Your First Night of Labour - or, how not to sabotage a perfectly good birth

[PumpkinZulu]

Isn't that funny? I *totally* 100% agree with all of that, not just the Doula in me, but the woman, birthing mother etc. But! Reminding yourself continuously that you should be in for a long haul can have a different effect, it did for me. I was totally prepared for a 14 plus hour labour, to let myself rest and build up to the grand finale. I spoke to my birth class instructor (Di Diddle) at length about it, a big part of class was even dedicated to it - getting too excited about early labour - and people on BB even said the same to me when I posted that I was in labour. So 6 hours after the first niggle, when I was holding my baby, I was kind of shocked lol. I never really had that lovely build up of labour, once my waters broke it was hell for leather. I was in denial for a large part of it because I simply didn't think I would progress that quickly. One hour after my waters broke (2 hours since first niggle) I was 7cm. My mind had to play catch up with my body, and I think if I had been more prepared for a faster labour, it would have been more like 4 hours. I had a lovely birth experience, but boy was I surprised after setting myself up for a marathon, I got a sprint.

Now, I'm in an odd place with regards to my outlook for my next labour. On one hand, I don't want to feel shocked at a faster labour and expect something slow and steady, but I also don't want to convince myself I'll be going into a 3 hour labour, only to find myself still going 10 hours later, if that makes sense.

I do think out of the two, it's easier to be prepared for a longer labour and experience a shorter one. From my experience at least, the effects are less adverse than exhausting oneself at the very beginning.