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Mothering › Mothering Forums › Pregnancy and Birth › Birth and Beyond › What "they" say about how fast/hard subsequent labors are... true or false?
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post #1 of 39
Thread Starter 
Okay, so "they" say:
The first is the hardest!
The second is SO much easier!
The third is a wildcard!
The fourth resets the clock back!
No one seems to talk about 5+!

Did you find these rulings to be true with your own birth history?
post #2 of 39
well, statistically the first will be longer than the rest, and the second will likely be the shortest. "Easier", though? Not a chance. Less painfull? Forget about it. Quicker? yeah...
post #3 of 39
Thread Starter 
I'll answer my own question.

First - Yes, it was my hardest so far, but I think it had a lot more to do with him being posterior the whole time with his hand up. Learning about www.spinningbabies.com helped me understand a lot more about optimal fetal positioning.

Second - Sure it was shorter than my first, but it was still the same amount of effort, just condensed into less hours. This is the ONLY positive thing "they" say, so I say if you're expecting your second baby, you might as well believe this!

Third - Wildcard? Ahhh, that has such a negative connotation. For me, my third was my easiest thus far. It was FAST (about 1 1/2 hours). But, I didn't need to hold fear about it being a wildcard.

Fourth - I'll tell you in a few months.

Why are these mostly so negative as if to put fear into pregnant women & degrade the confidence they have in their bodies?
post #4 of 39
Mine got shorter and easier. 12 hr (hard), 8 hr, 7hr, 3 hr. I had several weeks of prodromal labor w/ 3 and 4 though, and I think that helps when the real dance begins.

#1 was the only one that started at night too. I was definitely more tired going into it. W/ 2, 3, and 4 labor began in the morning (around 6-7 am) so I was more rested and generally more giddy about the whole thing.
post #5 of 39
first: 8 hr labour, in retrospect harder through inexperience more than anything.
second: 4 hr labour, mentally much better prepared so handled well, but brutal on my body. Pushing was so fast I was bruised all over the whole "birth" area!
third: 2hr labour, super painful, but so much better mentally and body definitely handled the shock of it better.
fourth: one and half hour: best ever, but birthed in water for this which might account for some of that. body bounced back! Head space is everything!
post #6 of 39
First was traumatic, but that had more to do with the people who surrounded me.

Second was fastest.

Third was the best overall although the longest.

Fourth was BY FAR the hardest although the second quickest.

Haven't had a fifth yet, so I can't comment there. Yet.
post #7 of 39
Originally Posted by Spark View Post
Okay, so "they" say:
The first is the hardest!
The second is SO much easier!
The third is a wildcard!
The fourth resets the clock back!
No one seems to talk about 5+!

Did you find these (fear-based) rulings to be true with your own birth history?
My first was very textbook at 12 hours but AROM.
My second was MUCH longer/harder than my 1st at 22 hours.
My third was LOVELY and my favorite of all my labors at 6 hours
My fourth was second hardest because it was so FAST at 45 minutes.
My fifth was very similar to my 3rd, same amount of time but more anxious because of the super fast labor with #4.
post #8 of 39
Number two was my favorite ! Three and four were prodromal then way fast, this one seems to be following suit. Sigh. I'm ready for baby!!!!!!
post #9 of 39
1. 10 hours with face up baby. AROM. Birth within 10 minutes of that. Pushed maybe 4 times
2. 10 hours with position cooperating baby (that made it easier by itself!). ROM at pushing. Birth happened in 2 pushes.

I got the short end of that theory! I have reason to believe they both would have been shorter had certain things not happened though I think they would be the same length as each other regardless! Both were short pushing phases. #2 was out in maybe 1.5 minutes.
post #10 of 39
I only have two. My 2nd birth was way faster, and easier, but just as intense and painful. It was less scary. I was at home though, and I think that made a huge difference. I decided not to go for the wildcard.
post #11 of 39
1st was long and difficult with an OP baby. About 56 hours total, with about 20 of it hard labor, 3 hours of pushing.
2nd was an induction, 4 hours of real labor, 20 minutes of pushing.
3rd was a homebirth, I went to 42+1 and had about 3 hours of hard labor with 15 minutes of pushing.
4th was a homebirth, by far my most intense and difficult transition, total labor of about 3 hours and she was out in just a few real good pushes.
post #12 of 39
Baby 1 - labored for 7 hours, pushed 45 minutes
Baby 2 - labored 3 hours, pushed 45 seconds
Baby 3 - labored 6 hours, pushed 3 minutes

No real rhyme or reason, far as I can tell. My babies go from biggest to smallest, so that's unusual, too, and baby 3 was born at home. I tend to think that baby 1 would have come after maybe 15-20 minutes of pushing if I hadn't been flat on my back. :

There are too many variables. I think some of those things are generally true (baby 2 being faster than baby 1, for instance), but not true enough for any individual woman to count on.
post #13 of 39
Birth 1 (twins, cervidil induction): 8h labor, ROM just before pushing, manageable pain, pushing hurt.

Birth 2: PROM, no contrax for 8h, very painful 5h labor, pushing felt good.

Birth 3: Prom, no contrax for 48h, very fast and furious 90 minute labor, pushing hurt.

I don't know if we'll have another.
post #14 of 39
I've never thought of wildcard as being a negative statement. I'd always thought that wildcard meant it was totally up in the air as far as whether or not the birth would be easier or harder than previous. Wildcard = unknown in my mind
post #15 of 39
First 3 h 50 min very quick and intense
Second 8 h 30 min very painful, intense, and felt like FOREVER
post #16 of 39
Same here, georgia. I've thought the generalizations (1st longer, 2nd shorter, 3rd who knows?) to be kind of silly, although very loosely statistically based, but never fear based.

The first being longer gestation and 2nd shorter is also a statistical "truth" that means almost nothing at the individual level. My older brother was born at 37 weeks, and me at 41. (Although Naked Baby's gestation was exactly the length predicted by the Woods-Nichols due date for primips, after I had ovulated on day 14, the textbookiness of which always tickles me.)
post #17 of 39
My first child was born during a non-medicated hospital birth. It took me 4 hours of active labor and half an hour of pushing to get him out. My second baby was born at home in a birthing tub. I was in active labor for I can't even remember how long and pushed for 16 hours. Now that was a very long, tough labor.
post #18 of 39
I tried to post and got timed out. My post disappeared.

Hopefully it will work this time.

First: 12 hours total. It all seemed like hard labor to me. 2 hours pushing. C/sec.

Second: 13 hours total. 9 hours early labor. 4 hours hard labor/pushing. VBAC.

Third: 12 hours total. 7 hours early labor. 5 hours hard labor/pushing. VBAC.

Fourth: 9 hours total. 6 hours early labor. Water broke during early labor. 3 hours hard labor. 5 cm to 10 cm = 20 min. VBAC. Last hospital birth.

Fifth: 14 hours total. 12 hours early labor. Woke to hard labor. 2 hours later we had a baby. HBAC.

Sixth: 6 hours total. 6 hours hard labor/pushing. HBAC.

Seventh: Started at 6 cm dilated before labor began. 2 hours total. 2 hours hard labor/pushing. HBAC.

Eighth: 12 hours total. 10 hours early labor. Woke up to 2 hours hard labor/pushing. Easiest birth... just nudged baby out. HBAC.
post #19 of 39
I'm hoping my second is shorter than my first. I didn't have a particiluarly long labour (16 hours) but 5 or so of that was pushing, and I went into labour in the evening and laboured overnight, so I was pretty exhausted.
"They" say the second labour is about half as long as the first (it was true for my mom, who went 20 hrs with me and 10 with my brother) so I'm hoping for an 8 hour or so labour, but I'm definitely not counting on it. I'd love a shorter second stage though! I had one dream where the baby was out in a couple pushes, and one where I never got the urge to push, and iono, I guess I stayed pregnant, lol!
post #20 of 39
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