Second birth easier?
 

Well every birth and every delivery is going to be different. But for me,
yes the second and third deliveries were much quicker and much easier. With
my first, it was 19 hours from start to finish. With my second, it was three
hours from start to finish with only about 15 minutes of pushing. With the
third child, it was again three hours from start to finish, with maybe two
or three pushes. Good luck, I hope it is easier for you this time. Learning
different positions and techniques during labor will help you more than
anything, especially if you are able to keep moving like walking or using a
birthing ball. Getting in some water I have heard is wonderful, but getting
in water was not for me so I had no desire to use that method. Basically
preparing yourself for labor and educating yourself will help you the most.
--
Sue (mom to three girls)
I'm Just a Raggedy Ann in a Barbie Doll World...


LeAnn wrote in message ...
Hi, my name is LeAnn. I have a 7 year old son and I am 7 months
pregnant with my second son. Maybe I just can't tolerate much pain but
I remember labor with my first son to be just horrible. I remember
screaming at everyone to give me some drugs! ;-) Labor and delivery
lasted about 16 hours from start to finish. My current doctor keeps
telling me that since this is my second child, labor will be much easier
and faster. For those of you who have given birth to two or more
children, how much truth is in this?

LeAnn

Second birth easier?
 

Hi, my name is LeAnn. I have a 7 year old son and I am 7 months
pregnant with my second son. Maybe I just can't tolerate much pain but
I remember labor with my first son to be just horrible. I remember
screaming at everyone to give me some drugs! ;-) Labor and delivery
lasted about 16 hours from start to finish. My current doctor keeps
telling me that since this is my second child, labor will be much easier
and faster. For those of you who have given birth to two or more
children, how much truth is in this?

LeAnn

Second birth easier?
 

LeAnn wrote:
Hi, my name is LeAnn. I have a 7 year old son and I am 7 months
pregnant with my second son.

Welcome, LeAnn, and congratulations on your impending birth!

Maybe I just can't tolerate much pain
but I remember labor with my first son to be just horrible. I
remember screaming at everyone to give me some drugs! ;-) Labor and
delivery lasted about 16 hours from start to finish. My current
doctor keeps telling me that since this is my second child, labor
will be much easier and faster. For those of you who have given
birth to two or more children, how much truth is in this?

Statistically, it is true that first labors are longer than subsequent
labors. That said, statistics aren't necessarily predictive for individuals.
By that, I mean that the odds for a shorter, easier labor the second time
around are in your favor, but there's no guarantee.

My second labor was actually orders of magnitude longer than my first (28+
hours compared to 8 hours), but it was also orders of magnitude more
tolerable. Part of that was due to the fact that my first labor was induced,
which meant I was in the hospital the entire time and tethered to an IV and
monitors throughout labor. Both of those things reduced my ability to cope
well with the contractions. Another part of it was that my childbirth
preparation course really didn't prepare me very well for labor. It was
Lamaze based, and the only coping technique they really taught us was
patterned breathing, which didn't work for me because it set off my asthma.
There was no discussion that I recall of using position changes or
relaxation techniques that I can recall, and those would have been much more
helpful to me. It would also have helped me to know that when you reach the
point where you think you just can't stand it any more, you are probably
very close to full dilation (I had an epidural, but I now think I was in
transition already when it was done).

Anyway, my second labor started out very gradually with contractions at 6:00
am on a Sunday morning and ramped up slowly over the entire day and through
the next night. I wound up arriving at the hospital a mere 90 minutes before
my daughter was born and did not have (or want) any pain relief medication
in spite of having not slept much the previous night and having experienced
painful contractions for a good 6 hours at that point.

My third labor was very quick--I was induced by breaking the amniotic sac
and was holding him in my arms less than 4 hours later. Again, no pain
relief meds and never really felt the need for them. Piece of cake.

So, my experience is that each subsequent birth is easier. Part of that may
simply be that you know better what to expect and are better able to
determine what works for you when it comes to coping. That said, I think if
you found your first labor horribly painful, you'd be well-advised to take a
good childbirth preparation course that teaches a range of coping
mechanisms, even if you think you'll ultimately opt for an epidural. It's
just good to have some techniques under your belt in the event your labor is
very uncomfortable before an epidural is permitted or you wind up not being
able to get one for one reason or another. Personally, I found unmedicated
labor empowering and profound, but I know it's not everyone's cuppa!
--
Be well, Barbara
(Julian [6], Aurora [4], and Vernon's [22 mos.] mom)

This week's special at the English Language Butcher Shop:
"Taxi's R Us" -- name of a cab company

Daddy: You're up with the chickens this morning.
Aurora: No, I'm up with my dolls!

All opinions expressed in this post are well-reasoned and insightful.
Needless to say, they are not those of my Internet Service Provider, its
other subscribers or lackeys. Anyone who says otherwise is itchin' for a
fight. -- with apologies to Michael Feldman

Second birth easier?
 

My first labor was induced at 8 days past edd, and was about 12 hours long.

My second labor was spontaneous at 6 days past edd, and was 3 hours long (with
3 hours of what I didn't think was really labor, so total 6, but active labor
only 3).

laurie
mommy to Jessica, 2.5 years and
Christopher, 8 months

Second birth easier?
 

LeAnn wrote:
Hi, my name is LeAnn. I have a 7 year old son and I am 7 months
pregnant with my second son. Maybe I just can't tolerate much pain but
I remember labor with my first son to be just horrible. I remember
screaming at everyone to give me some drugs! ;-) Labor and delivery
lasted about 16 hours from start to finish. My current doctor keeps
telling me that since this is my second child, labor will be much easier
and faster. For those of you who have given birth to two or more
children, how much truth is in this?

LeAnn


My first was about 31 hours, start to finish. It wasn't horrible as far
as pain went, but it was completely exhausting. The second was about 14
hours start to finish. It was *way* more painful than the first (for
just a few of the 14 hours) but was much easier because it was so much
shorter.

Clisby

Second birth easier?
 

For me this was true. I had a pretty easy time with my first delivery but
the second was better.

1st daughter (born 12-20-98) I was in labor about 8 hours and pushed for 30
minutes
2nd daughter( born 12-14-03) I was in labor about 4 hours and I pushed less
than 5 minutes. (it was 2 pushes to be exact)

Lori
"LeAnn" wrote in message
...
Hi, my name is LeAnn. I have a 7 year old son and I am 7 months
pregnant with my second son. Maybe I just can't tolerate much pain but
I remember labor with my first son to be just horrible. I remember
screaming at everyone to give me some drugs! ;-) Labor and delivery
lasted about 16 hours from start to finish. My current doctor keeps
telling me that since this is my second child, labor will be much easier
and faster. For those of you who have given birth to two or more
children, how much truth is in this?

LeAnn

Second birth easier?
 

"LeAnn" wrote in message
...
Hi, my name is LeAnn. I have a 7 year old son and I am 7 months
pregnant with my second son. Maybe I just can't tolerate much pain but
I remember labor with my first son to be just horrible. I remember
screaming at everyone to give me some drugs! ;-) Labor and delivery
lasted about 16 hours from start to finish. My current doctor keeps
telling me that since this is my second child, labor will be much easier
and faster. For those of you who have given birth to two or more
children, how much truth is in this?

LeAnn

Identical to my situation, LeAnn! I am nine months with a seven year old
and I was in labor first time for 16 hours. I wasn't screaming, I was
whimpering, though! LOL

Sk

Second birth easier?
 

LeAnn wrote:

Hi, my name is LeAnn. I have a 7 year old son and I am 7 months
pregnant with my second son. Maybe I just can't tolerate much pain but
I remember labor with my first son to be just horrible. I remember
screaming at everyone to give me some drugs! ;-) Labor and delivery
lasted about 16 hours from start to finish. My current doctor keeps
telling me that since this is my second child, labor will be much easier
and faster. For those of you who have given birth to two or more
children, how much truth is in this?


You never get any guarantees, but second labors generally
are shorter and easier. My first was 45 hours, and my second
was 2 1/2 hours ;-)

Best wishes,
Ericka

Second birth easier?
 

Susanne Koenig wrote:
I am nine months with a seven year
old and I was in labor first time for 16 hours.

Birthing a seven year old is tough, though, whether it's your first or your
second! (Sorry, couldn't help it. I know what you meant, but the way it came
out was funny!)
--
Be well, Barbara
(Julian [6], Aurora [4], and Vernon's [22 mos.] mom)

This week's special at the English Language Butcher Shop:
"Taxi's R Us" -- name of a cab company

Daddy: You're up with the chickens this morning.
Aurora: No, I'm up with my dolls!

All opinions expressed in this post are well-reasoned and insightful.
Needless to say, they are not those of my Internet Service Provider, its
other subscribers or lackeys. Anyone who says otherwise is itchin' for a
fight. -- with apologies to Michael Feldman

Second birth easier?
 

"LeAnn" wrote in message
...
... My current doctor keeps
telling me that since this is my second child, labor will be much easier
and faster. For those of you who have given birth to two or more
children, how much truth is in this?

I know that my OB told me she prefers attending multipara births, as women
who have dilated/delivered before are more likely to do so fairly quickly,
than first-timers. I was a really good example for her. My cervix changed
about 1cm per contraction, I swear, once things got going. That was a wild
ride!

--angela