How do you judge how long your labour was?

[Cassius2]

i count mine from the time that my waters broke as that was the only time that contractions were consistent in pattern and had a bit more length to them. prior to that they could be 1 min apart, or 15 min apart and only lasting max 30 secs but on average maybe 15-20 secs.

but my midwives have recorded labour as lasting 2.15 hours as they reckon that my contractions probably in the hour before DD2 was born were probably already established labour . they arrived after my waters broke though and to me, i only count the moment from when they broke as 'labour' as that was when it was all i could concentrate on lol. (sooo...1.15 hours).

HTH!

[Visitor7]

My hospital notes count mine as from when I was 3cm onwards (established labour). So going by those notes, my labours were 4 hours for DD1, 50 minutes for DD2 and 5 minutes for DD3.
I don't count it as that though. I count labour as when the contractions started. So that would be 9 hours for DD1, 6 hours for DD2 and 3 hours for DD3.

[*LittleMissSummer*]

My hospital notes had my total labour as 23.5 hours that was from when my waters broke and my established labour was 10.5 hours.

[Indadhanu]

I counted mine from when my waters broke and my contractions got regular. So just before midnight on the 3rd. My contractions had started earlier that night, I told Shel I might be going into labour at about 5pm Sunday, but once my waters broke things got regular. For a while, until I got to the hospital, then they got irregular, then I went home and they got regular, then I went to the hospital and they got irregular... Anyway, midnight Sunday to 5.20pm Tuesday, so I count my labour as about 42 hours.

Going by the 4cm thing, well I was stuck before 4cm for a loooooooooooooooooong time. I think had you counted from the time I got past 4cm, it was only a 6 hour labour. I was on the syntocin for longer than that I challenge anyone to say being on syntocin isn't 'real labour'!

[Fleur]

With DS I have absolutely no idea how long I was actually in labour for. I had a really long pre labour with ouchy and often fairly regular braxton hicks for about 2 weeks before hand. They would tease me and come regularly about 10 or so mins apart, and when I would get excited and hopeful this was IT! they would die down and go away.

Sounds a lot like what I had with Pie, pre-labour for 4 or 5 weeks, so when real labour started it was a few hours before I took it seriously.
My contrax started around 2am, I eventually got sick of trying to sleep & got up around 5am, was holding the kitchen bench at 7:30 while trying to make kids lunchs, lol... I called DH to come take me to my hossy appt cause I couldn't drive anyhow.
Got to hosptal & it stopped then started again, at about 1pm, had an internal & was 9cm and she wasn't born until 6:30 pm. My waters broke about 10 min before she was born, and my contractions were 5 min apart the whole time.
I count it from 1pm cause that's when it got really ouchy, but in truth you could say it was more like 13.5 hours, longer if you count from 2am

Panda, I had a hind water leak but labour started when my waters broke & contactions started straight after, 12.5 hours until she was born.

Beep - I had BH for weeks before, they were regular all day before but not painful until 6pm, but I was still able to doze through them until 2am, when I got out of bed & my waters broke. He was born at 5:30am so I count that as 3.5 hours.

I kind of count my labours from the point at which I was a) sure that I was in labour and b) ouchy enough to stop me carrying on as usual

[PollyA]

Sounds a lot like what I had with Pie, pre-labour for 4 or 5 weeks, so when real labour started it was a few hours before I took it seriously.
My contrax started around 2am, I eventually got sick of trying to sleep & got up around 5am, was holding the kitchen bench at 7:30 while trying to make kids lunchs, lol... I called DH to come take me to my hossy appt cause I couldn't drive anyhow.
Got to hosptal & it stopped then started again, at about 1pm, had an internal & was 9cm and she wasn't born until 6:30 pm. And my contractions were 5 min apart the whole time.
I count it from 1pm cause that's when it got really ouchy, but in truth you could say it was more like 13.5 hours, longer if you count from 2am

Panda, I had a hind water leak but labour started when my waters broke & contactions started straight after, 12.5 hours until she was born.

Beep - I had BH for weeks before, they were regular all day before but not painful until 6pm, but I was still able to doze through them until 2am, when I got out of bed & my waters broke. He was born at 5:30am so I count that as 3.5 hours.

I kind of count my labours from the point at which I was a) sure that I was in labour and b) ouchy enough to stop me carrying on as usual

Prelabour is headwrecking!
I had contractions ecery day for 4 weeks with DS and in the end I felt like I had made up my pregnancy (You start to second guess everything you feel)