How long does a contraction usually last?

Jessimurph

Does active labor mean you start having one contraction on top of the other with no break?

HollyLuv

No, in active labour you still have breaks between the contractions until close to the end (unless you have been induced I believe).

madhatter2003

not always. Active labor starts around 4 cm. At that stage mine were about 4-5 minutes apart lasting 1 minute or so. So I had a 'break' of about 3 min between them.

But I had a slow ass labor. 

ashg8r

45-90 sec?  From my understanding, unless you're on pit, very rarely do women in labor not have breaks between cntx....correct me if I'm wrong, but that was what I've heard....

Jessimurph

Hmmm, it seems less scary if they only last for about a minute...

YouAreMyILoveYou

It's a long, painful minute, lol.

My contractions were pit induced, so they were different from your run-of-the-mill ones, but even though it was only 45-75 seconds it felt like forever.

I loved watching the monitor during them so I could see when I was going back downhill... it was comforting.

madhatter2003

Yep, the break between them was my saving grace during labor. And knowing that the pain doesn't last forever.

But a minute can seem like a LONG time LOL. But at least you know they do build up and then drop off. 

MrsHeidiR

I had breaks between contractions all the way through pushing and on pitocin. 

 At the end, you count slowly to ten through the hardest part of the contraction to push.  You rest in between. 

 I think completely from beginning to end they are about 1 minute though....

I don't remember ever not having SOME resting break in between them though.  BUT I have done EPI every time, so they told me when I was having them cuz I couldn't really feel them.  I can't speak for what it is like if you go med free....

madhatter2003

This was actually one reason I had to push as long as I did....my contractions really spaced back out at the end. I pushed for 40 minutes roughly but it was only about 5 sets of pushes since they slowed down once I got to that point.

We were laughing and joking around between contractions with the nurses. 

Kearsta

Jessimurph:

Hmmm, it seems less scary if they only last for about a minute...

However, that is one long minute!