Posterior/Coupling/Dysfunction 1st Labour

Hi All

I am 32 weeks and I have already started feeling worried about how this labour is going to pan out.

Here is a little background info on my first labour. It all started as a normal labour would, contractions commenced at 4am, ten minutes apart and continued through the day gradually getting closed together until they were 3 minutes apart at 5pm. These were strong and were in my belly and back, I also had a show and started to vomit (apparently can come with the intensity of contractions when or just before you start transition) with each one so the hospital said that I was well into labour and to come up. But upon arriving was told I was only 1cm and they sent me home (with panadol and a sleeping tablet might I add, which promptly come back up the next time I vomited).

By 6pm my contractions went like this, 1 1/2 minutes apart with 1/12 minute long, then 30 seconds apart with 1 1/2 minute long, then back to 1 1/2 apart and so on. the pain was unbelievable horrible and literally crippling me so i couldnt move and was all in my back (which felt like it was on fire). obviously freakin out I rang the hosp back and they told me to come back immediately. again i was only 1 cm, and they offered me pethadine and gas which i quickly attached myself to. the contractions i was told were doing something called coupling, which is intense because you get two contractions on top of each other.

By 8pm i was asking for an epidural but told I couldnt have one until I was 4cms, this did not occur until after 12, and it took until 1am to have to epi done. So I spent 7 hours in undescribable pain, unable to stop moving and throwing myself around the room.

Once the epi was done though (another story of trying to keep absolutely still and being a difficult epi case) it was bliss, and I just about passed out into a two hours sleep. Besides another scare at about 4am with bubs not responding during contracts, which turned out to be our cherib just sleeping through them) our darling little girl was born at 7.20am after 35 minutes of pushing, and it was then I was told bubs was postier, hence the back labour.

I was not informed until after the birth that I had experience what was known as a dysfunctional labour where my contractions and dilation did not progress normally, and it was probably brought on by the fact I was coupling, DD was posterior and did not engage and actually never engaged. I was told that I was on standby for an emergency c-section (they did not tell me at the time, as to not upset me more than required), and only because bubs was not suffering and I was handling it that I was not sent. And here I was swearing that I was not having any more children because I was never going through that again, thinking the whole process I had gone through was completely normal. My gorgeous midwife, who helped me though it, told me that what I was going through for the 7 hours the equivalant to 'transition'.

I have already started freakin out that it will happen again with the baby, I know the odds are extremely low but I cant help but feel this way.

Has anyone else experienced bad first labours and how did they deal with the preparation for their second?