"I was in labour for 3 days"...I keep on hearing people say this, is it true?

[jennyxx]

This probably sounds completely daft but when someone says they are in labour for days how much of that time is spent in hospital? How often are the contractions in each day?

I ask as my other half works 6 days a week running our business and he can't have three days away. I mean if the contractions are only every hour or so surely I could ring him when they got closer together and it was time to go to the hospital? He is only ever 10 miles away from home at the most!

 

[Hunbun]

I started having contractions on Saturday morning and LO was born on Monday morning, so technically it covered three days even though it isn't counted officially as being in labour that whole time iykwim?

The contractions started and stopped for a long time so I didn't actually go to hospital until 3am on the Monday morning and LO was born at 10am.

 

[Mum2princessA]

i started having contractions sat afternoon, 8-10 mins apart until sunday night when thy were about 3-5 mins apart and very painful. had my dd the next day on monday at 2pm.

you can be in labour for days, but the active labour (when you've dilated to 4cm+) are when things start moving faster and it's a lot more painful - this is what a lot of people count the hours for.

 

[Amygdala]

I started having contractions on Saturday morning and LO was born on Monday morning, so technically it covered three days even though it isn't counted officially as being in labour that whole time iykwim?

The contractions started and stopped for a long time so I didn't actually go to hospital until 3am on the Monday morning and LO was born at 10am.

I was going to comment but this is exactly what I would have written, word for word. So basically: what she said! Only difference is my LO was born at 9am Monday morning.

It can be frustrating to have (often quite regular) contractions for that long and be told you're not in labour yet. On the flip side, that allows you to stay a home, which for me was definitely the much more "enjoyable" part of labour. I arrived at the hospital at 7cm, after my waters had broken.

 

[hobbnob]

I was in labor for 33 hours and pushed for 3 hours. My contractions started and were 3 minutes a part for hours and hours and finally went to the hospital an i was omly 2 cm dilated and spent the remaining 19 hours at hospital. It was a long time and you can not predict what will happen. I learned there is no set pattern to labor. The childbirth classes all say wait until you are having contractions that are 5 minutes apart that last 1 minute for 1 hour (5,1,1) and then go to the hospital. Well mine were 3,1,1 right from the start and never let up for 36 hours. They did progressively intensify.

Bottom line is, you can't really plan childbirth. You take it as it comes unless you have an elective c-section.

 

[singers_love]

Hello, I was having contracts every 10 mins for about 4/5 days before my waters broke. during that time, they sped up then, got slow again... I was absolutely knackered, so I can say yes... You can be in labour for that long...
10 miles isnt that far, so Im sure if you start having contractions close together you could call him, he would probably make it in time!

 

[tinkerbelle93]

My labour lasted around 2 days.

I started having contractions on Friday whilst my partner was at work but they weren't too bad so I didn't tell him until he got home. My partner went to work again on the Saturday even though my contractions were getting worse and I'd lost my plug in the morning.

Sunday morning, my waters broke and we went to hospital. I was already 7cm and soon after our little boy came.

Most of the time if you're in labour for a long time you're fine to stay at home for most of it. Whenever I phoned the hospital to see if I should come in they kept telling me to wait, even when my contractions were very close. They only told me to come in once I'd phoned to say my waters had broken. xx

 

[BubsMom17]

I was in "labor" for five days (started Monday). Dilated to 1 cm. Contractions were not painful, but they would be 7 min apart, 6 min, 15 min etc. I took one day off of work (that Monday), then worked the rest of the week. On Friday I was a little uncomfortable and was not very productive, getting up and walking around every 40 minutes or so. Like I said, even after 5 days the contractions weren't regular, but I was getting really tired and uncomfortable. Saturday morning they were more painful but still erratic. I lost some of my plug, but really wanted to speed things up so DH and I walked around a lot that day. That night around midnight I was getting so uncomfortable I couldn't sleep. I got up to pee, and BAM! GUSH.... water broke every where! That is when labor really kicked in! I went from 1.5-2 cms to 4 cms in 1 hour! Big difference from the weak mini-contractions I had been having all week! Rushed to the hospital and he was born 5.5 hours later! : )

I was so glad I waited to go in. My hospital was about 27-30 miles away and I told myself if went it, we were only leaving with a baby!

 

[gk1701]

I was in "labour" for 28 hours but I was only have contractions for 12 of those and only pushing for 3. Just because someone is technically in labour doesn't mean that anything much is happening.

 

[amjon]

I was in labor for 2 hours (any pain) and didn't even know that I was in labor because it was just AF type cramping, but constant. It can go very fast, even for a first.

 

[Beccaboop]

I started having contractions on tues between 7 and 2 mins apart and was checked 3 times in the next few days but wasnt dilating at all and on thurs night after 2 nights of no sleep i went to hospital and asked them to do something i was hoping theyd induce me or give me something for the pain and they gave me petherdine as i was 39 weeks so they wouldnt induce me and kept me in over night but just ignored me until the fri morning i was checked again and was 7cm dilated and baby was born later that day!

 

[NoodleSnack]

Some people don't count the latent phase as being "in labour", if you go to the hospital, they wouldn't give you a room anyway, and there's really not much reason to go so early unless you suspect that you are one of those people who go from latent to active labour really fast or your water has broken for 24 hours. Normally, they tell you to go to the hospital when your contractions are about 3 minutes apart lasting for 1 minute. My midwife said to call her when I can't speak through the pain anymore.

I had contractions for 1 and a half day, for most of that I was taking my mum and brother sightseeing and dining out.

 

[aimee-lou]

With my first I started my contractions at about 7pm on the Saturday, wasn't admitted to hospital until about 9pm on the Sunday and then Earl was born at 12noon on the Monday. I was pretty uncomfortable for the whole of the 26 hours I was at home, and we did go in to hospital at about 1am on the sunday only to be sent home as I was only 1cm.

With my 2nd it was completely different. My contractions 'started' on the Wednesday Morning. I didn't actually know they were real contractions until much later on, as they were very low level, just like a stitch or an AF cramp, or a bad BH. This continued, I was dosed up on paracetamol but noticed just the odd bout. I would time them but after a few minutes to an hour they'd go. On the Saturday (Yes, Saturday!! lol) I saw the MW, was told I was already 3-4cm, and had 2 sweeps, the last of which at 11.30pm started my labour proper and Edward was born at 4.24am. Technically, I was in labour for 5 days!!!! It was actually only really 4, and even then, the active labour stage was only 5 hours!

Labour is a big thing.....and it can make you very uncomfortable, even in the early stages. I think all you can do is play it by ear, and maybe have a backup birth partner who can be with you in early stages perhaps if Hubby is at work.

 

[skc22]

I was in active labour for 5 days (I was induced) and also pushed for 6 hours before my c section

 

[flowermum]

My labour was 48 hours, almost exactly!

 

[xsadiex]

I had 37 hours of contractions, for the first 28 hours the contractions were ok, not agony at all. Then established labor was 9 hours. I didn't sleep for the whole time which was tiring but it was a wonderful labour!

 

[tonibzac]

People like to make out their labour was worse than it probably was

I could say I was in labour for days but pffft...

My waters broke wednesday 1pm so 'technically' in labour
Went on monitor thurs am as had a bleed and showed I was having regular contractions but couldn't feel them
Contractions started thurs afternoon but bearable, got worse at 8pm. If I hadn't been kept in hospital I probably wouldn't have gone in until this point (8pm).

I was 3cm at 10.30pm so still not 'technically' in active labour. Things became really bad at 11.30pm and she checked me and I was 5cm. Things felt unbearable just after midnight and I was 7cm!! Half an hour of pushing and she arrived at 1.34am

So yes I was 'in labour for days' but to me it was only really thurs night

 

[chulie]

Here in Canada you aren't considered in "active" labour until you are in the 4-1-1 rule....at least....most hospitals wont admit you until then...dr's times vary slightly...some follow 5-1-1....but it's basically the same.....Until you have contractions every 4/5 minutes...lasting a minute...and this goes on for an hour....they won't admit you. Luckily they did for me because mine NEVER followed that...So usually the dr's say....4-1-1...unless you feel you need pain medication....hahaha..

 

[NaturalMomma]

No, you're not in labor for days. You can be having contractions for days and even weeks, but that is pre/early labor. Active labor doesn't start until you're around 5 cm dialated and that won't last for days. For first timers it lasts around 12-24 hours, but can be shorter or a little longer. But generally not longer than 24 hours.

 

[MummysMiracle]

My contractions started at 7am, my waters broke at 8:15am and baby was here at 8:30am.
In total my labour was 1.5 hours long. I guess LO couldn't wait to break out, lol.