a worry - homebirth and FAST labor...

[luckylady]

With my DD Iwas at 2CM for three house and when my water broke I progressed from 2CM to 10 in 45 minutes. It was extremely painful and fast - there was no time to breathe between contractions because there was no break between them. I was in the hospital and they said they had never seen anyone progress that fast. My sister with her third baby went from contractions every two minutes to fully dialated in less than 1 hour. My other sister also had super fast labors, as did my mom. So this seems to be a family thing.

Well this time around I want to have a homebirth with a midwife but I am VERY scared that I will have such a fast labor that she won't make it here in time to deliver the baby. We are out in the boonies as far as Vegas is concerned. My DH is NOT comfortable with the idea at all and wants to have natural CB in the hospital. I don't WANT to be in the hospital because I want my DD to be there and I just hate hospitals...but at the same time there is no way he can deliver the baby. (don't ask LOL).

Any advice? Anyone else have fast labors?

[starlein26]

i had a very fast labor too...not as fast as yours but non-stop contractions too. my water broke at 4:30 and ds was born at 10:05. i had 2 hours of pushing though, as he was 9lbs 13oz. :nut i'm worried that next time will be even faster since they say the 2nd one usually is. my midwife is 30 minutes away (no traffic) but i'm confident this will hopefully be enough...but i would be worried in your shoes too. the thing is, even with going to the hospital...you could not make it? might as well be home with the midwife eventually showing up. how far is she? and you might not go *that* fast next time?!

[provocativa]

Sometimes it might be faster if the midwife was called as soon as labor started and she raced over- faster than finding the hospital bag, gathering your dd and mate. Also, a few positions- on hands and knees, or others your midwife could suggest- might help slow your labor, as they remove pressure on your cervix. I'm hoping to talk my dh into a homebirth, too. . . .

[Naughty Dingo]

I would just make sure to call the MW as soon as you feel labor start. She won't mind hanging out with you for a while if you haven't really started yet.

Also, I bet that you wouldn't start to progress rapidly until you felt "Safe" in your space and that might not be until your MW gets there.

ND

[busybusymomma]

What makes your dh think you can get the hosp. in time if the mw wouldn't get there in time? :LOL Seriously though... how far away is your mw from your house? How long does it take you to get the hospital? Do you want to chance being in transition or pushing out a baby in the car?

My second was a planned homebirth but if I had been planning a homebirth I don't know if I would have made it or not. My labor was four hours long but I wasn't convinced it was real for awhile because it didn't hurt the way my 1st labor did (pitocin induced). I just made sure to call my midwife as soon as I thought it might be real because I'd gone from 6-10cm pretty quickly the first time.

Good luck deciding!

[Spark]

What makes your dh think you can get the hosp. in time if the mw wouldn't get there in time? :LOL

:yeah:

Sorry, I'm lurking from December, the title on the main page caught my attention.

Remember, the nice thing with fast labors is that they're fast because everything is going smoothly. There's no problems slowing you up and pretty much no need for a lot of assistance.

"Worse" case senerio -- I'd MUCH rather give birth at home with my DH than on the side of the road.

Have you checked out www.freebirth.com Some neat information there and nice FAST birth stories, too. :)

[luckylady]

What a wonderful empowering website! Thank you (and everyone else too!)

[Huntress]

Cheryl,
I am pregnant and expecting a fast labor at home. When my mom gave birth to me, I was born in 45 minutes after the first contraction!! She did a home birth with me and all was well. When she bacame pregnant with my sister, her midwife and her knew that they needed to make emergency plans. So they both studied to prepare her for doing it alone. Everything was ready just in case. When my sister was born, it took a total of 22 minutes! But the midwafe was there because of good communication and a close drive. My mom says she wouldn't do it any other way, and she felt safe at home. Listen to your instinct, you'll find the right path for you!
Huntress

[Mamatoto2]

Oy...I hate to be a downer, but I just want to add my experience. My frst labor was FAST. DD was born within 4 hours of my first eeeny weeny "maybe this is something" tiny little cramp. She would have been born sooner had I not been trying with every ounce of energy and prayer NOT to birth her in the car during the hour it took to get to the hospital. I just went IMMEDIATELY from "I'm not sure if these are regular strong ctx" to transition.

How does this relate to homebirth.....well, I hemorrhaged. A lot. I had retained part of my crazy double-lobed placenta (at it turns out) but from what I've ben told, that doesn't explain the hemorrhage immediately following the birth (it explains the second one 2 days later, but I digress). While there is no way to be sure why I hemorrhaged right after the birth, the fast labor may certainly have played a role. Again, from what I understand, this is more common with fast first labors than fast subsequent labors, but I'm just passing along info.

Anyway-I am the first person to believe that your body is capable of birthing naturally, and that 99% of the time, things do not go wrong. I still had a drug-free waterbirth with a midwife in a hospital birthing center (freestanding birth centers are illegal in my state) BUT in my case, something DID go wrong that can't really be attributed to a hospital or intervention (I was only at the hospital for 45 min. before she was born), and the (first) hemorrhage was immediate (the hospital MAY have had something to do with the second hemorrhage, but again I digress).

For this pregnancy we are again planning a midwife-assisted drug-free waterbirth at a different hospital a mere 15 min from home. We have met with the midwives, toured the hospital, spoken with nurses, and explained our fears (all prior to becoming PG). Our instructions are to call the hospital to tell them to fill the (portable) tub and head over with my FIRST ctx. We have discussed care for DD should she need to be watched there for a while while we wait for somene to come get her. My DH will begin to work from home about a week before I am due, and I will have a family member here on the nights he has grad school classes. I will get a heploc (sp) as soon as I get to the hospital so that I won't have to be hooked to an IV, but they will have immediate access in the event that they need it.

I'm not trying to scare anybody, and 99% of the time birthing naturally with little/no intervention yields beautiful healthy results for the mom and baby. I'm just the rare case in which that didn't happen. I could have died, and I would have died under different circumstances, and without the 3 blood transfusions I received. (I'm not being dramatic-I've discussed my blood counts with many medical professionals, and that's just the fact). As much as I loved the idea of homebirth PRIOR to having DD (and I secretly hoped for a homebirth for #2, after DH saw how smoothly things would go) given my experience, I would not intentionally have one. I owe it to my kids not to take any risks with my health that I wouldn't take with theirs. I AM looking forward to a smooth natural beautiful birth with #2, but I am also planning a HUGE safety net just in case.

[Mamabeakley]

All respect to you, MamaT, for making the decision that you and your family are comfortable with.

I hemorrhaged after DS's birth, a lovely homebirth, 22 hours labor. It was NOT as bad as yours - only about 800 ccs. My CNM did administer Pitocin and Methergyn (sp?). She was calm, I was pretty much calm (I did hand my baby to my mom so I could concentrate on what was happening with my body, but that was all), and my family was calm. Mine was caused by retained membranes (and probably by the fact that I was mildly anemic.)

I am pretty sure that I will never choose unassisted birth on purpose because of that experience, nonetheless. I know that for me, I wouldn't want to be hemorrhaging or thinking I might be without professional help on hand. But for me, if I had any reason to expect a short labor (I obviously don't!), knowing that a professional midwife was en route would be enough of a security net. I would feel secure that I was unlikely to bleed to death before she arrived and I'd also know that I could call 911 if necessary.

Everybody's particular situation is different, though. I just wanted to offer my perspective that history of hemorraghe isn't *necessarily* a reason not to plan a homebirth. It depends on your own circumstances, your own body knowledge, and what feels right to you.

[busybusymomma]

:Hug MamaT... I'm sure it was quite scary. I know if I knew I was at risk for hem. I would definitely make sure my midwife was fully aware of my history before I'd plan a homebirth. In some states, mw do carry Pitocin shots for that sort of thing. I have a friend who has hem. after both of her births and I understand her choice to birth at the hospital.

Everybody's particular situation is different, though. I just wanted to offer my perspective that history of hemorraghe isn't *necessarily* a reason not to plan a homebirth. It depends on your own circumstances, your own body knowledge, and what feels right to you.

:yeah:

[minimunklemama]

oh wow I finally met someone else in my boat!!
I had DD in hospital(great doc who basicaly left me to it until she came out!!) i arrived at 2cm 45 mins later I was ten and 3 pushes she was out.
Griffy was so different(i'll tell that story another day,I am sooo tired right now) so not every labor is the same,although it could be and I know exactly where you are coming from as I spent my entire pg with Griff worried that i wouldn't make it to the hospital in time.
I am sure it will all work out just dandy.
My dh doesn't want a homebirth,he calls himself oldschool :LOL i tell him oldschool is having the babe at home!!!! :LOL :LOL
take care