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

[snipsnsnailsx5]

I voted more then 24 hrs...but I'm not really sure how to count it.

 

I started having painless contractions, that really felt like braxton hicks, around 9pm the first day. They never went away, every 10-20 min. The next morning still had them, but they were a bit closer (like 7 min) and just stronger, but not painful. I went to class and sitting in my desk was hard by noon. My back was aching a little with each contraction.

I went to a Dr. appt. around 2pm and I was dilated to 2 cm and 90% effaced. The Dr. (a CNM) said I may or may not be in labor...to just go home and see what happens.

The next few hours they kept coming, getting a bit stronger. Then around 6pm or so I lost my mucous plug and my contractions got even stronger. At this point I was having to relax through them (I was using the Bradley method). But was still laughing and having a good time.

By around 9pm I was in bed, really having to breath and relax my body through each contraction. I told my mom I was ready to go to the hospital. She said she didn't think I was ready because I wasn't in enough pain yet. HELLOOO I was using my Bradley method!? LOL I guess I used it too well. ;) But I insisted. So she took me in.

We get in to the room right away and the nurse checks me...9+ cm. LOL

 

Everyone rushes around but it was my first birth, I was very young, and I was still pretty tiny. So he wasn't coming anytime soon.

 

Three hours later of pushing, finally my CNM did an episotomy with his head right there, and used a vacuum extractor to pull him the rest of the way out.

I was doing GREAT! With natural labor your body has this amazing trick of kicking in its own pain relievers after awhile. So honestly, I was not in pain. I was just hanging out, pushing, crunching on ice chips. BUT he has showing heart decels, so my CNM wanted him out a bit quicker.

 

So he was born around 12:30am the next day, 8 lbs 14 oz.

(Not too bad for a 17 yr old teen mom! That was 12 yrs ago and I still remember it well :) )

[Melissa in Australia]

I am amazed how many people have had epidurals. The only people who I have met that have had an Epidural had a Cesarean. The local little hospital near where I live ( not where I had my babies) doesn't even do Epidurals, apparently a doctor has to do so many a month to keep up his qualifications to give them.

They just don't hand them out here . I was terrified of having to have a cesarean and have an epidural, I had met so many people who had them (for other procedures) and have had so much back troubles since.

[TammyinTN]

With my second dd labor was 10 hours start to finish in a crazy blizzard. :D No meds at all.

[FaithManor]

12 hrs. 18 min. and if I hadn't had an absolute moron of an MD, it would have been 9 hrs. You know he's an idiot when one of his partners drops by the hospital when not on call, to apologize for him and ask you not to sue.

 

The rest were 3 hrs. 30 min, 3 hrs. 15 min. , and 5 hrs. 15 min. No epidurals, but with my first I was having terrible, debilitating leg cramping for several days before she was born. They gave me something at the hospital, an injection of something that stopped the leg cramps. For a couple of hours it did ease the contractions although they were very regular and building. It was such a relief to have my legs relax. The cramping never came back after the injection. I never had that with any of my other pregnancies.

 

Fast labors run in my family. My grandmother showed up at the hospital to have my dad and hadn't had a single contraction, but her water had broken. They got her on a guerney and up to the maternity ward and when she asked the nurse if she thought it would be a long time before the baby was born, the nurse said...probably not, I can see the top of your baby's head and the hair is gorgeous.

 

Faith

Edited March 22, 2011 by FaithManor

[Snickerdoodle]

My first was 3.5 hours and my second was 30 minutes.

[farm mom]

3 hrs......... I woke up at 3 to let the dog out, by 4 I figured out I was in labor, by 5 we headed to the hospital and he was born before 6 am!

[Margo out of lurking]

I am stunned by these long labors. I honestly can't imagine.

 

Baby #1: My water broke at 11p, we went to the hospital. I had one contraction, got an epidural, pushed twice, and she was born at 5:30a.

 

Baby #2: One day past my due date, my ob broke my water at 7a and eventually gave me a pitocin drip, and I had an epidural. I pushed one time, and ds was born early afternoon. He weighed 10.1 lbs., and it was a very simple birth. (Thanks, Ben & Jerry, for a fat baby who could slide out!)

 

I am the world's biggest wimp, and I am thankful for peasant ancestors who gave birth in the fields, resuming work for their family. They obviously passed something on to me.

 

To the poster in Australia who was commented about the epidurals. The risk that I remember was a terrible headache caused by improper needle placement or insertion. The risk dropped dramatically when the anesthesiologist had a lot of epidural experience. I think epidurals are very routine here.

[Lady Florida.]

Labor that I knew was labor lasted around 9 hours. When I looked back I realized I was probably having contractions all day though. I realized it was labor around 4 pm, went to the hospital at 8 pm, and had a brand new son at 12:57 am. Hard labor was only about 2 hours.

 

Yes, I *do* know I had it easy.

 

ETA: Natural birth

[Princess Peach]

#1 was 6 hours, #2 was 4 hours, #3 was 23 hours. All natural. Go figure.

[abbeyej]

I thought my second was "quick" at only 13 hours! ;)

[Pretty in Pink]

My first labor was 8 hours, start to finish. I was induced and had an pitocin plus an epi.

 

My other babies were all natural, no interventions, nothing. The second labor (active labor, I'm not talking about mild contractions that happened at home during the previous days) was 6 hours, the third was 4, and the fourth was about an hour!

[Nestof3]

12 hours of labor, then a c-section for failure to progress and lowering heartbeat of the baby. (Nathan)

 

6 hours natural in the hospital without pain meds using the shower for pain. (Ben)

 

With both, I believe I was in labor for several days.

[mommaduck]

Just over 24hrs. He was a vag birth, but with medication (in fact, a newbie nurse double dosed me on demerol!)

[Ellyndria]

10 hours. It didn't hurt much until the last couple hours.

[Granny_Weatherwax]

From the time I awoke with labor pains (and the loss of the plug) to the time DD was born was just at 12 hours.

 

No meds used at all. They did have to manually break my water which caused things to speed up.

[DawnM]

I can't answer your poll as my first child birth experience was much like yours....24 hours of labor and ended in an emergency C-section.

 

Dawn

 

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)

[Tutor]

I had about 72 hours of regular contractions 2-3 minutes apart with my first. They veeeeeery slooooowly increased in intensity over that time but never got any closer. The midwife broke my water then, and our daughter was born with no other intervention 8 hours later.

 

Our subsequent labors were increasingly shorter and more intense.

[dm379]

33 hours pure natural. I don't let her forget it.

[jenL]

My first labor was almost 16 hours with no epidural or interventions. My second labor, I was induced (that was horrendous!), had an epidural, and it lasted 7.5 hours.

 

My sister went 33 hours before needing a c-section (my nephew was stuck). My cousin's labors have never lasted longer than 3 hours from start to finish. It really depends upon your body as every woman handles labor and birth differently.

[dcurry]

I continue to enjoy these stories! There are many I'd love to respond to, but just don't have the time to sit here all day! But thank you all for your votes & replies. My husband and I are coming to the conclusion that the closer you get to 20 hours of labor, the more likely it'll be more than 24. But it seems so spread out- there are so many different experiences. It seems consistent though, that around 25% go more than 24 hours for their first.

[katemary63]

8 hours is considered a short labor.

 

:iagree:

 

1. '85 - 24 hours - pitocin after 12 hours of labor, no other intervention

2. '87 - 10 hours - only 15 months after first, 100% natural

3. '91 - 12 hours - 100% natural

4. '01 - 10 hours - pitocin and epidural

 

I have a friend who had her first child after the age of 30. Labor was less then 3 hours and almost pain free. I hate her. :lol:

[Desert Rat]

1st labor was 7 hours. 2nd was 8 hours. Both all natural deliveries.

[LisaKinVA]

10 hours from the time my water broke to his delivery. 2 hours of zero contractions. 2 hours of pushing (once the mw explained what I was doing "wrong" he was born 4 pushes later :glare:)

 

All of my others were 2.5 hours or less (the shortest was 1.5 hours).

[tearose]

A little over three hours from the first contraction, which was so slight that I didn't realize I was in labor until a half hour later. My water also broke 20-30 minutes after the first contraction.

[Quiver0f10]

My first was 29 hours from water breaking (on it's own) until she was born.

[GrayAlice]

I am the only one who check other:lol:

The only reason I did was because my labor with my first lasted for 51 hours. I had a wonderful Dr. who let me progress at my own pace. Any other doc would have had me in for a C-section long before that. My daughter was perfect in every way and my actual deliver was easy. (Laboring for 51 hours though is not fun. At all.)

 

My second child was an induction. Biggest mistake ever! I was in labor for 10 hours with him and my MIDWIFE, of all people, was trying to take me for c-section four hours in. I ended up dilating from a 4 to a 10 in 15 minutes and had a very traumatic delivery for both me and the baby. His APGARs were horrible and he had to be worked on for 15 minutes before they could even transport him to the NICU upstairs. Fortunately, he is fine and now almost 3 years old.

[LarlaB]

Started 10 minute apart contractions at 9pm, DD was born the next afternoon at 4pm....so 19 hours.

[Lovedtodeath]

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:

Mine was similar. 9 lbs 7 oz. Contractions every 2 minutes for 10 hours, then the epidural for another 8-10 hours (I don't remember, I just know it was overnight) and 2 hours of pushing. So that's around 20 hours.

[gardening momma]

10 hours from the time my water broke to his delivery. 2 hours of zero contractions. 2 hours of pushing (once the mw explained what I was doing "wrong" he was born 4 pushes later :glare:)

With 1st dd, the dr. wanted me to push as if I were going to have a bm (as if I want that during delivery). But because of the epidural, I couldn't feel those muscles, let alone contract them. I could feel my stomach, though, so after some futile attempts to do it her way, I ignored her advice and started squeezing my stomach instead. Dd came pretty quickly after that.

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

I voted 4-8 hours. More like 4 after they gave me a whopping dose of pitocin. My water had broken and I didn't have any contractions. I think it would have gone much slower without the pitocin.

[phathui5]

My first labor was about five hours from start to finish, completely natural (though it was a hospital birth).

[KristinaBreece]

From the insert of the Pitocin drip to the otherwise med-free birth of my first was 28 hours and 12 minutes. DH was paying close attention to the time, as he was a *very* nervous new papa.

[teachmejoy]

My water broke at 7:30 in the morning. I didn't have my ds until 9:30 the next morning. Hard labor all through the night. Pushed for 1 1/2 hours. I had him at home. My 2nd one started about 5:00 in the morning and she was born a little after 2. No less intense, but faster!

[MBM]

About 15 hours or so with 20" of pushing. Didn't go to the hospital until the last three hours of contractions. No meds. I was very fortunate in that it was easy for me.

[Mommy22alyns]

I think I was about in the 14 hour range with Rebecca. It really wasn't bad at all. The epidural was my very best friend! :D

[Mrs Mungo]

Twenty-two hours from water breaking to birth, but that wasn't all active labor. It was vaginal, but not natural. I didn't vote because I wasn't sure if you meant beginning to end or active labor.

[ayden]

My first labor from what I remember to be the first contractions to delivery was about 9 hours. When I noticed the contractions, I didn't think it was actual labor...I hadn't experienced Braxton Hicks contractions at all so I thought that was it. It was around 5pm. Around 10pm, I realized it was actual labor. I went to the hospital about midnight and birthed my baby less than 3 hours later.

[Meriwether]

1st - 11 hours, short for a first but with 3 hours of pushing until they finally used forceps. She still has a big head.:glare: The others were much easier and took less time added together than the first by itself.

 

2nd - < 2 hours

 

3rd - 4 hours

 

4th - 1.5 hours

[Crimson Wife]

My first labor was induced by the doctor breaking my waters but I did not need any Pitocin because I immediately started having hard ctx 2 min apart and lasting 90 second each. It took 2 hours to go from 2 cm to 10 cm and then another hour to push. The whole shebang was 3 hours start-to-finish.

 

My 2nd and 3rd labors were also induced but I needed Pitocin with those. The 2nd was 6 hours including 15 minutes of pushing. The 3rd was 4 1/2 hours including 10 minutes of pushing.

[~Tara~]

1st birth was 27 hr, with the last 2 hr spent pushing.

 

My longest labor by over 20 hr!

[HollyB]

29 hours of labor (I feel tired just typing that!), but only 15 minutes of pushing.

[My3Monkeys]

2 hours from first contraction to baby.

[cin]

Geez, and I thought walking home from Vietnam was bad ;)

 

Seriously, we traveled for about 24 hours. Piper didn't sleep at all. And we spent alot of the flight walking around with her, so OTHER people could sleep.

 

She did fall asleep while we were in the airport in Japan, in her stroller. But we had to run the stroller through the luggage thing, so we picked her up. And she woke up. So actually she did sleep. About 15 minutes.

[JennifersLost]

72 hours - but after the first 56 or so it wasn't "natural" anymore. They gave me an epidural, gave me morphine so I slept for a number of hours - I'd been up for two straight days at that point, pitocin to get things finally moving.....then it all wore off and the baby was born in 2.5 hours.

 

 

2nd birth - 21 hours, totally natural

 

3rd birth - 4 hours, natural water birth! Loved it!

 

4th birth - csection - planned due to placenta previa

[LND1218]

Water broke at 7:15 am on Thursday and baby was delivered at 11:56pm Friday. So 40 1/2 hours for the first.

2 1/2 hours of pushing.

[MinivanMom]

My first labor was a 3 day marathon, but most of that was early labor. From 4 cm to deliver was only 27 hrs. That was naturally with no pain medication or intervention. For my other three it was: 9 hrs, 24 hrs, and 12 hrs.

[justamouse]

first was 14 hours, but after him, I just spit them out. 3 hours for the rest of them.

[Aspasia]

Both of mine have been without meds. My first was about 12 hours from first contraction to delivery. My second was 45 minutes! Totally serious. I didn't believe it until my doctor (and everyone else in L&D) went on and on about it. I was a few days past my due date and the doctor said he was pretty sure if he just broke my water, it would be over. I finally decided to do that. He broke my water just after 4:00 and ds was born at 4:49. Totally insane. Any future deliveries will seem like forever to me.

 

(FWIW, I was really hoping for about an 8-hour labor with #2. They say things get shorter with each subsequent pregnancy and 8 hours sounded just magical.)

[RahRah]

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.

 

I voted even though, after 44-hours of labor with my first, I had a c-section.

[WIS0320]

34 hours and that includes 3 hours of pushing. In comparison my last labor (3rd) was 3 hours long and only took 1 push to deliver.