Just saw this while surfing the net for info at Speeding up labour
This is an impossible question to answer. Mothers generally time labour from when they feel the first contraction, or their waters break. However, midwives and doctors calculate the length of labour from when the cervix is three to four centimetres dilated. This is considered to be the start of the "active phase" of labour. By this point, you might have been having quite painful tightening for some hours. Perhaps you've been awake all night. To you, it feels as though labour has been "active" for quite a long while already!
So i guess that answers a few questions- but if thats correct then technically my labour was 2hours 45mins! Gee i dunno