anyone else "not" transition?

[mizznicole]

I had a fairly dysfunctional labor with DS. He was OP. All my labor was felt in my back.

I never recall experiencing "transition", although I dilated to 10. The MW could see his head while I was pushing. I just couldn't get him out.

So, how did I miss it?

When I was in the pushing stage, ctx were 6 minutes apart, if that explains things...

[lifeguard]

I remember having an internal check & thinking ok - so this should be transition. But honestly it felt just as horrible as labour had up until that point. Once I was fully dilated the intensity of my contractions totally changed though.

[Mhorai]

I also never really felt that I went through transition with my son (who just turned 3). I arrived at the hospital at 5-6 cm, had water broken at about 8 cm after 16 hours of labor, and eventually requested a bit of pitocin to speed things up (I'd been laboring for 2 days). I rather quickly went from 8-10 and began pushing but don't remember the crazy transition feeling of "I can't do this" or "this must be transition" that I remember being told about. Now I'm 37 weeks pregnant and curious how it will go with this little one. I'm hoping for a home birth this time around.

[Friday13th]

I didn't feel what I think other people think of as transition. DH (after an intensive Bradley class) didn't recognize that I was in transition. DS was OP as well and I remember at one point thinking very calmly, "my hands are shaking and I'm queasy, I bet this is transition" and asking my midwife if we could take a break. But it wasn't freak out, I give up, intense transition.

[Evergreen]

I didn't with Dylan. It was also an unusual labor. I was contracting and staying at 2 cm for 29 hours. Then in 10 minutes I went from a stretchy 3 to holding a baby. It happened so fast I didn't even know what was going on. It was a really great birth actually!

With Ava I reversed dilation and got to experience transition twice to make up for it I guess. Yay.

[AnnaNova]

my son was also op, and i had intense back labor. i didnt feel ANY contractions in my abdomen, just this intense lower back pain.
i didnt feel any transition symptoms. when a was at 8cm, my doula and my nurse told me i can start doing little pushes to help bring the baby down, and then they were like, ok, it's time to push!!! i never felt the urge to push either, that feeling that you have to go to the bathroom - nope, never happened. it felt really good to push though and it relieved most of the pain, so that was the only thing that made me work hard on it.

[Sk8ermaiden]

I also did not have any transition, or any signs of it. No symptoms, no increase in intensity. My labor was 100% the same from about 3 cm to 10. Contractions 1 minute or less apart, with a double peak every other one and a few triple peaked thrown in for good measure.

My daughter was deep transverse - I pushed for 9 hours in a million positions, and she never got below -2.

[JamieCatheryn]

I had signs of transition when I was probably somewhere about 4-6cm. Doubting I could do it, doubting I was progressing, intense irregular contractions. I was actually early in active labor. My last few hours of first stage were lovely though, nice steady strong contractions I could handle just fine.

[Sudonk]

I had a period of increased intensity in my first birth, but nothing "transition-like" in my second or third. With my second, when things became more active I chose to use my Hypnobabies skills to let me take a nap to make sure I'd have energy later. Presumably, I went through transition during that 4 hour period of solid sleep, because I had my first cervical exam within a 1/2 hour of waking up and was fully dilated.

With my third, the entire birth was only 3 hours, and things were consistently intense since it was so fast. The first sign I had that anything had changed was when I felt my baby move suddenly past the cervix, and my body started pushing. He was born 4 minutes later, so I guess I'd already gone through transition.

[Lilcrunchie]

With my oldest I had noticeable transition. Lots of rectal pressure, got very hot, a little shaky.

With DD, I showed up to the FSBC 10 cm dilated and totally effaced, membranes still intact. I never had a really noticeable transition with her. Looking back, my discomfort in the car was probably transition, but at the time, it didn't seem like the type of transition I had w/ my oldest. It was more a feeling of wow, these are finally getting kinda intense and I'm not sure I could do hours and hours of this. BUt once I was out of the car, I wasn't even 100% sure I was in full active labor (and I was 10 cm when I got there). Never had a really out of control feeling or anything. Oh, and I did hang out for about an hour or more waiting to feel "pushy" because I had no urge to push at all at 10 cm and full dilation. Glad I just hung out and waited.

With my 3rd, a homebirth, things definitely built in intensity. I did request an icepack when I was getting a bit hot but I was also in the birth pool at that point so it was warm. Felt a little grunty leading up to full dilation (never had a check other than when midwife arrived, but I'm guessing that's what was going on). Never felt like I had a really pronounced transition. Grunty for a bit leading up to the birth (my first clue we were getting close...I could just tell), then 2 big pushes and he was out.

Transition was my least fav part, but it was only really intense with my oldest.

[Inquiringmind]

I'm so glad to see this thread to know I'm not alone!
My son's birth was nothing like I had learned about in class. I was induced due to pre-e. From the time contractions got going, there were only two times the my contractions significantly increased in intensity. The first was right after they broke my water. My contractions didn't really get closer together either, so I was very afraid that I wasn't progressing and was going to end up having a C-section. The nurse in my room even indicated she thought we'd be making a trip to the OR. The second time the contractions started feeling more uncomfortable, the doctor came and checked me, and I was completely dilated. So, I had no idea when I was in transition. I wish there had been someone there telling me that I was making progress. I feel like I have no idea what "normal" childbirth feels like.

[SublimeBirthGirl]

Not everyone has that really intense, "I-can't-do-this" kind of transition. It's normal if you do, and normal if you don't.

[donutmolly]

As above, I tend to think that the term "transition" is more of a medical explanation of what's going on with the cervix than what women experience in their labors. I had a noticeable transition with DD2, where my thighs were shaking. With DD1 and 3, things simply got more intense until I transitioned into feeling like I needed to push.

I think the term is helpful to describe what many women experience, but just like morning sickness, can be experienced by women in various ways... (ie, some women experience the classic 1st tri throw up each morning, some have no hint, some are sick the whole pregnancy, and everything in between, and different for different pregnancies...)

[rhiOrion]

I didn't, really. But I also never go to experience a "normal" contraction. I was induced for Cholestasis, and had a pretty strong pit drip going. After about 6 hours of that I opted for the epidural. I've heard people compare pit contractions to transition contractions, but having never experienced the latter I don't know.

Right before it was time to push I did know that it was time. I really really really needed to poop or fart... I was getting panicked about it. And then suddenly the sensation changed somehow and I said "somebody get the midwife to check me" and I was 10cm with a lip.

But I never had a moment of thinking "I can't do this" after I had the epidural.

[MujerMamaMismo]

Two days before my DS was born, I was 7cm dilated ( I know this because I was about to be risked out of the birth centre and induced so insisted on my first and only VE). No noticeable contrax, no prodromal, no cramps, no nothing. When I finally went into active labour, I was pushing within an hour. Either I missed transition or went straight into in. It was pretty shocking but i expected it given that I was already so dilated. I was vomiting and shaky. I had a crisis of confidence. Maybe that was transition, maybe it was just a reaction to such intense, immediate labour.

Either way, that first hour was way harder than the subsequent 5 hours of pushing.

[LiLStar]

my first baby was a c-section after I dilated to 10 and pushed several hours. She was posterior. The back labor was horrible.

my second baby, who was mercifully anterior, transition with him felt pretty much exactly like active labor felt with my OP baby.
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[octobermoon]

no transition here either. i was induced for symptoms of HELLPS. the MW checked me at one point and told me i was complete and i could start pushing, i was like what? wait? where was my transition, this is supposed to hurt. that's when things got intense.

[nashvillemidwife]

I had an epidural so I didn't experience the increased pain intensity, but there was no change in length and frequency of my contractions. I labored in my sleep, woke up and pushed her out in 9 minutes.