# Length of third labor??



## berkeleyp (Apr 22, 2004)

My first labor was on the longer side of average with 6-8 hours of active labor and another 3 hours of pushing

My second labor was under three hours with just a few minutes of pushing

What do you think I should expect for my third??


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## chic2chic (Jan 10, 2007)

last week my midwife told me to expect a third labor to be about the same as the second (if the baby is in a good position, that is).

(i asked because my second labor was about 1.5 hours, start to finish







)


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## lovingmommyhood (Jul 28, 2006)

I'd be interested to know too. I had a 5 hr labor from start to finish with DS2. Slightly shorter than my first. This is also my third. Baby is head down & ready to rock and roll.


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## 3for_me (Jan 17, 2007)

First time was 25 hours. Second time was 6 hours. Third time was harder to time. I woke up at 5:30 am and knew it was going to be the day. Was contracting all day but didn't realy have to do any work until about 5pm and she was born just after midnight. My midwife said the third time is a wild card.


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## aishy (Dec 13, 2001)

Mine really seem to cut each time, I only count for "active labor" - 4-10 cm. My first was aroudn 8 hours which I found to be a medium/average length. Second was 4 or 5 hours once things really got going. Third? I napped at 2 am (dialated 4 cm and mad I hadn't gone anywhere yet) & had him at 5:30ish. And my fourth was around an hour and a half to two hours, I was complete & ready to push when my midwife arrived because I was so unsure if it was it or not and she didn't get called till an hour into it (luckily I had a morning of labor the day before that stalled out so everything was set up & ready to go).

My midwife is now 45 mins away & I plan to call her at the first sign and hang on to the fact that I always push for EVER so she likely wouldn't miss the birth. HA.


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## cj'smommy (Aug 14, 2003)

I'm curious too. My first was about 9 hrs labor and 3 pushing. Second was a c-section because of placenta previa. I'm planning a VBAC this time and I have no idea what to expect in regard to labor this time.


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## mamato3cherubs (Nov 30, 2004)

I vote Wild-Card for sure!

first-14 hours active to delivery
second- 6 hours
third- about 20 hours

ETA: I dont consider 6-8 hours or 9-11 counting pushing time, the long side of average for a first baby. I tell people to expect at least 12 once they know for sure.


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## dkenagy (Jun 25, 2004)

I'm a doula and I heard this from a midwife and have found it to be true in so many cases:
The first birth is generally long (about 12 hrs, once you are convinced you are in labor).
The second is about half as long.
The third is always a surprise.

For me, my first labor was just under 6 hrs (started at 3 cm, pushed for 20 minutes). My second was almost 3.5 hrs from the very first ctx to delivery with one push. My third was about 7.5 hrs, two pushes (one delivered the head, MW cut tight nuchal cord, pushed again to birth the baby).

Happy birthing!


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## mntnmom (Sep 21, 2006)

DD was induced, so having her took longer than it should have. But DS1 (baby 3) took 3 hrs from the 1st contraction and we barely made it to the hospital. We finally learned our lesson and had DS2 at home after another 3hr labor!!


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## Spark (Nov 21, 2001)

1st - 18 hours, posterior/compound presentation (loooong pushing)
2nd - 4 1/2 hours, perfect positioning (2 hours of pushing)
3rd - 1 hour, 40 minutes, perfect positioning (20 minutes pushing... I got it! You don't HAVE to push! Your body does it!)

My 4th is due in 3 months. I wonder how that will go! The bottom line as I see it is, no matter which labor of mine you look at, they all took the same amount of work. I was just as exhausted after each of them, it's just the effort was either more condensed or more spread out.


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## applejuice (Oct 8, 2002)

#3 - four hours, start to finish.


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