# Moms who've had fast (precipitous) labors...



## b_light (Jan 10, 2006)

Do they get faster with the next child? Are you pressured to induce in a hospital?

My last labor was a little over an hour and I spent over half that time wondering if I was in labor. I'm curious what the next time could be like and what my options for care are.


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## lunita1 (May 12, 2008)

My last was 2 hours start to finish, and I'm due again in about 3 weeks. The only part of your question that I can answer for sure is that I haven't had any pressure to induce (but I see a group of hospital based CNM's that don't induce before 42 weeks without good medical justification... baby at risk of being born in the car isn't a medical indication.)

I'm packing a bag with towels, a vinyl table cloth, maybe some hand sanitizer, paper towels, a blanket and a baby hat in the car... stuff we need to contain/clean a mess and keep baby warm if he comes before we get to the hospital. That said, a lot of people have told me that they've had longer labors after their very short ones, so I'm also mentally preparing for dealing with a normal length labor and the work it can entail.


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## GentlerBirth (Nov 6, 2006)

I have homebirths with a licensed midwife, so induction is not an issue. However, she comes from about an hour away, so there is always a risk of an accidental UC. My first two births were 13 and 7 hours, but my 3rd was only around 2 hours. The midwife made it 20 minutes before dd was born. I just had my fourth 3 weeks ago and we fully expected that I would catch him myself since she probably wouldn't make it in time. But, though it appeared at first to be exactly like my 3rd birth, he was posterior and it ended up being a 9 hour labor. So the midwife and my doula were both able to make it with about 4 hours to spare before he came out (sunny side up- arg). We believe that if he had been in the correct position, he would have also had a 2 hour or so labor. Hope that helps







Best of luck to you!!


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## b_light (Jan 10, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *lunita1* 
My last was 2 hours start to finish, and I'm due again in about 3 weeks. The only part of your question that I can answer for sure is that I haven't had any pressure to induce (but I see a group of hospital based CNM's that don't induce before 42 weeks without good medical justification... baby at risk of being born in the car isn't a medical indication.)

I'm packing a bag with towels, a vinyl table cloth, maybe some hand sanitizer, paper towels, a blanket and a baby hat in the car... stuff we need to contain/clean a mess and keep baby warm if he comes before we get to the hospital. That said, a lot of people have told me that they've had longer labors after their very short ones, so I'm also mentally preparing for dealing with a normal length labor and the work it can entail.

Having just had a baby in the passenger seat of our moving car, I'd recommend sitting on the tablecloth and/or towels. And also consider wearing a skirt or dress and no underwear (or very stretchy underwear).

I wish you the best of luck!


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## wbg (Mar 28, 2008)

My third labour was pretty fast. 2 hrs from maybe to baby! Not sure if that counts as precipitous or not. I was concerned about how fast #4 would arrive. I had moved abroad at this point so new OB. At around 16wks or so, maybe less, she asked if I wanted to be induced early so I did not have the baby in the car etc etc. I was so stunned. I had just given her my history of 3 fantastic births and she started talking about drugs for no good reason! That was my first clue. I got a few more clues over the next few weeks before I finally switched to a HB midwife who could offer me a similar experience to what I had with my other OB.
Anyway, FWIW, the labour pattern was completely different to my other labours and while we had planned on being ready for a UC, #4 actually gave us a few hours warning. Active labour was prob only 2 hours, but I knew it was coming about 3 hours earlier and everyone made it in time to support her home water birth.


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## SashaBear (Aug 24, 2006)

Well I haven't but my SIL has. She has no interest in natural birth, wants the epidural in the parking lot! Yuck! Her first was induced and lasted 2 hours. Her second was supposed to be an induction but she started contracting while waiting for the induction. That one was 1.5 hours. Yes she has been pressured into induction but she readily accepts it. I think she is hoping she will be induced with this one. Unforunately for her she picked a family doctor and he won't induce unless medically necessary. Induction can equal csection and that means no pay for him! The doctors wife has fast labors, I think 40 minutes and the baby's head was already out. My SIL thought it was nuts that there wasn't time for an IV for monitor!
The plan for my SIL is that if she has any contractions that are less than 10 minutes apart to get to the hospital.


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## broodymama (May 3, 2004)

My last two were 2 hours from maybe to baby, and only the last hour of each was I even kind of sure it might be labor. DH is in the military so I get my initial bloodwork done at the local Naval Hospital to save on lab fees (my homebirth MW is not covered by our insurance). During pregnancy #3 they wanted to induce me early since DD1 was a "big" baby (their words, at 10 lbs she was a good sized but not what I would really consider big). At the beginning of this pregnancy they said they would induce me since my last labors were quick. Ummm, no thanks. My MW knows when I call and say "hmmm, that _might_ have been a contraction" then it's time to head on over.


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## Mirrormonkey (Jan 6, 2009)

My second was less than 2 hours once hard labour started, as soon as I thought I was in labor we went straight to the hosp, glad we did because 3 pushes later he was on my chest!


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## sweeetpea (Jun 14, 2006)

You never know what labor is going to be like. Labor #1 was about 6 hours, #2 was under 2 hours. With #3, I was fully expecting 2 hours or less. Since I had planned a homebirth and my MW lives about a mile away, no big deal. But, I think due to the dynamic of a relaxed home setting and trying to sleep through contractions versus scrambling for the hospital, labor #3 was a leisurely 10.5 hours, with about 2 hours of "rest time" between completion of dilation and feeling the need to push.

No pressure to induce, but it was my longest pregnancy, too. If I had been under an OBs care, I definitely would have been fighting against a recommended induction.


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## ExuberantDaffodil (May 22, 2005)

My first was a 4 hour induced labor.

My second was a precipitous 2 hour labor, accidently unassisted, purposefully at home. I'm glad I planned for a homebirth because I seriously had no idea I was going to go that quickly (though I had a suspicion it would be a quick labor), and if I had gotten in the car by the time I realized I was in full blown labor, my daughter would have been _born_ in the car. My bed was _much_ more comfortable than a moving car.









Given my experience, I thought this wiki article on precipitous labors was kind of funny, especially the bottom part on going "to the hospital right away" or "call 911 to receive help and instructions."


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## PreggieUBA2C (Mar 20, 2007)

I am freebirther after 2 unecaesarians. My first labour (ds3) was prodromal for four weeks followed by 9 hrs of 'productive' labour that brought him out.

THEN ds4 was a true precipitous labour. My water broke, then three minutes with three contractions and he was in my hands being rubbed to breathe, which he did, pinked up right away and was alert and strong. I was sure I had torn from front to back, but it turned out that during precipitous labours, that is very rare; the body just lets go all that once, no stretching, no easing into anything, just open up and let it all out. I didn't have a scrape and didn't feel liike I had a baby actually. It was strange.

Anyway, if that's the sort of labour I'm going to have, then it's just as well that I wouldn't want to be attended, obviously.

Why would there be pressure to induce a proven efficient body? Is this to make sure you are attended, so instead of letting your body do what it does so well when it does it, you preempt the real labour with an induction? That's sooooooooo weird.

That for me would be the absolutely easiest defense for allowing the woman's body to do it's work without interference, not a reason to make sure it is interfered with. Wow.

I would love to be able to _anticipate_ precipitous labours!!!


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## lunita1 (May 12, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *b_light* 
Having just had a baby in the passenger seat of our moving car, I'd recommend sitting on the tablecloth and/or towels. And also consider wearing a skirt or dress and no underwear (or very stretchy underwear).

I wish you the best of luck!

Yep, the plan is to sit on the vinyl table cloth in the car, have the towels at my side or near my feet, and wear a skirt. ROFL. Watch me have a 12 hour labor.


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## Hedgehog Mtn (Jan 14, 2008)

#1 was a posterior baby, 5 hours including 2+ pushing. Baby #2 was less than 10min. Baby 3 was 7 hours (and 2lbs bigger than any other) Baby 4 was less than 1 hour and baby 5 was less than 40min.

So #3 taught me that yes, they can get longer LOL.

All were planned homebirths but 2 were UCs so induction is a non-issue.


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## b_light (Jan 10, 2006)

Thanks everyone and keep 'em coming!

I'm just curious what everyone's experiences were like with different providers. I hired a midwife with both of my two, but since assisted homebirth is illegal where we live, we were racing for the state line...but didn't make it. I feel like the state line (40 minutes away) is now to far for us to be a viable option for next time. Which leaves unassisted home birth, hospital birth with an ob, or an illegal assisted homebirth (I think the closest underground midwife is about an hour away though).


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## mama2annabelle (Dec 29, 2002)

I've had 2 very fast labors and 2 long labors. #1 was 1.5 hours (hospital birth), #2 was 26 hours (homebirth), #3 was 1 hour 10 minutes (homebirth), #4 was long and drawn out over a day and a half (homebirth).


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## annekh23 (Nov 1, 2008)

I've got two precipitous labours under my belt, one was induction due to due to IUGR, but it was fast, particularly for a first timer at 37 weeks, 1hr 45mins. Second labour was supposed to be a homebirth, but I had some complications and went into labour in the bath on the antenatal ward, having been not dilated or effaced at all during a check prior to getting in the bath, was 6cm when they checked me about 10mins later, baby was OP and stayed that way, so it was about 4hrs total, plenty of time to get to a place of birth, but it was transition from the first contraction, my "travelling" took less time than it would take to get from the car park to the labour ward and I was already vomitting, but I also didn't believe it was labour, had it not been for the long 2nd stage I don't think a midwife would have made it in time had we been at home.

So I was pretty anxious about number 3, we were with midwives and their birth centre was 2mins from our house, we never did settle on whether we would go there to use the pool, or rent a pool for home, I got depressed during the pregnancy and in the end it became a source of extreme anxiety, so we went to see an OB to talk about induction. After we went through my medical history, she consulted with colleagues and ended up advising an early c-section, for different reasons to ones we'd expected, which solved anxiety issues about precipitous labour, just replaced them with anxiety about surgery, worrying about precipitous labour may well be preferable to the intense fear I had about dieing in surgery! It was all a bit of a moot point in the end anyway as my BP shot up, so even if we'd stayed with midwives I don't think we'd have managed to stick it out systolics of 110 from a baseline of seventy something are not good! Moral of the story, I spent a lot of time worrying about something (preciptous labour) that turned out not to be an issue, for reasons we didn't expect.


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## elus0814 (Sep 21, 2009)

I've had shortish 4 hour labors but have had my water break hours to days ahead of time so I was already at the hospital.

My MIL told me about when my BIL was born. She woke up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom and felt funny. She walked back into the bedroom and told half-awake FIL "I think I have to push". She was holding him a few minutes later. Good thing FIL is a doctor, BIL had heart issues and had to be taken right to the hospital.


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## happyblessedmama (Sep 6, 2003)

My 3rd baby start to finish was 2.5 hours. #4 and #5 took longer than that (if you define it by active labor, #4 was about 4 hours, #3 was about 3 hours), but the backstory is that with #4 my water broke so they augmented my labor because nothing was going on other than SROM.


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## mwherbs (Oct 24, 2004)

our second was born in 1 hr, probably could have been shorter if it weren't for the 1/2 hr car ride to the hospital, we got there was put into triage as soon as the nurses left the room I buzzed and said the baby is coming, they told me that the contractions weren't strong enough







had him within 3 pushes .
------that is my only short fast labor- since I had the others after that at home no one pressured me to do anything.


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## zjande (Nov 4, 2002)

My 1st baby came in 24 hours, my 2nd came in 7 hours.

My 3rd baby came in 90 mins from first contraction to birth. MW attended hospital birth.

I was terrified baby #4 would come even sooner at the rate my labors were going! I had MWs again, induction was never mentioned. I ended up choosing a a UC. My labor ended up being 3 hours long.

Then baby #5, a MW attended homebirth, came in 5 solid hours! I felt like it was soooo long compared to my previous labors! LOL Again, no mention of induction ever came up.

You just never can tell! Good luck making your decision about where/how/with who to birth!


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## devon (Jun 29, 2005)

My second birth was a somewhat precipitous unplanned homebirth. When the family practitioner recommended inducing my third pregnancy at 38 weeks because of that (when my other pregnancies went to 39w1d (8lb 1 oz) and 40w3d (8 lb 13 oz)), I ran as fast as I could and decided to have a HB.

This labor was wonderful. I had painless, not close contractions (like joking, didn't have to work at all) and my midwife came over to check me because of my last birth. I was 8cm at that point. The 'non-contractions' lasted about 2 hours, then I had her strip my membranes and baby was born within 45 minutes, in the caul, with pretty easy contractions and not much pain.


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## echospiritwarrior (Jun 1, 2006)

bumping this thread up as I'd love to hear more stories... as I'm wondering if #3 is that wild card so many people speak of...

so far I've not yet met anyone who has had two identical and precipitous labors. both the same HB MW barely attending (15-20 minutes before the birth both times) both beginning with SROM and holding baby within 2 hours and 15 minutes of SROM.

I actually asked the universe for a slightly longer labor with number 2, but although identical it actually was a bunch more enjoyable since I'd BTDT once and hubby didn't pour the birth tub too hot the second time.


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## clovergirl (Dec 1, 2001)

First baby, 12 hours in hospital. Second baby, 3 hours at home. Third baby, about 5 hours at home.

I really think all births are wild cards. Even if you have a history of fas or long labors you never know what will happen. IMO it's a good idea to be prepared for a home delivery no matter what your birth plans are, cause really, you never know.


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## VillageMom6 (Dec 2, 2008)

Babies 1, 2 and 3 were all 12 hour labors.

Baby #4 was 45 *minutes*. Thankfully we were already at the hospital for other reasons when labor began.

After that wildly precipitous birth I was afraid that #5 would be born in the car en route to the hospital. My midwife agreed to induce me at 39.5 weeks (by breaking my water). She did not suggest it... I certainly wasn't pressured... the induction was my idea and the risk of a car birth met their indications for an induction.

Ironically, my water broke as soon as I showed up for the induction.

Nothing happened.

I never went into labor. I walked... I slept the night away... I tried nip stimulation... everything. Twenty hours later, no labor. When I saw meconium I decided to go to pitocin and baby was born several hours later.

To be fair... pokey birth #5 was seven years after precipitous birth #4.

Now it's only been two years since my last birth. I'm hoping for another quick one!!


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## corrio (Jul 11, 2005)

All I have to say is every baby/ birth is so diffrent,

my first I went from 2cms to 10cms in 4 hours
second birth was a c-section
third birth was a hour and a half of labor
fourth birth was 45 minutes with 3 contractions

so for my 5th I was expecting a short labor and well I got a good 32 hour labor, you just never know..


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## broodymama (May 3, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *echospiritwarrior* 
so far I've not yet met anyone who has had two identical and precipitous labors. both the same HB MW barely attending (15-20 minutes before the birth both times) both beginning with SROM and holding baby within 2 hours and 15 minutes of SROM.

Except for beginning with SROM, that sounds like my 2nd & 3rd births. Both 2 hours and 10 minutes, midwife arrived 15 & then 20 minutes before babe was born, SROM when the babies crowned, babies essentially ejected by my body both times. Was expecting something similar with birth #4 but total labor was only 24 minutes.


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## happyblessedmama (Sep 6, 2003)

#1 was 12 hours (induction
#2 was about 2 hours (augmented, water broke but nothing happened - 2 hrs from augmentation start to birth)
#3 was 2.5 hours
#4 was 7 hours (augmented, water broke but nothing happened)
#5 was 2.5 hours (induction, but not for precipitous labors)
#6 is still cooking.

I have not been pressured to induce due to my faster labors. You can see they did not necessarily get faster.


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