How do you determine length of labour?

[Toomanytoomany]

The definition of labour is regular, painful contractions approx 3 in 10 minutes. It doesn't go by cervical dilation as everyone dilates differently each labour and it depends on which number baby you are having too. So a contraction is timed from the beginning of a contraction to the beginning of the next contraction.

So how does that work if you aren't in pain until transition?

With dd#4 I felt like I was in labour for a month. I had a hindwater leak at 36 weeks, after having had contractions on and off since thirty weeks, with no cervical changes. We thought it was all stations go but then there was nothing. I just had constant contractions, with no change, for the next four weeks until dd was born a day after her due date. I didn't even know I was in labour until 5cm. The last two hours were intense but not painful until the last ten minutes or so.

[paradise lost]

The definition of labour is regular, painful contractions approx 3 in 10 minutes. It doesn't go by cervical dilation as everyone dilates differently each labour and it depends on which number baby you are having too. So a contraction is timed from the beginning of a contraction to the beginning of the next contraction.

Wow, i was only having 3 in 10 for 40 minutes! That was one of the factors that made them think i wasn't in "real" labour yet, along with "contractions not sufficiently strong", "no pain on mid or upper abdomen" and "able to listen and talk between contractions" - in retrospect i wonder if my first attending midwife was just unused to doing it all without the ctg as i could see my whole belly flexing during those insufficient contractions, she was testing how strong they were by bouncing her fingers on my bump during them. And i had no idea before labour that "real" labour was supposed to hurt all across my belly - i expected, and got, only cervical heat and stretching feelings. Once i'd had 3 in 10 for half an hour, that was when they asked me to go pee, DD was born 10 minutes later. Could it be there IS no "normal" with labour?

Bx

[Tobily]

3 contrax in 10 minutes....if you're having contractions that are about a minute long (which is pretty stock standard once labour gets going) then we're talking contractions being three minutes apart minimum before you're considered to be in established labour.

Wow - I've seen labours where contractions weren't that close until just before transition. And once in transition they were five minutes apart again (v.common).

Just goes to show how much notice women's bodies take of medical textbooks doesn't it

[Liviam]

You hit the nail on the head Bec. There is really no normal for labour. Every woman's labour is different and unique to them and of course there are exceptions to every single definition and example that can be given. I was only trying to help by giving a definiton of labour.