How was everyone's labour experience ?

Denisia - posted on 10/07/2010

I had been having contractions for two nights. The 2nd night March 27th it was all night n into the day on March 28th, I went in at 2:00 March 28th n was givin a shot to see if my contractions were real or not n to see if the shot helped dialate me. It worked. I got my epidural at like 6:00 am March 29th n had my lil girl at 6:43 am. Labor wasnt to bad other than the contractions were hard. What scared me, my mom, grandmother n my husband (they were in there as well as my bio dad) was after i had her, n i delivered my placenta my dr told the nurses to call the OR in case i had to go into surgery. Everyone told my husband to stay with Danielle. He was freaking out n my momther went over to him n told him that the reason he wanted the OR to be ready was because if he couldnt turn my uterus right side in i would have to go into surgery. Thank the Lord he got it back to normal. But that was scary. My dr said he was glad i had gotten the epidural or i would have been in so much pain. But my lil girl came out healthy. So im glad for that. I also had a tear. i got some stitches but her n i are both in good health :)

Heidi - posted on 06/24/2010

For my first I wanted to do everything natural but they wanted to induce me. I think I was about an hour to two hours into the induction and I got an epidural. The pitocin gave me such bad back labor I couldn't handle it anymore. So when my second was on the way I didn't know what to expect the labor pains to feel like. March 5th I started getting contractions but they weren't bad at all I thought they were baxton hicks because I was getting them a lot during the last couple months. But these were a little different feeling and they were timeable. So I called the doctor to just make sure and they had me come into the hospital. I thought they were just going to send me home. When i got there they told me I was just about 8 cm dialated....i was shocked. I had no idea. within 30mins later I had Sophia. They didn't even get to admitt me the the hospital.

Tara - posted on 06/24/2010

TERRIBLE!!!!!!! I had spotting during my pregnancy, followed by pre-eclampsia. I had steroid injections to help develp my son's lungs incase he came early. 28 weeks my organs started shutting down due to the HELP syndrome at 2am. Only started really worrying at 4am, got to the hospital at 5am and recieved HORRIBLE mag sulphate injections!!! (legs are still numb in that area after 3 months!!!) Had to wait until 10h30 for my emergency c-section!!! By that time it was nearly too late so I ended up in ICU for 3 days and was in hospital for a week hooked up to more machines than I care to remember. They took blood from me 3 times a day so both my arms were so bruised I couldnt even feed myself for a week!!!! Couldn't get out of bed without help for 2 weeks after that! i couldnt even bath myself for 3 weeks!!! Thank goodness for a wonderful devoted husband!!! My tiny 2 pound son cried when they took him out!!! I wasn't expecting a sound out of him! He was in NICU for 55 days and struggled with immature lungs, RSV, tummy infection, ROP and oxygen dependancy. What a little fghter!!!!! i couldnt hold him for the first month which was terrible. Leaving him there was terrible too but thankfully I knew he was in great hands!
He has now been home for a month, is triple his birth weight (6 pounds now) and doing so well!
I'm scared to death (ha ha ha, literally!!!) of having another child!!! My gorgeous little son was worth all the pain tho!

Jacqui - posted on 06/22/2010

i was 12 days late and had to be induced. i was in labour an hour after they broke my waters and 5 cm then bout 3 hours later i was at 7 cm then just stayed there after i ws in labour for 12 hours i still hadnt moved from 7cm and midwives told me if nothing happens in the next hour i would have to go for an emergancy c section and thats wat happened 14 hours and they had to take me for an emergancy c section and found out my baby had her head stuck in an awrkward posstion so she wasnt gonna come any way and she was 9.45 pound and im only a lil person so she had no room wat so ever

Jennifer - posted on 06/22/2010

Well most people will probably hate me when I tell my story! I had my first child on March 29th. I was due on march 31st, woke up on March 29th at 8am with contractions and went to the bathroom and there was a little blood. Well my mother had just flown in the night before so I went in to ask her about the blood and she said to call my doctor. Instead I decided to take a shower and go to the hospital. I woke up my boyfriend told him it was time and we left the house we made it to the hospital at 9:30am had big contractions on the way just 2-3 min apart. Nurse checked me as soon as I got a gown on and then they rushed me to the delivery room and told me I had to start pushing cause LO was right there ready to come out!! Well she was born at 10:20am!! No time for epidural or anything doctor barely made it in the room in time! I had a great pregnancy and hardly no labor and a healthy baby! I was very lucky!! :)

Jessica - posted on 06/22/2010

This was my first baby and I have to say I'm in no rush to go through labor again anytime soon! Although I did have a relativly easy labor...I went in on March 3rd at 7am to be induced (2 days past my due date). The only problem was that they couldnt find me on their schedule! Finally at 9pm they figured out that another girl who was having her baby had the same name as me and thats why they couldnt find my reservation, so to say. By 10:30 I was finally hooked up getting the stuff that speeds up labor. The contractions were easy untill 12:30 when they came in and broke my water...After that I started shaking from the pain and couldnt even talk. Finally I gave in to an epidural. My fiance was in the room holding my shoulders while I was getting the epidural. I remember hugging my belly and whispering "Don't move...don't move...don't move." over and over. Once it was done I looked up at my fiance and he was completely gray (hes naturally tan) and sweating...I thought he was gonna faint...So did the nurses...they ran from me to him and made him sit down and fanned him till he regained color. lol I was in active labor for 12 1/2 hours but once I got that epidural I was fine untill I was fully dilated that is. Once he descended is when the pain began...It only took me an hr to push him out but honestly that was the LONGEST hour of my life! I remember at first I didnt even know when to push...as he got farther down I started feeling the contractions again...I remember the nurse saying "I call this part the ring of fire" when he was crowning...boy was she right! I also remember his lil head barley out and the nurse was giving him a Mohawk! When he was finaly out they set him on my chest and I just cried...when they took him to clean him up his daddy went with him...While being stitched up I remember telling my fiance "I told u I didn't sleep with anyone in the Bahamas." (I got prego 2 days after coming back from a week long family trip to the Bahamas)

My dad was so worried about me...He busted in the room as they were stitching me up...I remember him hugging me and telling me he was so glad I was okay and that it was finally over :)

Great memories but it will be a while b4 I do that again!

Sari - posted on 06/21/2010

We had an interesting labour and delivery!! I started to feel contractions on Monday Night. I figured they were Braxton hicks. Nothing I couldn’t sleep through. I was up almost every hour to pee which was odd for me. We went grocery shopping Tuesday morning and that is when the contractions were starting to stop me in my tracks a bit. Still not painful. At 4:30 Tuesday we started to time them. My doula told me to go on all fours for a bit and that is when my waters broke. My doula came around 6pm. The contractions were very long and close together but not regular. So we stayed at home and did all the coping stuff we could. I had a shower and rocked and such. By midnight the contractions were over a minute long. Some almost 2 mins long. We managed to hang out a bit more at home and discussed the possibility of what would happen if I was dilated below 6. I said I think if I was below a 6 we would go for the epidural. Now mind you this whole time since my doula showed up I was unable to sleep or sit.
By 3am we called it and went to the hospital. When they checked me I was barely a 3. After all that time and how hard my contractions were I was only a 3. So as I was being butchered by the nurses trying to get the IV started and they were going to call the anaesthetist to get the IV in I decided on the epidural. I did really not want to go this way but figured I needed it after being on my feet for so long without sleep. We needed a bit of help. So the epidural went in and they started some pitocin. I was able to sleep!! Ah wonderful and lay down!!
My ob came in around 9am and checked my fluid levels via ultrasound. Apparently despite my waters breaking over 12 hours before I still had a ton of fluid. He figured we wouldn’t be ready to have babe until evening. I asked my nurse when they would check me and she said probably not for a few hours. Then she said you know what lets just check you for the heck of it. Well to our surprise I was 10!! A little lip of cervix left. She gave me a touch more pitocin and got set up. When my ob came in to check on my pushing progress again he said a few hours yet. Well after an hour and 15 mins of pushing and just over 50 hours of labor my little one was born 10 minutes after my ob said it would be hours yet I had my love in my arms!!!! My little one had the cord wrapped twice around his neck and only once his heart rate dropped!
I ended up tearing a bit and was extremely swollen.

LaToya - posted on 06/10/2010

I was 39 weeks, no dilation, no dropping or anything. My blood pressure was raising extremely. Therefore, I was sent to the L&D for induction. Once I was placed on the monitors, they discovered I was having contractions and I couldn't even feel them! But the baby's heartbeat was dropping during every contraction. Therefore, they skipped the induction and gave me a C- Section the next morning. Everything went well with the C - Section. I had 28 staples!!!! My beautiful healthy baby girl came out small, only 3 pounds and 12 ounces. She was 17.5 inches long.

She had to stay in the NICU for 2 weeks while they plumped her up. Leaving her there every night was the hardest thing, I have ever had to do. But she was here and healthy! Now she's 11 pounds and growing like a weed.

BTW...No problems with the recovery from the C - Section. I didn't stay still at all. As soon as, I was released from the hospital, I continued to come back and forth to see the baby. Somehow, I managed and healed. Once she was home, I finally rested and started recovering!

Beth - posted on 06/03/2010

i went in to be induced march 29th because my due date was march 26th they put in a balloon to stretch my cervix and i didnt even have to be induced! my contractions started at about two somethin and they gave me an epidural at about 630 but the contractions really werent that bad i just didnt want to feel her actually coming out she was born at 753 am and i didnt feel a thing :) i was suprised it was so easy because she was my first lol she was born 3.30.10 and weighed 7 pounds 12 ounces and was 19 and 3/4 inches long

Erin - posted on 06/03/2010

My experience was pretty good but could be because I was induced. I went to the doctor on March 29th for my 39th week check up and told him I couldn't do it anymore. I was so miserable. I had been sleeping on the couch and air mattress for the last half of my pregnancy because my hips hurt so bad and I was just miserable. My husband and I got to the hospital that night at 8pm and I was hooked up to Pitocin. The doctor broke my water around 10pm and the contractions came on strong. I always wanted the epidural so when I was 3cm dialated they gave it to me. Well it worked at first but then stopped and was only working on one side. The contractions were horrible and I didn't think I was going to make it (god bless all of you how do it naturally). The only option they had was to give me another one. After I got the second one, it worked and I couldn't feel a thing. I began pushing around 2am and only had one more push until she was here around 3:20am. Well since it was March 30th (3/30) I thought it would be cute if she was born at 3:30 so we waited the 10 minutes until 3:30am for the final push. We welcomed our daughter Kylee Leora at 3:30am on 3/30/10. She weighed 7lbs and was 18.75 inches long. I had mild tearing and only a couple of stitches. The worse part was afterwards because I could only hold her for 30 minutes because they had to take her to the nursery because she was running a fever and had a high heartrate. Other then that everything went so much better then I expected and was glad I was induced even though I had heard horror stories about long labors and C-sections but my labor was only 7.5 hours.

Jessica - posted on 06/03/2010

omg in the begining it was ok...It was alright when I was on the ball,walking around, and taking showers like crazy!! I was 15 hours in Labor and the last five hours was active labor with a minute in-between contraction...and with all that time i was only four centimeters...I was screaming for a c-section, I got it and my son was born on St. patties day 22 seconds past mid-night!

Umu - posted on 06/02/2010

My labour was great. My due date was march 10th. I decided not to be induced. I wanted to have an all natural birth. my MW insisted that I should deliver the baby (at 39 weeks) because he was very small and not growing. I was scared, 1, because i didnt want to have C-section, 2, my midwife said that the risk of baby distress is very high when labour is induced and even more painful than natural. So i went on with my pregnancy to 42 weeks, with no signs of labour, dilation or anything (baby still not growing). on march 17th the doctor called me to deliver the baby. I went to hospital on the 18th at 7:30 am. started with U/S and BPP. stayed at the hospital all day. at 3pm they started my IV (oxitocin) with doses increasing every hour. At about 9pm I was 2 dilated, had close and mild contractions. Not really painful but like mild cramps. I decided to take the epidural because i didnt want to lose energy and become tired when I push the baby. I was afriad that i won't be able to push the baby by the time it comes. i got the epidural at 9:30 pm went to sleep at 11pm..slept through the whole labor. At 4:30am I felt presure and i call my nurse. when she came in to check i was 10cm dilated and the baby's head was almost out (can u bleive i was asleep the whole time)..lool. I pushed for 20 minutes and my DS was born on march 19th at 4:54 am at 5lbs. He is now a healthy baby boy 10 weeks weighing 14 lbs.

Angeline - posted on 06/01/2010

I didn't want a home birth and my daughter was almost born at home! I got to the hospital 10cms dialated at 5.01am and she was born (7 pounds, 11 onces. one day after due date) at 5.16am. The birth was drug free and labour lasted 6 hours. First 4 hours of the labour felt just like period pain. The contractions during the last two hours of the labour where painful but made a lot easier with good breathing methods and lots of support from my partner. On the drive to the hospital I was pushing as I could not help myself and was very lucky not to give birth in the car. It took two pushes at the hospital for my daughter to come out and the midwife had to tell me to not push so hard - I ended up with a tear (guess I did push too hard) but was soon stitched up and they healed up fine. Overall the birth was drama free (apart from the speeding car ride to the hospital - we ran a red light!) and a positive experience and I'm very happy that I did it with no drugs or gas.

Sueann - posted on 05/27/2010

I have 3 children... I gave birth naturally all 3 times! I didn't think I was strong enough to do so but I sure did it!!!



My 1st who is now 9 years old had me in labor for 7 hours. The pain was crazy but I refused to get an epidural done due to the stories I've herd about back pains, and the chances of what could happen if they messed up while injecting you. To my surprise I didn't rip or need stitches once I delivered her.



My 2nd child was a breeze... I felt contractions at 7 am, timed them and headed to the hospital 45 mins later. I got there and not even an hour at the hospital he was born. He's soon to be 8 years old. Once again, I didn't need stitches or any special care.



My 3rd child who is now 11 weeks old as of today had me in labor for an even shorter amount of time. I felt slight contractions, but ended up knowing labor was coming about an hour before I got to the hospital. I got to the hospital a little after 7am, and she was born at 8:09 am.



I can remember ever little detail from the pain of the labor to the head coming down. She was the only one I had to really push out... my other two came flying out and doctors kept telling me to stop pushing. I couldn't stop, it was something that happened naturally.



I'm truly blessed to have 3 beautiful children who made pregnancy a joy and delivery a breeze! I love them so much!!!

Rachel - posted on 05/25/2010

I seem destined to have bad experiences, with my first I was induced at +3, I had a midwife that really couldn't of cared less she came in at one point and told me I was 3cm and wasn't allowed pain relief, when she left the room my sister gave my the gas and air anyway because i was in agony and went to get someone 5minuets later the same women told me oh actually you look like your 10cm or maybe 8cm I felt in really safe hands at this point... she agreed to give an epidural but after the second attempt the doctor decided i needed an emergency c section because my son had the cord round his neck and wasn't breathing. next thing i knew i was coming round in a recovery room... not great. My second child made a VERY sudden appearance 2weeks early, I had minor contractions at about 4.30pm called my partner to say head home from London, luckily he called an ambulance just in case he couldn't get there in time, 5minuets later my waters slowly began to break I still wasn't too worried as pain not that bad then suddenly i felt the head ambulance arrived at 5pm just as head beginning to show and my little boy was delivered on my kitchen floor by 6pm Min before my partner came running through the door. sadly i tore really badly because i had no one who knew what to do and no midwives were available apparently. The ambulance crew were great I couldn't fault them one even sat with my 2yr old talking about spider pig to keep him entertained, they took me to hospital where i had to go to theatre and have an epidural which was really frustrating after managing the whole birth with no pain relief meant I had to stay in hospital all weekend. I just wish all the midwives hadn't decided to go on holiday at the same time!! It all turned out well in the end though so i'm happy.

Shelley - posted on 05/24/2010

I'm surprised that your midwife left you alone. I had a midwife, and when I was at the hospital they work in teams, so you have 2 there and are never alone. My labor was crazy fast, my water broke at 1:30 pm, I went to the hospital at 3:30 and was pushing by 6:30 pm and he was born by 7:35. Ina way it was great that I didn't have to lay around in agony waiting, but it was such a whirlwind that it was really hard to keep up and for the last 2 hours I didn't know what what going on around me at all. At one point during the pushing my midwife had to call in the OB on call because my son's heart rate dropped dramatically and I had no idea. I opened my eyes and saw extra people in the room but had no idea who whey were or why they were there! My experience with midwives wasn't all I had expected (but not anything like yours!), after the delivery I was lying there shaking and they took forever to get me a blanket, same with getting my some painkillers before discharge (the pain was bad from the episiotomy) and they forgot to come one day for an at home check up.

Kasey - posted on 05/18/2010

my due date was march 7th but the doc had me to come in march 8th at 8pm to be induced b/c they was worried my baby was a ten pounder an didnt want me carrying him to much longer over my due date.. so i got to the hospital at 8pm with no signs of labor , they started my iv and said that they would start my induction in the morning... i was 1cm diolated when i got there. at 10pm i was 6cm with no pain but as soon as it hit 12pm i had the worst contractions ever! they checked me at 12pm and i was already 8cm so they called the doctor in and started the baby warmer.. as soon as i got my epidural at 12;30pm my labor stoped and i laid in bed till 9am with no pain so they gave me potocine to start my labor back up and i had him at 10:20am... i had no sleep and was in a daze the whole time.. i was mad though cuz they would only let my husband, mom, and granny in the room and told my mother-in-law she couldnt be in there cuz there was no room but when i was pushing they brought 10 students in to watch!!!!!

Jill - posted on 05/16/2010

my labor experience was great...i was induced two days before my due date on mar 8th...came into hospital at 730 and they started the pitocin at 8...although i had apparently already been contracting before they started the pitocin....it just felt like i was having twitches lol....going into it he was already dropped and i was already dilated at 3 cm.....so at 4 hrs later (12) i was dilated to 5 and they gave me epidural and 1 hr and 50 minutes later i was feeling a lot of pressure and called the nurse and she said oh the epidural doesnt take away the pressure of a contraction which i knew but knew this was different so she checked me, she touched him before she even got to me, so she went holy crap called the doctor, doctor had to rush in order to delivery me....at 20 minutes of pushing my baby boy came out weighing 8 ll....there was another lady who was having her 4th started the same time...i beat her and it was my first! 7 hr labor...not bad for a first....i did have to get an episiotomy which i was sore for a few weeks and now still feel some pressure on it when i use the ladies room thats is probably the only bad thing. i cant wait til its time to have another baby!

Danielle - posted on 05/13/2010

my experience was amazing! this was my first child and i was due march 2nd my dr had me come to the hospital march 2 and midnight going into the 3rd. around three they started giving me my inducing drugs. i dont remember how long in i started having bad contractions and i got pain killers in my IV. i was asleep for a while and when i woke up my contractions started hurting again, or at least i could feel them again. i got more juice in the vein lol it didnt work as great they second time. i was barely 3cm dilated and they said i could get my epidural. it took about 45 minutes to get it which didnt hurt at all. i very suprised. i was pissed bc they had four students in my room and was teaching how to give me an epidural but made my mother and boyfriend leave bc they wanted it sanitary. they didnt ask if they students could come in but my boyfriend made it clear how angry i was about it. after i got my epidural i went took awhile to get to five cm. when i got to 5cm i went to 9 in no time, felt like maybe a half hour but i was drugged so i couldnt tell ya lol. when it came time to push i did my best, the nurse helped and when they baby needed to come out my stupid doctor came in and said he need to vacuum him out and failed to mention he was going to cut me. i pushed about 45 minutes. i had to get an episotomy and didnt know until he was stitching me up. it made me so mad he never said i had to get it done. so weeks after jax was born was hell. i was so swollen and stuff. oh yeah and they had a student put in my catheter without asking me and she missed twice so finally a new nurse did it... but i was so high that it only makes me mad now lol... my nurses were all freakin amazing. i was so comfy that even ten weeks after, i wish i was still in the hospital (:

Jennifer - posted on 05/13/2010

My labour was one of those experiences you don't generally tell first time mom's cause it will scare them. I had a four day long induction with about 24 hours of intense labour (12 under an epi). Followed up by a c-section for farilure to progress, which I started feeling because the epi was patchy. But on the plus side my recovery was really good!!

Sheri - posted on 05/13/2010

My 1st was 4hrs and back labor and I went in to the hospital at 5pm and got put on the ctg machine and found out that I was in active labor and had my daughter at 8:55pm. I was already 5cm dialated by the time I went in and 8cm dialated by the time my doctor made it there as he was 1 hr drive away when the on call doctor called him. I didn't have time for and epidural as my doctor then was the only one who could do it. I tore bad with my first and had to have an episiotomy as well so it took 2 wks for me to heal completely from that labor also they had to break my water and found out that she had her first bowel movement inside of me, I also found out about a month before I had my 2nd that my 1st had the cord wrapped around her neck. With my 2nd my water broke at 7:30 am and we were at the hospital by 8 am and my labor from start to finish was 2 hrs long. I was ready to push before they were even ready for him to come it was a good thing he decided to come the morning of Mar 19th cause my doctor was to be in edmonton for a conference all weekend. I didn't even feel the contractions once I started pushing all I felt was the need to push and since I had no drugs or gas at all I felt everything even the burning sensation as he stretched me and as my son came out. My husband says it was like watching a baseball game that he shot right out. I had a freezing shot with my daughter so didn't feel the her come out like I did with my son and he was normal labor while she was back labor and I have chronic back pain normally so was able to ease the back labor pain with ice packs. I never tore the 2nd time so if you tear once it probably wont happen again. Also I had to have antibiotics through and IV the first time and it took 3 nurses and 5 tries to get the IV in me which is weird cause I weigh normaly around 105lbs and my viens are visible but weren't cooperating then so had a lot of bruises on my hands & arms from the IV after. My daughter was 7lbs 8oz and was born on her due date which was May 31st, 2008 and my son was 7lbs 7oz and was 4 days early he was born on March 19th, 2010 which is the day before my birthday. My husband figures if we have anymore kids and my labors keep getting cut in half I wont make it to the hospital in time with the next one.

Fiona - posted on 05/13/2010

Hi, well my labour was hell on earth. I was in latent phase for about 1 week then my waters broke on my bed lol. It was like a tsunami! I went into hospital and I was in labour for 3 days. I was given 3 epidurals + top ups each time, gas & air, tens machine (in latent phase), lanocaine or something like that, and a epidural/spinal tap combi. Nothing seemed to help but after that combination procedure I got about 2 hrs sleep in 3 days of pain. I had nothing to eat or drink. I was absolutely exhausted and pleading the doctors for a c-section. But I was refused one because apparently I was too fat - bearing in mind I'm a size 18. I know that I'm fat but I've seen bigger ladies have c-sections! I was told that because I had a spinal I might require an assisted delivery. But because nothing worked on me it was a natural delivery. I pushed in between contractions which I know i shouldn't have but I wanted him out lol (I'm paying the price for it now though!) He got his shoulders stuck, umbilical cord trapped around his neck twice. He was grey when he came out and didn't scream. I was then stitched up, inside and out. I was told by the midwives that it was the worst labour that they had ever seen. I had back problems previously so imagine the state my back was in, when they'd finished. However, I would go through all that again to have my miracle baby boy (I have PCOS and was told I'd need IVF.Within a week of knowing my partner I caught pregnant lol).

Jessica - posted on 05/07/2010

Mine was great we have birthing suites where we go you never leave the room you check in to we labor deliver and recover till you go home in the same room nurses were great as always we have 4 little ones now as far as tearing I did with he other but not this one and he was the biggest so far @ 8 lbs 9 oz The labor was awful had back labor not fun we do it all natural was in labor from 6 am till 2:19 when he arrived 1 1/2 pushes and he was out I was so excited to see him Joshua Luke Just dont let this experience effect weather or not you have more every birth is different Glad to here the little one is healthy after all thats what matters hope you have a speedy recovery.

Sarah - posted on 04/29/2010

I feel for all of you. It's not nice having a bad experience of something so special. I saw my consultant the other day and told me if i do have any children then they will have to keep a close eye on me as i labour very fast. My 1st was only 6 and half hours long and my 2nd was 50 minutes. The consultant told me she expects women to dilate 1cm a hour, 0.5cm a hour if its ur 1st. But i went from 6cm to a head appearing in 15 minutes with my 2nd. And i went from 6cm to 8cm in 20 minutes with my 1st. So my next 1 could be even quicker and she said that's probably why i tore.

Im just glad my daughter arrived safe and healthy and id do it all again for her. I love my children more than life itself and id do anything for them :)

Amber - posted on 04/22/2010

My first and possibly my last was actually not that bad. I was scheduled to be induced on the 10th, I got cervadil put in the night before, at 10:30 in the morning they checked me and Reese had dropped and my cervix lowered. At 10:40 they hooked me up to the monitor to check her heart rate. I started get contractions, 5 minutes later the mid-wife comes in to tell me the doctor was looking at the heart rate and didn't like what he saw and was talking about a c-section. 2 minutes after that, the Doctor walked in and said we were doing a c-section because Reese's heart rate was going up and down with my contractions. Everything happened so fast, within 5 minutes I was preped and being wheeled into the OR. 10 minutes after that Reese was out!

It was a fast, very fast delivery and even though it wasn't all that painful, I'm not sure I wanna do it again!

Lorna - posted on 04/22/2010

hello, like you i had a great first time labour and birth! this time wasnt too bad, my first son was born in hospital and 4 and half hours of labour and no pain relief! my second son who was born nearly 7 weeks ago was born at home! we thought we best have a home birth coz my first was so quick. i had pains during the night nothing regular! but it turned out my labour was only 2 and half hrs with no pain relief, but i did think it was more painful second time around for some reason!! i had a second degree tear with my first and that was very painful!! x

Tracy - posted on 04/22/2010

my last labour was the same as the 4 before none lasted longer than 5 hours and wher all natural 1st child weight 5lb 15oz last child weight 10 lb 4 oz all went well with my labour until she decided to get her shoulders stuck i ended up yelling at midwife to pull her out as was worried that something would go wrong but she s happy and healthy so i cant complain but after 5 labours i am hoping NOT to do it again

Dawna - posted on 04/18/2010

Mine was also a bit scary. I was induced because of pre-eclampsia. After 36-38hours of no drugs I finally gave in because of the pain. I ended up with a c-section because I did not progress from 1.5cm. During the section, I got too much epidural and was paralyzed from the neck down. My oxygen and blood pressure dropped like a stone. I remember them tapping on my head telling me to breath... puking everywhere... it was great. (Sarcasm) My recover was okay. I got to "hold" mybaby about an hour later. The nurses pretty much put her up on my chest and help her latch on and put my hand up to her to hold an airspace. (She was face planted into my breast since I couldn't hold her.) However, she is great and I am better. I am grateful to have her. I will do it again.... :-)

Stephanie - posted on 04/17/2010

My labour and dleivery was way better than what I thought it would be. I had 16 hours of induced labout, ad when they finally transferred me to labour and delivery, I pushed for 12 minutes and it was over. i can't wait to do it again although, the next experience will probably be awful because this one was so easy

TeBeth - posted on 04/16/2010

Try 26 hours of natural labor and not getting past a 7 and ending up with a c-section wo an epidural. That was my labor experience. Screaming in pain and squirming on the prep table till they tied me down in the crusifix positoin and put me to sleep. After that experience i never want another child. Its not worth having to go through that again. Ive got one beautiful baby girl now and thats enough.

Heather - posted on 04/16/2010

Very long, 39 hours in total. Spent 13 hours at home taking baths and paracetamol then went to hospital spent most of it in birthing pool.
At 36 hours they broke my waters, baby released meconium so I couldn't deliver in the pool so was taken to delivery suite and had monitors on for a fetal heart trace and my bp and pulse monitored constantly-both were sky high! , was put on a drip as I was dehydrated and was induced at that point too as my body was taking so long to dilate-1cm in 7 hours was not fun!! Beautiful daughter delivered in 8 mins though so clouds and silver linings etc!!
Was very hard going and very painful as she was back to back but was all so worth it and wouldn't hesitate doing it again

Sheila - posted on 04/16/2010

My first delivery was relatively easy. I woke up at 4 am with contractions, went to the hospital at 8 am, they broke my water at 10, got my epidural at 11 and my daughter was born at 4:12 pm (45 minutes of pushing). The epidural worked beautifully and I didn't feel a thing. :) My second (son), born on March 5, was via c section so I didn't have to go through labor. Honestly, though, I would take labor over the c section any day! My daughter's birth was a much better experience than my son's, especially the recovery part. I am so sorry that so many of you have had horrible experiences, but at least everyone has healthy babies. :)

Caitlin - posted on 04/15/2010

My labor was as good as I could imagine. I got a healthy baby without any complications! 17hours from first contraction to my baby's arrival. I had an all natural (no drugs) water birth. It was more painful than I could ever imagine, but once I got the hang of breathing and concentrating on keeping calm and collected, it made it a lot easier. When I first went to the hospital, my contractions were 3 minutes apart, but I wasn't dilating. So, this (jerk) nurse just thought I was being a wimp and I wasn't "really" in labor so she sent me home. She gave me some kind of medicine that was supposed to help me sleep (HA!). I had FULL ON contractions ALLLLL night long, until they got really bad. And I went to wake my mom up (I was staying at my mom's house) and she just had me lay in bed with her to try and calm me down and my water broke ( in her bed! she will never let me live it down). I labored at home for a few more hours and when I was "comfortable" enough to get in the car, went to the hospital. Labored for 2 more hours and had my beautiful baby girl :D

Leah - posted on 04/15/2010

I had my first baby on 12th March. I was due 3rd March so was very ready to have him. The plan was to be induced on 16th March if he hadnt come by then. At 2am on 12th March I woke up with my waters breaking in bed. I woke up my partner and we rang the hospital. They said it did sound like my waters had broken and to come in.

When we got in they put the CTG machine on to monitor babies heartrate and my contractions. I wasnt in labour but had also had my show when we got to the hospital so I knew it was all happening. After about 3 hours on the machine, they got a doctor to do an internal exam. (I found out afterwards she was a VERY junior doctor). She said my waters hadnt broken and she could still see the sack and that it mustve been a hind water leak. They sent us home... I was dissapointed to say the least!

We had an appointment already booked for 12noon on the 12th for a fluid scan & CTG. We went back to the hospital at noon and they didnt bother with the CTG as we had already been on it earlier in the morning. When they did the fluid scan, they were a bit shocked as there was no fluid. I told them I thought my waters had broken but the doctor said they hadnt and sent us home. They got a senior ultrasound person in to look at it, they finally found 1 pocket of 1cm fluid. I was rushed to the birth unit and they did another exam. This time I had a senior doctor and she instantly told me that my waters had broken and that the baby had pooped inside me too.

They started me on a drip to induce the labour, but with each contraction babies heartrate dropped to 40-60 beats. It was so scary and they almost immediatly stopped the drip. They decided the best thing was an emergency c-section. Within no time I was rushed to theatre and it was all happening. I was very scared as we werent expecting a c-section, but I knew it was the best thing to get him out safely & quickly.

Im so happy to say he arrived all healthy & the c-section went well. I was so angry at being sent home and so glad that I had the ultrasound booked for that day. If I didnt have that appointment booked, the doctors said he couldve died as he was in fetal distress and had no fluid. I am so so so thankful he arrived safely!

Jennel - posted on 04/13/2010

I have been lucky i was induced with my first and it all went realy well just took a while to get labour going but once it was going it was three hours i had the cervial gel, got contractions small ones for 24 hours then it stopped and they decided they were to buisy to deal with me so i had to wait over night then the next day they were still to buisy so i was going to have to wait longer but my midwife said no and came up broke my waters hooked me up to oxitocin and it was a couple hours befor contractions came back once they did it was all on very intence and three hours later she was here after 15 min pushing no time for any pain meds i tore quit bad it took longer to stich then to push her out. Second time i had him on my own on his due date at the birth center i wanted and it was supper fast 2 1/2 hours start to finish very full on but pushed out in 2 min and only a small tear that did not need any stiches and he was 1 1/2 lbs bigger. i had great labours that i will not complain about but i have to say i really perfered the second that i did on my own i would not chooes to be induced if i went for a third, but i have high blood pressure in pregnancys so they dont let me go over my dates i just scraped in this time i was booked in the next day for an induction.

Morgan - posted on 04/13/2010

Well I had my first baby just 4 weeks ago. She was due on March 5th and I was scheduled to go in for inducement on the 15th because I had gone over my due date. When I arrived at the hospital at 7:30pm on the 15th I was apparently already in labor and I had no clue. I just know that I was having minor minor cramping earlier that day...I had no clue that was the beginning of my contractions. When I got to the hospital I was 2cm dilated and 70% effaced and they didn't end up having to induce me. I seemed to be handling my contractions fine until I got to about 6cm and they broke my water for me. I started shaking so bad (basically convulsing) during my contractions which happens to a lot of women. So I decided I wanted an epidural; the epidural was given to me and for about 30min my contractions did not hurt at all. Then all of a sudden all of my feeling came back except for in my left leg. They tried administering more medicine through my epidural a half dozen times and even tried to reposition the epidural, but no matter what they did I could feel everything and I could move my legs and walk on my own. When it was time to push I asked if they were going to try to give me anymore medicine through my epidural and they told me no...so I started pushing. To be honest, pushing during a contraction feels much better than doing nothing at all during a contraction. I pushed for less than 2hrs I believe and she finally emerged; on that last push, however, I had almost half passed out because I was so exhausted and out of it...it's a miracle she came out when she did. Turns out she was 9.5 lbs and her head was huge (13in circumference)...now I'm a really petite person (100lbs before pregnancy) and my doctors were amazed...as was I haha. Somehow I only had a first degree tear which I didn't even feel when it happened. Come to find out afterward, there was about 15 nurses and doctors in my room because I had so much bleeding and was passing out and waking up and passing out again after giving birth (thank God, I did not have to have a transfusion, though). When I think about it though, I wish I hadn't gotten an epidural at all...seeing as though I felt the whole thing, I wish the drugs didn't have such an effect on me to make me loopy and out of it because I believe I wouldn't have been passing out afterward. Giving birth was not necessarily painful, I didn't even realize what was going on down there because I was so focused on just getting her out and holding her...she is absolutely amazing...and chunky!! :o)

Becky - posted on 04/12/2010

My experience was hard but not terrible i guess. I was 4 days overdue and doc decided to induce. I had aready lost my mucus plug and was having contractions far apart. I went to hospital on March 29 at night and started cervadil. That night at 6pm i started getting REALLY bad back labor. Contractions were so painful. I labored till about 10 am the next day. i was dilated about 5 cm. They started my epidural (such a relief!!!) and then broke my water. I was at a 10 and 100% effaced by 5:10pm that evening. I pushed for 2 hours. The first hour, it all went quickly the baby dropped from 0 station to -2 station in a matter of about 30 minutes. I pushed and he was coming so quickly. They got all the doctors and pediatricians in there because they were all like...he's coming out any second..they were thinking he was going to crown. but then his head got stuck in my pelvis. my doctor gave me the choice of pushing a while longer, trying forceps, or c-section after i pushed for another hour. I chose forceps. They hurt SO BAD and were scary. he used them as i had contractions and pushed but nothing ahppened, baby's heartbeat was dropping and i was rushed in for an emergency c-section. he was out in 5 minutes...and at 6:29 pm my baby boy, Micah, was born. my epidural wasn't very strong when they started cutting, i was in so much pain during the surgery and i didnt get to really meet him till about 2 hours later because he was rushed to the nursery due to fluid in his lungs.

the nurses were amazing though . i was in hospital for 6 days.... i like to say..i delivered in three ways for this one baby... vaginally, with forceps, and c-section lol.

im glad he's here now :)

Rebecca - posted on 04/12/2010

My husband and I tried for 11 years to get pregnant. My experience was so bad that we debated on even trying for a second child. The answer we came up with was a big NO. I kept trying to tell my Dr something wasnt right but was ignored...ended up running to the hospital 11 days early because I didnt feel right and my son quit moving. I was induced, hooked to several IVs, (several) throwing up all night, finally started contracting the next night, while in labor I only had my sister and husband in the room (apparently my Dr was juggling 6 other moms to be) He finally made it in just as the head came out, was stuck in the hospital for 5 days (and not on a bed but the delivery table...sooo not comfortable!) I was expected to stay a lot longer (I refused) As we're walking out the door I was finally told what happened. Preeclampsia and High Blood Pressure During Pregnancy and the babys heart beat was way too fast. I was on all the IVs to stop the seizures. I couldnt take care of my baby for over two weeks loosing all that time to bond. He had jaundice and what we found out a few weeks after he was born a broken collar bone. Yeah...thats a big No!

Victoria - posted on 04/12/2010

Im so sorry to hear that you all had bad experiences :(...This was my first and my labour wasnt as bad as it could have been... I woke up at about 3:30am on 03/16 with cramps and i really had to pee. So I went to the bathroom and noticed I was bleeding a bit. Having been into the hospital about 3weeks before this due to some bleeding and being sent home right after I decided to take a warm shower and wait to see what happened. After my shower I went back to bed and slept until about 5:30am when I woke up with cramps and I could feel my contractions getting worse so I woke my mom and my boyfriend and said it was time to go! We got to the hospital, they checked me out and I was 2cm dialated so they called my OB... when he got there I thought he was just double checking to see how I was progressing but to my surprise he was breaking my water and that hurt like hell!!! Then the contractions came worse than ever! I thought I was being ripped in 2!! I was so lucky my mom was there because she asked the nurses if I could have something for the pain and I got some morphine... although that did NOTHING for the contractions it helped me ALOT when I got my epidural less than an hour later!! Since my mom and my boyfriend werent allowed in the room as I was getting it my nurse was with me the whole time and REALLY helped out alot! Some time passed and they checked me again and I was 5cm my nurse told me that if I later felt the need to push to try and bear through it as long as possible but tell her if I cant take it. So I did. The time ticked by and they were going to check my progress when my nurse said that she barely had her finger placed before she felt the babies head and we did a test push and my doctor was called 5 minutes later! lol when the doctor arrived I started pushing and 20 minutes later at 3:58pm my adorable son came!! The unfortunate thing tho when they delivered him they never streched me or anything and I ended up tearing pretty good, also I had a Dr in training help deliver him and stitch me up and he messed up so my OB had to go back and fix them :(... If I could change anything about it I wish that they would have asked me if I wanted my water broken, as well as I wish they asked me if I wanted the drug that speed up delivery as they gave it to me without asking. It would have also been great if they had of helped ease him out a little more instead of just yanking him out as its now 4 weeks later and I am still sore... however I am so thankful for the new addition to our family and couldnt be happier!!

Cleo - posted on 04/12/2010

Both of my experiences were good but different. My first labor took a little over 10 hours whereas this time around only took about4 1/2 to 5 hours, and the epidural was somewhat painful but manageable when they first put it in whereas when they put it in this time around it was extremely painful. I'm hoping I'm blessed to have another easy labor with my third whenever we start working on having our third which won't be for YEARS to come lol.

Emma - posted on 04/12/2010

1st time round was awful for me, I had to be induce due to pre-eclampsia and HELLP syndrome and ended up fainting just after giving birth as my BP went from through the roof to through the floor, I lost 2litres of blood so had to have a blood transfusion and I was hooked up to so many machines. I was very scared but other than that it was perfect, I had a little cut and my baby although 5wks early was healthy other than a little jaundice, I was out after 2 weeks. However, my 2nd experience was alot better, I got induced at 39wks due to diabetes that was at 10.45 and by 2 I was experienceing contractions, by 5pm I was in established labour and 6cms dilated so was taken down to the delivery suite and by 7.57pm I had had my 2nd little girl and everything was perfect. 2nd time round it was alot more painful pushing out but my 2nd was 8lb1 compared to a tiny 5'11. Both I had just gas and air and pethadiene injection for the pain

Whitney - posted on 04/10/2010

I had a similar experience with my first. I was sent to the hospital, gave birth only 4 1/2 hours later and had a 3rd degree tear. I did get an epidural at 6 cm but then ended up pushing only 1 1/2 hours later. I didn't feel anything at that time and didn't even know when to push. I'm sorry that you had to go through it along and have so much pain. I was at the hospital by myself for the first couple hours and then my family didn't even make it because the labor was so fast. I just had my other child on March 1st and I got an epidural, which still allowed me to feel some pain, and was able to push the baby out no problem. I didn't even get any tear. I tell you this to say that I don't think getting a tear one time would result in you having the same tear or any another time for sure. Both my pregnancies I had issues and am not wanting to be pregnant again because of that, so I understand not wanting to go through something again; however, I would not have these beautiful children and am thankful for them.