I have been reading over all these questions and answers and see these people saying that "oh your not in labor because you re in front of your computer."and such.I have been in the first stages of labor for 2 weeks now.Back and forth to the hospital and doctors on;ly to be turned around because"My contractions aren't strong enough" or something stupid whne clearly im dialated enough and efaced.Why do people think that labor happens in seconds to hours?Is it what people have seen on TV that portrays labor that way?
2006-12-19 17:40:00 · 14 answers · asked by **BLu Tinkerbell** 4 in Pregnancy & Parenting ➔ Pregnancy
I was suppose to have an induction today because i have GD and they had no room available for me..so im sitting here waiting.No consistant contractions,water hasn't broke,but im very well dialated and efaced.They keep turning me around and giving me the run around.He has dropped so low i can feel his head right there and yet,my water hasn't broke.
2006-12-19 17:46:48 · update #1
I agree, I hate when women ask if their water may have broke & people say you will know when you hear a pop & are standing in it...what? My water broke with both pregnancies & it was a super slow trickle, not everyone has a movie style gush! People are just so misinformed!
2006-12-19 17:50:31 · answer #1 · answered by notAminiVANmama 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Every labor is different, but I understand what you mean. I am on my second pregnancy but was in labor 12 hours with my first, which is actually pretty short for a first baby. Those 12 hours though were the hard contractions and I was in early labor long before that for weeks. I think I stayed at 1 cm and 80 percent effaced for at least a week or so. Just be patient. When the strong contractions start, you will know. They woke me up at 4 in the morning the day I delivered by daughter, and I thought I would die. It is better to be checked though if you aren't sure, ( I had preterm labor from 29 weeks on last time so I was in and out of the hospital a lot also) just don't be mad at the docs if they send you home. They don't want to keep you there if you aren't in real hard labor because it would be a waste of time for you as well as them.
2006-12-20 01:47:24 · answer #2 · answered by E 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It sounds like you are having Braxton Hicks contractions. They can start a month or so before the baby is due. As for efaced and dialated, I'm surprised that they are letting you go back home if you are 100 percent efaced and 10 cm dialated. Generally, those are signs that things are going to happen within a few hours, and that the contractions are indeed strong.
Braxton Hicks contractions drive folks nuts. You can feel them, they are real, but they aren't the productive contractions that happen at the end. Of course, you really want them to be because that would mean the baby is finally making its appearance, and because they aren't the most fun things to have in this world. On the medical side, they see that they aren't productive, and that they bring in worried mothers to be way too early.
Just for giggles, your cervix is about as stiff as your nose normally. When it is effaced, it is about as soft and pliable as your lips.
Typcially the first baby takes its own sweet time coming out. The later ones tend to be a little quicker. Some are quite fast, others, well, aren't. Some slide out easily, some "shoot out" and must be caught, others, need some help.
The TV ones manage to come out in under 10 minutes of not quite painless but easy labor, interspersed with a commercial, two plots, and the resolution of a family crisis. The mother is, of course, made up, coiffed, and presiding over the whole affair nicely. The baby also for some reason comes out looking fantastic, quite unlike the purple wrinkled thing that usually arrives.
Each person is unique in labor, though most folks follow a general pattern of weak, irregular, widely spaced contractions, leading to stronger, regular contractions a few minutes apart. By the time you are at 5 minute intervals, its time to go to the hospital. By the time you are at 1 minute intervals with strong (you will FEEEL them) contractions, it's too late to work out the color scheme of the baby's room.
Good luck with the baby. Things will turn out well. You aren't the first to go through this, and you won't be the last. Relax, and nature will most definitely take its course. Of course, if you are induced then things will take a slightly different tack, but in the end you'll have one happy, healthy baby.
2006-12-20 02:18:32 · answer #3 · answered by drslowpoke 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Well, for the second and later pregnancies, for many women - it does go faster. My entire labor and delivery last time took only 3 hours in total from the time I realized I was in labor to the time when the baby came out. I think people like to think that labor and delivery is not all that difficult - but many times we have to get induced, or there is an issue such as diabetes high blood pressure, the baby being to big to get through the pelvis etc.....I think that people are generally misinformed about pregnancy as a whole. I think people get alot of their perceptions about life and living from TV. I think they should really be teaching Anatomy and Physiology in High School instead of sex education - everyone would have a much clearer picture of what really happens here. I'm 9 months with pregancy #3 and I don't know what to expect, it could be 3 hrs again - or I could go through a 3 day ordeal - who knows. All I know is that the baby can't stay in there forever!!!
2006-12-20 01:46:07 · answer #4 · answered by ? 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
When I was in labor with my son, I was back and forth to the hospital. the way the people in the hospital test if your in labor or not is if you dialate any while your still in the hospital, I quickly found this out because I was sick of being pregnant. I was in labor for 24 hours with my son, and in the first 16 hours of it, people(and doctors) where convenced I wasn't. people should wake up and stop thinking that unless you're wailing in pain and can't walk your not in labor.
2006-12-20 01:47:03 · answer #5 · answered by Anna S 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
unfortuatly yes...and its ridiculous....im afraid to have my baby, not so much the labor just having the baby, and as for labor being like "2 seconds long" well it would be nice, but this being my first child i could be looking at one as long as yours!!! thank god somebody has brains and knows labor isnt a two second thing!!!!
congrats
2006-12-20 01:42:21 · answer #6 · answered by ruspecialenuf 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
People are uneducated. Unless they know someone that has had a child they often believe once you go into labour you rush to the hospital. You don't need to be there unless contractions are 5mins apart and they will just send you home if they aren't. TV and movies probably help to send that message to the not so bright people out there.
2006-12-20 01:42:06 · answer #7 · answered by BlondeBarbie 4 · 1⤊ 3⤋
I was in "false" labour for THREE DAYS with contractions every 7 minutes. (7 not 5, you see 5 is "real" labour)
ALL LABOUR IS REAL LABOUR!
By the way the real labour didn't hurt anymore either. It was the same.
Best of luck and ignore the MORONS!
2006-12-20 02:46:03 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
you are right. you can start dilating and still not have your baby for another couple of weeks. I know I lost my mucus plug and four days later I had my baby. You know your body so stick with your intuition
2006-12-20 01:46:45 · answer #9 · answered by Mel 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The movies make it seem like that but I agree with you it's not automatic!
2006-12-20 01:42:17 · answer #10 · answered by calimexgirl!! 3 · 2⤊ 1⤋