 days and 2 nights), with super intense contractions for the last hour before birth.

 

It was good that the labor was long because he came out with the cord around his neck, and longer labor gives the cord time to stretch out for a safer birth.

 

I drank valerian tea to sleep between contractions for those 2 nights. I highly recommend waterbirth...it's nature's pain killer. Get in the hot tub!

[sgilli3]

All my deliveries were vaginal with no epidurals.

My 1st labour was 8 hrs & 4 mins long,#2 was 4 hrs,#3 was 1 1/2 hrs, & # 4 was 3 1/2 hrs.

* I voted 4-8 hrs even though it was 4 mins over...lol*