Do pushing phases get shorter with each baby? - Page 2

[mamaw/two]

Baby #1 - 2hrs 15mins
Baby #2 - 15mins
Baby #3 - 2 pushes, 2 contractions
Baby #4 - 2 pushes, 1 contraction

I completely agree with other pp's who mentioned good chiro care, massages, and exercise making a huge difference.

[Juvysen]

It did for me - 2 hrs the first time, 7 minutes (*NOT* pushing) the second time, 6 minutes (pushing out a much bigger babe) the 3rd time.

[dmpmercury]

I pushed for 2 hours with my first in an epidural hospital birth. My second was a natural hospital birth. He flew out with no control wiith just 1 real push. I was in a semi sitting position for that birth. My third birth was an accidental unassisted homebirth where I also had no control over the pushing. She was born with a nuchal hand but it still was only like 2 real pushes that I didn't even really think about. I was standing up.

[etsdtm99]

#1 - epidural, huge episiotomy, 50 mins
#2 - epidural, 2 hours
#3 - homebirth, hands & knees 1.5 hours ..

my midwife told me i would never be one of those women who gets a baby out in just a few pushes.. she told me it will always be like this for me.. my babies have big heads

[AuroraPolaris]

First baby: Don`t remember, but I don`t think it was for a long time. Maybe 30 minutes?
Second baby; midwife broke my water, I immediately started to push, and it took about 15 minutes.
Third/fourth baby, Baby A arrived 5 minutes after midwife broke my water. I think it just was a few pushes. Baby B waited for contractions to pick up, and I pushed just a few minutes, He was born 12 minutes after baby A.

Would love for the next and last birth to be quick and easy.
Seems like my babies usually kind of sail out with the water.

[MyFullHouse]

Originally Posted by etsdtm99

my midwife told me i would never be one of those women who gets a baby out in just a few pushes.. she told me it will always be like this for me.. my babies have big heads

I'm the opposite. I've delivered one with an epidural, one with Stadol, one 100% natural, and one in a race against a c-section. None of my pushing stages have gone beyond 10 minutes, all with irresistible urges, often fighting against a cervical lip. And one with a broken clavicle.

While it's always a blessing at the time, it certainly does lend itself to some jokes among the people who know my history!

Of course, I'm sure I just jinxed myself.

[~Katie~]

DS was an hour of fighting the urge to push with little pushes because of a cervical lip, and another hour of "real" directed pushing after AROM. A lot of that had to do with me refusing to get into positions that hurt but would have done the job in helping his head apply pressure to my cervix. I pushed in the tub while leaning back on my hands with my belly up in the air. He also had a hand by his face.

DD was born in under 5 minutes with fetal ejection reflex, I pushed in a kneeling position with my arms propped up against the edge of the tub. I concentrated on squatting and getting into positions that hurt but helped me dilate effectively. That seemed to do the trick for me.

[Rejoicing]

Yes, and no... EVERY birth and every woman is different, but they do tend to work out that way.
mine were #1 20 min, #2 one push, #3 7 min, breech

[JudiAU]

Yes, for me. But I saw a chiro/acupunturist to help with positioning and descent.

[MamaFern]

in my experience yes, though my actual labours did nt go this way.

my first i pushed for probably 20 minutes, my second for about 5 contractions ( her head was born in the pool but she had sticky shoulders and i had to get out onto hands & knees. it took a bit of fussing to get her out, but probably not much more than 2 minutes)
my third i didn't even push...i felt pushy, broke her waters (we were having a water birth) and a few contractions later she was out..no pushing involved. she moved with each contraction down and down and then pop, out she came.. it was amazing!
Im REALLY hoping for another birth like that this time!

[buckeye_mama]

1st baby: 2 1/2 hours pushing, posterior, epi, never felt the urge to push

2nd baby: *maybe* 5 mins, if that...anterior, they had me breathe through a few contractions while waiting for the doctor to get there (even though my body was involuntarily pushing)...would have been a LOT quicker if I hadn't had to "hold back"

[JFTB1177]

Thanks so much, ladies! Btw I did have tons of chiro work done last PG and still pushed for 6 hours. I really really think this baby is posterior once again, I am sure of it now! I feel elbows and knees, etc poking out all over my belly. I am hoping and praying for a much shorter pushing phase! Can fatigue cause a longer pushing phase? I was SOOO exhausted by the last few hours of pushing last time, to the point where my eyes were almost rolling back (my labor was almost 40 hours long and horribly painful).

[Juvysen]

Originally Posted by JFTB1177 

Thanks so much, ladies! Btw I did have tons of chiro work done last PG and still pushed for 6 hours. I really really think this baby is posterior once again, I am sure of it now! I feel elbows and knees, etc poking out all over my belly. I am hoping and praying for a much shorter pushing phase! Can fatigue cause a longer pushing phase? I was SOOO exhausted by the last few hours of pushing last time, to the point where my eyes were almost rolling back (my labor was almost 40 hours long and horribly painful).

Yes, fatigue would definitely factor in.  I assume you know about spinningbabies.com?  I'd do my best to get that babe to turn!  That said, my two later children were posterior up until labor and then it was fine (my first turned DURING labor)... so it's definitely possible that it won't be as bad this time.  My midwife had said normal is "half the time for the first stage of labor and half the time for the second stage of labor" but it didn't hold true for me - it was more like a tenth of the time or something for the second stage. 

[jecombs]

Both my kids were born after about 2.5 hrs of pushing.  My DD was OP throughout labor and pushing; she came out sunny side up.  My DS, OTOH, was in OA position until it came time to push.  He then flipped to OP.

My DD was a slow, but steady, mover down the birth canal.  My DS would. not. move.  I pushed for hours in different positions and didn't move him more than an inch.  My nurse finally asked if I wanted a squatting bar and I agreed.  He was born 20 min later.    Getting in the right position was incredibly important.  If I ever have another baby, I will try squatting before I try any other position.

[Turquesa]

I don't think I can contribute much more here, but....

DD1: 4 hellish hours of pushing.

DS: 30 minutes of pushing, half of which were spent screaming "I can't take this for four hours!!" 

[HeatherB]

Originally Posted by HeatherB 

I didn't really get to push with my first because the doctor's had already called "time up." I was literally being prepped for a c/s when the urge finally came and I got in only one good push - in the OR on the table.

Second baby, first HBAC, I spent a long while trying NOT to push because of a cervical lip. Once that was gone, it was one - maybe two - contractions and he was out. I was in shock that it was so fast! He was born with his hand next to his face which slowed down the entire labor and caused some of the issues in pushing - though it was obviously quick when we got down to it.

With my 3rd, I ended up with a super fast and intense transition and an amazing experience with the fetal ejection reflex. My body pushed him out with no help from me. The hardest part was figuring out how to breathe and let it do that without worrying about the fact that I'd been told not to push because I was only 6cm a few minutes before! I was most definitely fully dilated and he came out quite quickly - just 17m after that check at 6cm when my water broke (and that was not all pushing; in fact, a good chunk of that was transition).

I do absolutely think that after a vaginal birth you are likely to have a quicker pushing stage with subsequent children. Position is a HUGE factor, though, so do focus on ensuring baby is in an optimal position. I know that was a major issue for me with my first birth, and in my 2nd and 3rd I had pretty continuous chiropractic care, massage, etc. Doing the same this time in hopes of a smoother birth.

My fourth baby was born 3 days ago and, yes, my pushing stage was shorter than even with #3!  :bigeyes  With #3 I went from water breaking (and assessed to be at 6cm) to birth in 17 minutes.  With my DD, I was checked to be at 5cm with bulging bag, then got in the pool, water broke, and I was holding her 8 minutes later.  And let me just say I am glad it was not a moment more - yikes! :o

[Sunflower223]

My first and smallest baby required 3.5 hours of pushing.  I kept watching her little head bulge in the mirror and then go back for about an hour, I finally snapped at the nurse and told her to get the mirror out of my face, so I missed seeing the baby finally arrive. I was completely exhausted and the first thing my sweet baby did was pass meconium all over me ;). 

Second baby was about a pound larger than first, came out in one push. OB said push, I did and the whole baby just slid right out like it was nothing. I couldn't believe how much faster it was.

Third baby, yet another pound bigger came out in two or three pushes.  I am pretty sure he was posterior but it was a hospital birth and kind of a blur, doctor didn't mention one way or the other what was going on, but I had a lot of back labor for a few weeks previous.  Even with all that and the extra few pushes, it was under 20 minutes.

So in my experience, it was much easier after the first birth.  Nothing compared to that first birth.  Hopefully this time things will go faster for you =)

[seaheroine]

For me, yes.  #1 was OP and asynclitic, just over two hours of pushing.  #2 was out in 4 pushes (like a freight train!), less than 10 minutes -- like pp, she had no molding.  She literally fell out (it felt like it) on the birth stool.  Good luck!

[greenmama66]

1st twin- came out posterior- I pushed for 20 minutes- was squatting. Second twin- I lay back and took a nap for almost an hour. Midwife then said I needed to get baby B out. She came out after 10 minutes of pushing.

3rd baby- he literally flew out with no effort- that was such an odd feeling. I was squatting in my tub.

4th baby- again squatting in my tub- 3 minutes of pushing- it seemed like a long time to me compared to previous birth.

5th baby- semi sit/squat in my tub- head was out in 1 contraction and then I pushed body out. Not sure how long but it was shorter compared to 4th baby.

All my labors have been posterior and all except first baby turned.