Labor the second time around

megh061816 · June 2020

Hey!! So even though every mom is different, I'm wondering if your second pregnancy labors were shorter or longer? I'm 18 weeks, my first labor was roughly 5 hours, birth and all, I'm not sure whether to expect a longer or shorter round this time! Thx

meggyme · June 2020

I’d expect shorter, unless there is a complication like baby being breech. 5hours is a pretty precipitous birth. My first took about 17 hours (3am-6pm) and my second took 6 hours (4-10pm). A few other factors were in play (8lb 13oz vs 7lb 1 oz baby) but generally the second comes faster.

[Deleted User] · June 2020

I have heard generally, the second is faster, but that's not always the case. My mom had a precipitous labor with my brother, but a long labor with me, several years later. I had a super long first labor, that stalled, so I'm hoping the next will be at least a little bit quicker... 😬 Honestly, there are way too many factors for anyone to predict, and certainly not this early along. GL

coldlife2 · June 2020

Generally, they are shorter with subsequent babies, but there's no way to know for sure. I think it's a safe bet to expect that, though. It's pretty common knowledge.

My second was shorter, but only by an hour or so. My first was also quite short (about 7 hours from contractions first starting to the birth), so at some point, you can't really get much shorter!

holly321 · June 2020

My first was a csection. My second birth was really quick, once the pitocin started contractions (my water had broke) he was born within about 3 hours. with my third, I started having regular contractions on Wednesday, by Friday morning, they were about 4 minutes apart, and he wasn’t born until 10 o’clock on Friday night.

stillcozy · June 2020

@holly321 that is really interesting I had a c section with my first and they told me I could never be induced again because I had it. They were able to induce you with your second? This gives me a lot of hope for my vbac this time around than and glad I switched dr’s!

coldlife2 · June 2020

stillcozy said:

@holly321 that is really interesting I had a c section with my first and they told me I could never be induced again because I had it. They were able to induce you with your second? This gives me a lot of hope for my vbac this time around than and glad I switched dr’s!

This varies by doctor, which is unfortunate because I think there really should be some sort of standard. Some doctors will not allow inductions for VBACs, and some will.

FWIW, the ACOGs guidelines for VBACs do not disallow inductions. Studies are mixed, but there are some results indicating women have a lower VBAC success rate and higher rates of uterine rupture with inductions than spontaneous labor, so I probably would try to avoid an induction with a VBAC if possible. (And it's worth noting here that going past 40 weeks also should not rule out a VBAC attempt, according to the ACOG, although the success rate may be lower.)

https://journals.lww.com/greenjournal/Fulltext/2017/11000/Practice_Bulletin_No__184__Vaginal_Birth_After.48.aspx

This is the most recent info I could find on the ACOG's stance on VBACs. It's from 2017. I believe it was updated last year, but I can't find it online. They keep their publications only for subscribers and members.

However, I'm pretty sure not a lot changed between 2017 and 2019.

[Deleted User] · July 2020

I was told there would be no cervadil (but not necessarily a contraindications for pit). My provider recommends the old fashioned delivery method for prostaglandins, iykwim. @stillcozy

Labor the second time around

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