VBAC

VBAC labor times

Hi everyone!

I had an unplanned (but not emergency) c/s with my DD at 34w1d when I was diagnosed with HELLP/pre-e. My cervix was still over 4cm long at the time, so the doctors said an induction would likely take several days to work, and we didn't have that much time. So a c/s it was. My midwife, hospital, and OB are all very pro-VBAC, so that is likely what I will have if I don't end up in the same situation with HELLP in this pregnancy.

My question for you: How long was your VBAC labor? My midwife has told me that a VBAC labor is shorter than a 1st time mom labor. She says that she doesn't notice a difference with the second baby whether the mom had a vaginal or c/s delivery with the first.

What was your experience? Was your VBAC labor long? Short? Have your doctors / midwives told you the same thing? For some reason I just find it hard to believe that I would be able to get a baby out as fast as a mom who has already had a vaginal delivery! :-)


BFP1: DD1 born April 2011 at 34w1d via unplanned c/s due to HELLP, DVT 1 week PP
BFP2: 3/18/12, blighted ovum, natural m/c @ 7w4d
BFP3: DD2 born Feb 2013 at 38w4d via unplanned RCS due to uterine dehiscence

Re: VBAC labor times

  • two hours from first contraction to babe-in-arms.

    My friend, an L+D nurse, tells me that vbacs can vary. She says the general rule of thumb is that vbac labours progress like a second-time labour up to the point when the c-section was performed with the first delivery. When you enter unchartered territory, so to speak, labour tends to progress like a first-time labour.

    According to this theory, my vbac progressed like a typical second-time labour since I made it to 10 cms dilated and pushed for three hours the first time around. Also according to this theory, your labour with this baby would be more like a first-time mom since you didn't go into labour at all with your first. Even if that is correct, though, that doesn't mean much. First time moms have quick and uncomplicated labours all the time.

    Good luck!

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  • imageannabelle.27:

    two hours from first contraction to babe-in-arms.

    My friend, an L+D nurse, tells me that vbacs can vary. She says the general rule of thumb is that vbac labours progress like a second-time labour up to the point when the c-section was performed with the first delivery. When you enter unchartered territory, so to speak, labour tends to progress like a first-time labour.

    According to this theory, my vbac progressed like a typical second-time labour since I made it to 10 cms dilated and pushed for three hours the first time around. Also according to this theory, your labour with this baby would be more like a first-time mom since you didn't go into labour at all with your first. Even if that is correct, though, that doesn't mean much. First time moms have quick and uncomplicated labours all the time.

    Good luck!

    So, does that mean that it is safe to assume that for her (or me, because I never went into labor either) labor would be like that of a FTM?

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  • imageannabelle.27:

    two hours from first contraction to babe-in-arms.

    My friend, an L+D nurse, tells me that vbacs can vary. She says the general rule of thumb is that vbac labours progress like a second-time labour up to the point when the c-section was performed with the first delivery. When you enter unchartered territory, so to speak, labour tends to progress like a first-time labour.

    According to this theory, my vbac progressed like a typical second-time labour since I made it to 10 cms dilated and pushed for three hours the first time around. Also according to this theory, your labour with this baby would be more like a first-time mom since you didn't go into labour at all with your first. Even if that is correct, though, that doesn't mean much. First time moms have quick and uncomplicated labours all the time.

    Good luck!

    Interesting. I won't see my midwife for another couple of weeks, but I'll ask her about this. Like I said - I just can't really believe that I'll have a birth like a STM when I didn't labor at all with my c/s. And as for your last comment, I know that it doesn't mean I'll have a long labor, it just surprised me that she seemed to be pretty adamant that there would be no difference between me and a STM who had a vaginal delivery with her first, since those do *tend* to be shorter than a first vaginal delivery.


    BFP1: DD1 born April 2011 at 34w1d via unplanned c/s due to HELLP, DVT 1 week PP
    BFP2: 3/18/12, blighted ovum, natural m/c @ 7w4d
    BFP3: DD2 born Feb 2013 at 38w4d via unplanned RCS due to uterine dehiscence

  • I haven't had a VBAC (yet! hoping!) but my MWs have told me that a VBAC labor is more similar to a first time mom than a second or more.
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  • I've heard the same thing - labor is faster with #2 up to the point that the c-section occured.  DD#1 was a 60 hour induction starting from completely closed. I got to 10cms and pushed for a while before going to c/s.  DD#2 was a 9 hour induction starting from a fingertip dilated.  So, mine was much more like a STM.
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  • I had wondering about this.  Also, to add to the question, I was fully dilated foor my d&e, does that have any effect?
  • imageannabelle.27:

    two hours from first contraction to babe-in-arms.

    My friend, an L+D nurse, tells me that vbacs can vary. She says the general rule of thumb is that vbac labours progress like a second-time labour up to the point when the c-section was performed with the first delivery. When you enter unchartered territory, so to speak, labour tends to progress like a first-time labour.

    According to this theory, my vbac progressed like a typical second-time labour since I made it to 10 cms dilated and pushed for three hours the first time around. Also according to this theory, your labour with this baby would be more like a first-time mom since you didn't go into labour at all with your first. Even if that is correct, though, that doesn't mean much. First time moms have quick and uncomplicated labours all the time.

    Good luck!

    Yep.  Mine totally followed that pattern too.  I dilated all the way before my c/s. From the first contraction to when I started pushing was only 2 hours in my VBAC, so it was fast like a second time mother's.  But then I pushed for over 3 hours, like a first time mother.  But yeah, it's just a general rule and there are always exceptions.

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  • 29 short hours of labor.  Stick out tongue

    But I did only have about 30 min of pushing.

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  • I got "stuck" at 7cm with my first before we went to c/s, so my doula has told me to mentally prepare to get stuck at 7cm again. That the muscle memory will remember what to do until that point. So yeah, like a STM up until the point you reached with your first, then like a FTM - makes sense.
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  • 26 hours for me, about 45 mins pushing. My CSection was a scheduled breech.
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