when do you start?

can you help me...we got talking at work today about the length of peoples labour, each of us seemed to have a different idea of when they started timing from...so when did you start??

I go by how the hospital had it timed (since I was induced and being monitored)... on my notes it says my labour was 3hrs 50min, which was what I guess you'd call the 'active' part and what seemed to make it active in their eyes were the length and regularity of contractions and the fact I was 5cm dialated.

Though I guess I technically went into labour when my waters broke, even though contractions didn't kick off consistently by themselves (and with having GBS, I needed inducing...)

Probably just made that sound a whole bunch more confusing than I intended

For me the whole thing was over in 24 hours from the first little niggle to delivering DD. Active labour according to my notes was only 6 hours of that, then there's the placenta to deliver as well.

Lol I knew bubs was coming the previous morning when I had contractions in the shower.

I'd only completed AN class the weekend before and my labour was exactly as discussed in class.

I would say my active labour with DS2 was about 3-4 hours. My waters broke 13 hours before he arrived but contractions didn't become regular for about 7 hours at least and weren't regular till quite late in the piece! I think it's probably different for everyone.

I took mine from when my water broke(contractions started right away), and 48 hours later, he was born. Waters broke at 2.30am a saturday morning and by the sunday morning I was in paaainnnn, so I take my active labour from about 6am the sunday morning, and he was born 1.03am the monday morning.

Edited by MyLoves

Ha ha I have no idea. After a show in the morning then two nights of what I thought were labour pains which stopped in the morning I started a third night of pains. At 2 am I went 45 mins to the hospital as pains were 3 mins apart. I got sent back home despite being under the high risk team. So 45 mins home at 5am. They had told me I hadn't started dialating but the notes I got afterwards tell a different story
So back to the hospital at 12 thinking the pressure I was feeling was my waters going to break to find out I was fully dialated and it was actually her wanting out. Like I would know seeing the told me I would feel pressure and my waters would break. She was born at 15.06. No idea what happened to waters breaking as never any idication that they had and midwives didn't notice.

So I have no idea when active labour or transition started and actually have no idea how it feels so if I have another I will be hopeless at determining where I am at. However I think I will camp out in the waiting room if they they tried to send me home as 45mins in a ute (with safety belt on when in active labour and/or transition is not a pretty thing.

Baby #5 is gonna fall out in like 40mins Heidi

Edited by MyLoves

I was induced, so I guess I could start right from when the gel was first inserted....however nothing happened, and then after the second lot it was just low level uncomfortableness...so again I don't really count it.

I started from right after my waters broke and BANG contractions that actually started/peaked/faded, so I count my labour as being 2h50m and pushing the placenta out isn't usually counted (as the bit that matters is out, YOUR BABY!) but that was only 5 mins in my case.

Just thought I would edit to clarify waters broke naturally and I had no drugs whatsoever to help labour along. (Other than the gel :P)

The hospital also put my labour as being 2h50m.

Still even if you went right from first gel at around 9:30am (though nothing happened) thats only 18.5 hours.

Edited by Kalimirella

Waahooo Mrs Emma, hope youre now holding bubs in youre arms

The thing we couldnt agree on at work was if you count from first regular contractions or from when as you guys put it 'this is it, no turning back now!!'
For me had a few niggles round 8pm, they became intense and regular from 10, into birthcare at midnight to be told youre only 3cm go home and come back in the morning then waters broke at 12.40,(while I was saying I dont want to go home) was 7cms by 1am, DS was born at 3.20am....so just as well I didn't go home!

I was induced and my waters broken nearly 24 hours later, they recored length of labour from the time my waters were broken not from when the gel hit cervix.