'Perfect' length of time for labour?

I was reading about something or watching something today (in other words cant remember where I heard/saw this) and the subject was length (time) of labour.

The comment was made by a woman who said her labour was very short and felt rushed. She said that the next time round she wanted a more perfect length of labour...

It got me thinking what do you think is the perfect length of labour??

I had one long labour (12hrs with dd1) and two short labours (less than 1.5hrs both times with dd2 and dd3). personally I preferred the shorter labours. My body responded to the shorter labours better. I dont have an opinion of what the perfect length of labour is though..

But Im curious, your thoughts on the perfect length of labour... thats if there is one..

And my apoligies if this makes little sense, its been a long day with three sicks girlies :(

Is 12 hours short? First contraction to birth was more than 2 days for me! I really want a shorter one this time, but it can't really be longer can it? O.o

I dunno 12hrs could be short for some :) It was bloody long for me though :lol:

Two days is definately not an ideal time to labour for though :)

I had 2.5-3hrs of 'active' labour. I too felt rushed, but to be honest, I think that for me that is better as it didn't give me time to really think about things and get stressed. That being said, when DD had just arrived I do remember thinking that I was a bit in shock as the whole thing happened so quick. I do hope for the same next time though.

Both mine were about 10ish hours which in my opion was to much pain for all thatb work
If I was able to choose the length of Labour I think 3hours would be awesome.

Chody thats what I liked about my short labours, there wasnt time to get stressed or anything.
But the short ones didnt feel rushed for me. Although I do remember thinking, 'is that it?'

Mummabee I like the sound of 3hrs :)

Anything is better than the 43 hours of regular intense 3min apart contractions I had!

I don't think there is a perfect time length. Every woman's body reacts differently - although in saying that, if I can get my next labour to 1/4 of what I had last time I'll be thrilled!

DD1 was loooooooooong - 34 hours - although that was made up of all sorts of 'bits' of labour rather than what was active labour. Way too long for my liking.

DD2 was about 1.5 hours of niggles that I thought were still just pre-labour except for a trickle from my hind waters - uncomfortable not painful - and then 15 minutes of severely intense active labour. While it was great to have it all done very quickly and there was no time to even think about pain relief let alone get some, I went into shock after her birth. Not sure what would be the "perfect" length of labour, but more than 15 minutes would be nice.

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DD1 was loooooooooong - 34 hours - although that was made up of all sorts of 'bits' of labour rather than what was active labour. Way too long for my liking.

DD2 was about 1.5 hours of niggles that I thought were still just pre-labour except for a trickle from my hind waters - uncomfortable not painful - and then 15 minutes of severely intense active labour. While it was great to have it all done very quickly and there was no time to even think about pain relief let alone get some, I went into shock after her birth. Not sure what would be the "perfect" length of labour, but more than 15 minutes would be nice.

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Oooh this gives me hope! I was hoping I'd "paid my dues" with DD1's labour and could have a much shorter one this time.

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Although I do remember thinking, 'is that it?'

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This is how I felt about Buster's labour - was just under 2 and a half hours, and thought the exact same thing when it was time to push.

My first was 22 hours and I was hoping for half that for my second! But it was 2 hours and 24 minutes to be exact and was fantastic :D

I don't know if it was just my experience or if this is usual for faster labours...but I felt that the contractions were sooo intense much sooner the second time. That was the most challenging - not having time to ease into it.

Contractions definately are more intense for shorter labours, but Im not so sure I liked how they escalate with the longer labour.. I remember thinking, oh these arent too bad I can handle this, then the next contraction came I would think, are you serious? this kills.. :lol:

I have no idea as to what constitutes the perfect length of labour. But the idea of being in labour for days so does not make me think oh yes I can handle that :lol:

Hestia - I think that's it exactly. There's no warm up with things gradually building. Its not much of anything to absolutely everything in seconds.

Maruschke - I hope you do get a shorter one this time - just not quite as short as my second ;-)

dd3 's birth was my perfect lenght, 3hrs annd 10 mins not too quick and not dragged out
my others were all 12+ hours

My births were 3 1/2 hrs and then two at 2 1/2 hours. It's weird because my first I thought was way too quick at 3 1/2hrs (I went into shock after it but I think that was more because I went from 5cm to baby in arms in 50mins) but then both my next two labours where perfect lengths for me - I loved them all :D
Such a birth junkie, LOL!!!

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Such a birth junkie, LOL!!!

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Any chance you can do my last one for me then lovely???

Loved DD2's labour and birth, fair amount of early/pre labour (over two days). Active labour noted as 1 1/2 hours by my m/w (but i felt it was more than pre labour for a couple of hours before) with another 50 mins of pushing.

I will happily take exactly the same amount of labour again, but less second stage/pushing please! Although I wouldn't complain if it was the same again.

Both mine were about 4 hours. I thought it was the perfect length. I loved giving birth. Would happily give birth over being pregnant any day!

DD2 labour was my perfect labour and I would love it to go like that again next time. 22.5 hours of a slow steady build up that never got painful.
DD1 was a 12.5 hour labour on synto strapped to moniters on a bed or in a chair. While I still enjoyed this labour too, after having DD2 I know how much more intense an induced labour is and how much less you body controls over the synto.

DS labour (induction) from start to finish was about 8 hours. No idea about the total hours that were active though.

For me, 4 or 5 hours would be a good length :)

I reckon the length of my (spontaneous) labours have (so far) been rather perfect - for me.
With both boys I birthed for approx 7-8 hours, of which only probably the final 90 mins was "hard yakka". The first 5-6 hours was a gradual build up of contractions and intensity, making both my births "perfectly manageable".

Honestly though, I don't think "perfect" is a one-size-fits-all scenario :)

Mine was about 10hrs from the first contraction. I think about 5ish hrs of active labour 3 mins apart.
I think mine was the perfect length, my body had time to adjust, I found it manageable.

My first was 35+ hrs. That was not fun.

So with DD2 when I had a 10hr labour from start to finish it felt like a walk in the park. Could have just done with a bit less than the 2 hrs pushing though.

I reckon 6 would be about good. DD was 12 hours early labour, 9 hours active, and I was happy enough with that. When I hear of less than 3, my first thought is sympathy for the mama, I feel like they've been ripped off. :lol:

I seem to have about 6 hours of active labour and that seems about right for me, but early labour has varied with each labour. With DD1 and DD3 I was in hospital for the last 2.5 hours and that seemed about the right time to be in hospital too, I dont think I would have handled the car ride well after that. With dd2 my waters broke and I started contracting and because I was only 35 weeks I had to go in straight away, it made the labour seem longer and I think it would have passed more quickly/easily at home as I was in hospital 5 hours before she came.

I found the last 45 minutes before pushing to be the hardest with each birth, up until then things were easliy managed by walking/rocking.

Pushing for me was around 45 min, 25 mina and 3 min but it all seemed like the same amount of time. I think I really lose sense of time when Im pushing :)

I've had 2 hours and 4.5 hours (active labour, not sure how much pre-labour with either because I couldn't feel any contractions or BH until it was show time!) and I liked the 4.5 hours muuuuch better. I reckon that was pretty close to perfect, and I would take the 3 minutes pushing any day :)
Having said that the labours were TOTALLY different, the 2 hour one went from 1 to 12 on the pain scale in a short time, no build up then KAPOW! The 4.5 hours labour was similar in that the real serious stuff was about 1.5 hours long, but with and extra 2.5 hours of nice build up and progression tacked on at the start - so much better!