Did anyone have a long, difficult birth and easy second?

[ClairAye]

I'm really anxious about having another horrible birth

With my LO I went 38 hours from waters breaking (3am at 40 weeks exactly), 37 contractions, 12 hours established and almost 3 hours pushing.

LO was distressed from the start, was half back-to-back but turned last minute. I had a forceps delivery although it was supposed to be an EMCS but I got ill with an infection, I had a raised heart-rate, BP, low oxygen so it would have been too risky to my health to have a section but they would have to have done it anyway if the forceps failed. I also had a pessary at roughly midday on the 26th (day I went into labour) and was only up in the labour ward by 3am on the 27th

I was in hospital for 4 nights and because I had meconium I had to fly to the mainland to give birth (we have no NICU etc) and I'm so scared of anything like that happening again.

I need some good stories!

 

[tristansmum]

First labour - induced with obstetric cholrstasis at 40 weeks, 24 hours from pessary to them breaking my waters at 3cm (no sleep so shattered before I started), a pretty standard length labour of 9-10 hours, pethadine, pushed for 2 hours, not moving so uss showed him with his head tilted, his heart rate dipping, theatre for spinal and rotational forceps, didn't work, emcs, low bp for me. Pretty traumatic time at the end and it affected my bonding big time. Didn't bf and had terrible bsby blues for 6 weeks

Second labour - spontaneous labour at 40+6. Bh type contractions all day which I didn't not realise was early labour! First painful contraction 7pm, git to hospital 8pm and was 4cm. Gas and air only. 10 cm at 10pm and he was born 11.10pm!!!! So only 4 hours after I realised I was in labour! Got my vbac so was incredibly happy. Bf feeding well and bonded with him straight away.

Honestly never thought my second birth would be good. Was always planning a vbac but never thought it would happen. I thought it would be like last time.

 

[aimee-lou]

First labour started spontaneously during x-factor (so about 6.30-7pm on the saturday lol). I eventually gave birth at lunchtime on Monday - 43 long hours (the clocks went back that weekend so I normally get gipped out of 1 hour lol) and 35 minutes of pushing. Very tiring, lost of a lot of blood, but no real complications....just very long.

Second labour - I was in slow labour for 3 days, had a sweep, labour came on a little bit more, another sweep which worked amazingly. This was at about 11pm. By 4.30am he was here! Very intense and painful but, if this makes any sense, I wasn't really in control of it. It had it's own pace and was progressing regardless of what I did. I remember I was on my knees breathing through the contractions using G&A. MW asked me to roll over so she could examine me, and we were discussing maybe getting some pain relief as I had really bad pains in my pelvis. I rolled over, she went off to get me some pethidine. I felt a weight drop through my pelvis, the pain stopped and all of the sudden I was pushing. less than 10 minutes later he was here and I only consciously pushed once to release his shoulders! No traumas, no blood loss, and I was home by teatime!

 

[XJessicaX]

1st- spontaneous labour, 22 hours (from when contractions got painful) baby persistent posterior, she got stuck, failed epidural, no relief in between contractions, I pushed for over an hour before her heart rate started dipping, midwife gave me 2nd degree tear manually trying to turn her but failed so 3rd degree cut and she pulled out of me via suction cup. 6lb 11

2nd- measured behind and I was a week overdue so I was induced. Gel went in at Midday. Not a lot happened until 21:45 where my waters were broken (1.5cm). I bounced on a ball with a TENS machine on chatting to my husband, sucked on some G&A as I liked the feeling more than needing it and it was all incredibly bearable until 23:00. Suddenly my contractions went impossibly painful, I went from giggling through some of them to needing to hop about and I wanted to scream! I demanded an epidural as I honestly thought I was a few cm dilated and I would have hours left. I threw myself onto the bed at 23:27 and felt the urge to push (never had it with DD1 so scared me with how powerful it was) midwife ran in, examined me, told me to not push as I was 9cm, BOOM baby out. 2 minute 2nd stage! 8lb9, Small labial tear. I haemorrhaged afterwards due to the speed but it was all so quick and I had my baby on me I barely knew what was happening!

 

[shinona]

Me! I was about 45 hours with my son, over 3 hours pushing, foreceps delivery in theatre with epidural and spinal block and episiotomy. It was very traumatic. He was born at 40+11.

My dd was 10 hours and I think I pushed about 3 times. She just flew into the world. I had gas and air for the last hour and tore but nothing too bad. I felt amazing afterwards! She was born at 40+12.
Xx

 

[marchsammy]

1st baby, induced at 40 weeks with possible preeclampsia, 28 hour labour, forceps delivery.
2nd 10 days overdue went into labour the day after my second sweep, 9 hours from first contraction to baby in arms, just gas and air. second labour was more intense, I was in hospital at 8am and walked out at 8 pm with baby!