How did your labors compare to your mom's?

[rhiOrion]

I'm sure this has been asked before- but I'll ask it again

How did your mom's labors compare to yours?

I ask because my mom had two similar labors- both started with her water breaking, both were 5 hours long, and we both came early (1 day for me, 2 weeks for my sister).

Turns out that between my mom and her sisters my mom had the longest labor (well, maybe, I know that one aunt had my cousin two hours after she got to the hospital- but I don't know how long she was ACTUALLY in labor before that).

So... if you know about your mom's labors, how do they compare?

[Alyantavid]

They were pretty similar. With my older brother, her labor was around 6 hours. With me, she was at the hospital mintues before I was born (btw, my dad was born in the car on the way to the hospital).

My labors were fairly short, 6 hours both.

[organicpapayamama]

well i dont know if ill be much help since I am adopted. But I was told that my biological mom was only in labor with me for about 5 hours. I dont have any more details than that. My labor with DS was 22 1/2 hours so it was nothing like hers.

[GoldmanBaby09]

I've only had one baby and my mom had 5 so there isn't a huge sample size on my end, but I would say my experience was similar. My mom had all 5 of us a home, and I had a homebirth as well, so I think that has a lot to do with it. My labor was pretty short (8 hours start to finish) and my mom's were similiar, if not shorter for that latter kids. I was her longest and her first, but I was OP and my baby was better positioned so that probably accounts for some difference.

[LiLStar]

mom had 5 c/s and only labored with one. she was induced at 43 weeks i think, labored a long time, I suspect my brother was malpositioned. I had spontaneous labor a couple days before 39 weeks, but a long labor with a malpositioned baby and c/s. Then I had a 39w4d hbac with an average lengthed labor.

What surprised me most is the differences we had in gestational length!

[Sweetiemommy]

Different, my mom was in labor for much of the evening and didn't realize it, her water broke and she tried to get in the shower, but her mother in law dragged her to the hospital. They put her in a room without checking her and she told the nurse that she thought the baby was coming, they condesendingly checked under the gown and shrieked (I'm guessing I was about to be born) for some reason they knocked her out and used forceps?!? Who knows why, but it was 1980, not like it was the fifties or anything. Anyway, my first labor was looong and painful and there was no way I could have not known I was in labor. Of course, I was a 6 lb baby and my babies were 9 and 10 lbs, so that might have something to do with it

[journeymom]

Originally Posted by Sweetiemommy

Different, my mom was in labor for much of the evening and didn't realize it, her water broke and she tried to get in the shower, but her mother in law dragged her to the hospital. They put her in a room without checking her and she told the nurse that she thought the baby was coming, they condesendingly checked under the gown and shrieked (I'm guessing I was about to be born) for some reason they knocked her out and used forceps?!? Who knows why, but it was 1980, not like it was the fifties or anything. Anyway, my first labor was looong and painful and there was no way I could have not known I was in labor. Of course, I was a 6 lb baby and my babies were 9 and 10 lbs, so that might have something to do with it

Where was this? My sister's first child was born in 1980. The doctor was some octogenarian who still required his patients to be shaved. So the nurse came in and hurriedly shaved my poor sister, dry, no shaving cream or hot compress.

Then my sister labored pretty much on her own until the doc came in and caught the baby. This was in mid-Texas, so I don't know if that makes any difference.

I think my labors were nothing like my moms. She had all four of us between 1955 and 1968. She was knocked out and they used forceps each time.

[Bena]

same as mom, same as grandmother, same as aunts (mom's sisters)

I really should've given more thought to the stories they told about fast births! I started pushing in the hospital parking lot, just like my mom!

[rhiOrion]

Originally Posted by Bena

same as mom, same as grandmother, same as aunts (mom's sisters)

I really should've given more thought to the stories they told about fast births! I started pushing in the hospital parking lot, just like my mom!

Hahahah, this is my fear! Everyone talks about really long labors for first time moms, but my family history is for FAST labors.

So I don't want to be sitting home thinking I have hours and hours if I don't. But I also don't want to assume I'll go fast and end up having a two day labor!

[Pepper44]

My mom's labor with me was 40+ hours long and apparently I was posterior and she pushed until her face bruised. I was a week or two late.

My sister was also late and my mom was induced with pitocin. The labor was only 3 hours long including pushing.

My DD was born at the end of 38 weeks, so not late. My labor was about 6 hours long. The only similarity was that my DD was also posterior!

[dannic]

So far, no similarities. My mom had 8, her first (me) was short, to term. Her next was still born and CS. The next two were premature CS's and then she vbac'd (go mom!) for the next three and the last was uber premature placenta previa baby.

I go right to date, big babies (hers were smallish), and have intense but easy labors. After, tho, I tend to bleed a tad more than I should and have a slow recovery.

[Belle]

nak
different.
With me in 1976, Mom was induced at 41 weeks because she lost her mucous plug and she lived 2 hours away from the hospital. She labored for 36 hours and I was pulled out with forceps. For my brother in 1981, she had a relatively easy 18 hour labor right around her EDD. Most of it was spent at home.

My girls were both spontaneous labors at 38+4 and 38+3. 11 and 4 hours. The first one would have been faster but they made me get out of the water in the hospital at 9cm and pestered me enough that my labor stalled.

[GreenMamma]

I've been told that you are more likely to labor like your sister than you are your mother.

[34me]

My mom had a 6 hour labor for a 5 something pound baby and a 4 hour labor with a 6 something pound baby. Both around our due dates.
My first was born on her due date after a 13 hour labor at 8 pounds even and posterior. Ds#1 was induced at 42+1. he was in distress and wound up an emergency c-section at 9lbs 3 oz. Ds#2 was 41+2 and 10lbs.
FWIW my sister had two six pounders right around her due date. The were both butt down in a pike position due to a septum and c-section.

[MJB]

My mom's water broke, then she labored naturally for 27 hours only to make it to 3cm. I was a c-section. My sister was a repeat c-section after labor began.
I had 6.5 and 8 hour long labors (*starting* at 3 or more cm) with a couple pushes and no problems.
My mom had gestational diabetes, though, and I was 10 lbs. She's much smaller than me and my biggest was only 9 lbs. Also she was stuck on her back the whole labor which surely didn't help.

[loveneverfails]

My births are a lot faster and less painful than my mother's births were. My mom gave birth 7 times, with 5 inductions in there. I'm on birth number 5 this time, and my births have all been easier but with more bleeding.

[zoebird]

i answered other because i've only had one birth.

my mother's story is that she went into light prelabor on july 9 or so, but ocntinued on thinking it was probably gas and it didn't bother her. on july 10, she realized she was in labor and mostly stayed home.

then, when she had about 12 or 14 hrs to go, they went to the hospital where she decided at some point to have morphine so that she could rest or sleep. and then later she woke up, and they decided to break the bag of waters, and about 20 minutes after that, i came out. my mom considers her labor to be exactly 24 hrs.

now, my birth is similar in some ways. first, i didn't have any prelabor. so much so that i thought i might go days or even a week before i would birth. it just didn't feel like it was coming. LOL

but, when thursday came, i'd gotten up early, worked all day, run a ton of errands and was tired. then, i stayed up late to hear obama's acceptance speech for the nomination. i then went to bed around 11:30, and at 12:30, i just felt uncomfortable and couldn't recline anymore.

i was feeling the lightest contractions. they did truly feel like little hugs, and the baby wasn't moving much--he was pretty quiet but would wiggle now and again. a few hours later, i'm lunging and wiggling and having many orgasms as the contractions kept going. a few hours later, i'm leaning on my favorite chair in deep meditation feeling the undulations of the contracts and the wiggles of the baby in between. did that for probably most of the labor.

around 10:30 pm on friday, i just felt tired. i wanted to go to bed. i knew labor was continuing and it was drawing my focus. i got whiney about it. i didn't want to continue at that time. i wanted to either birth or go to bed. LOL

turns out i was going to birth. shortly after that whiney conversation with DH, i decided to take a bath to see if i could relax even more. i was deeply relaxed from the whole day of meditation, but i jsut felt like i needed to go deeper into the fiber of it. baths often help me.

so, i hop in the bath and around 10:45, i'm out again because my body wanted to do this crazy dance thing.

i'm on land and on the bed and screaming my head off while doing these wild back bends and hands and knees and completely not-in-my-conscious-control pushing. it was just happening. and the screaming was just happening. it was ecstatic, blissful beyond belief.

at 12:10 or so, there was a gush of th waters, and then at 12:30, Hawk was out.

I had a 24 hr labor and completely pleasurable birth experience. my son came out 20 minutes after the bag of waters broke, just like i did with my mom.

so, that's our birth story.

[elanorh]

My family (maternal) has a very strong history of relatively fast labors (maybe quite fast).

Mom had seven children:
1 = 10 hours (near due date)
2 = 1.5 hours (2 weeks 'late,' but given my size (6 lb 7 oz) I think they'd miscalculated)
3 = 3 hours
4 = 1 hour (2 1/2 weeks early)
5 = 2.5 hours (several days over)
6 = 8 hours (Mom was quite put out)
7 = 8 hours (2 months premature, I suspect caused by some significant stress she'd had that year - surgeries on children, hospitalization of Dad, finances, marital stuff, etc.)

By and large, her babies were born within a week of their due dates (on either side).

My understanding is that my maternal grandmother's labors were all quick (quick enough that she never had to do Twilight Sleep) - her babes were around their due dates, except for one who was 2 months early.

My aunt had five children; all of them were short labors - 6 hours was her longest (first) and the rest were within 2 hours. I think the OB missed three of them! Her only daughter who's given birth gave birth within two hours of knowing she was in labor (an at-home unplanned UC).

My 3 sisters who've had babies have all given birth quickly -- I think the longest labor was my sister whose water broke, and she was induced afterwards - between water breaking and birth, it was 8 hours. One sister actually had the hospital give her a painkiller that would slow her labor, so that her husband would get there in time (she's a nurse so knew which one to ask for).

My first labor was posterior and was about 7 hours. My second labor was less that two hours. First was 10 days early, second was ON her due date.

Other than my sister who had the painkiller to lengthen her labor so her dh could get there in time, we have all had NCBs. I think whether mom (or daughter) had interventions would certainly impact length of labor.

[lach]

I think we both had fairly traumatic labors, so I said the same. But now I'm thinking about it and reading the comments and maybe I should change my answer.

My labor was something of a fiasco from start to finish, and ended with me being pulled out with forceps and having a very low Apgar. I can't remember what the problem was, but it was a teaching hospital and long after they stopped using forceps much so my mother said when it was obvious that I was in dire straights, a nurse ran out to the hall screaming to every student within hearing distance to get into the room so they could see a forceps delivery.

My heart stopped beating during delivery, and it turned out that I have a genetic heart defect that I get from my dad's side of the family. So it was a fiasco too, but my dad's fault

My sister was a very easy delivery. My mom had contractions, the hospital sent her home because my sister was still very active and therefore not about to come out, they pulled into the driveway and my mom said "No, no, I'm pretty sure the baby's coming now" so they drove straight back and she was born about 1/2 an hour later.

[GoestoShow]

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Edited by GoestoShow - 1/11/11 at 10:14am