How long from 4-10cm?

Hi All,

It seems to be coming up a lot for first labours. Ob says 'you need to dilate 1cm per hour' or 'now that you're at 4cm you should be fully within 6 hours'

Can anyone tell me how long their 4-10cm trip was for their first labour???

First labour I dilated 4-10cm in 7.5 hours (total labour was 9 hours).
Second labour, I dilated 5-10cm in 50 minutes. Total labour was 6 hours.

Everyone is different, and dilates at a different rate. If everyone dilated 1cm per hour than we'd all have 10 hour or less labours!

First and only labour i dilated 2-3 to crowning (no pushing, was roaring through contractions to stop myself pushing) in 4 hours, total labour 15 hours.

Bx

Well going from 6-10cm was around an hour for me. But i was induced.

Hmm, i was 4cm at around 2-3am, and i got given the OK to start pushing at 2:45pm...so about 12 hours, give or take.

It took me way longer than the 1cm per hour they estimate (and told me when I arrived at hossy).

When I arrived at hossy at 3am I was 6cms and gave birth at around 2pm that day. Second stage was 1 hour 56 mins so I guess that was around 9 hours to go 4 cms.

every one is so different, with my first i went from 4-10 in 3hrs but i had an epidural and syntocin.and then a vontuse delivery.
With my second i went from 4-10 in 40mins but i was indused with membranes rupture, no drugs, and was getting 5 contractions every 10mins.
I personaly would try not to worry about it and just take it all in your stride, if you put to much on how you are doing then if your not where you think you should be then you might get disheartened.
Good luck with it all

Don't think 'numbers' when you go into labour - it's vitally important to how you progress if you DON'T know how far dilated you are. Some women will take hours from the time active labour starts (when you get to 4cm) to when they are 10cm and others it will be all over in minutes. I have no idea how long it took with my first birth as I had no internals after my waters were broken when I was *around* 3cm. With my second it was 10-15mins, with my 3rd it was about 1hr (induced birth) and I'm thinking it was an hour again with my 4th.

I'd have to dig out my labour notes but I can tell you it was a helluva lot longer than 6 hours.

I think it was closer to 10 hours, possibly a bit longer.

Which is NORMAL.

Active management of labour (which is where the 1cm per hour drivel comes from) is based on a single study conducted in Ireland in the 1970's. It's a load of hogwash but yes, that doesn't mean it's not standard practice in our hospitals :rolleyes:

If mum and baby are happy and well, it takes as long as it takes. And if it takes a long time...then....that's how long it takes!! Seems so simple doesn't it. :wall:

I was 3cm at about 11:30am when i had ARM and was 10cm by 3pm so 3 1/2 hours!

HTH :)

I think I was 4cm at around 10.30am with DD1, but only got to 7cm when I started pushing (I was NOT having a ceaser!). Had her at 18.56 that night, so around 7.5 hours between 4 & 7. 18 .5 hour labour all up.
I don't advise that you do that though. The OB told me too & it can cause your cervix to swell & prolong labour even more.

DD2 I was already between 6 & 7 cm when arrived at hossy at about 2.30am. She was born at 7.08am.
So thats about 4.5 hours to go 4 - 5 cm. 30 hours of contractions, but only about 8.5 hours of full on labour.

DS arrived at hossy at 5cm (would've waited longer, but had mecconium - glad I didn't though!) at 7.40am. Was 5cm on arrival, DS was born at 10.15am. So thats about 2.5 hours. 5 hour labour.

DD1- i was admitted at 1am not dilated....730am was 6cm....11am i was 10cm and delivered at 11.22am

So 6cm to 10cm in less then 4 hours

My labour was fast and furious (3 1/2 hours). I went from 5cm to 10cm in 25 minutes :o and had a 25 minute second stage. Way too fast for my enphorines to catch up to my body.
Like it's been said don't focus on numbers. Progress is progress and don't let them force you into thinking that if your body is going a bit slower than 1cm an hour you won't get there. Keep going because your body knows what to do and will get there. Best of luck.

I was 4cm at 2am and 10cm around 7 or 8am. So, about 5 - 6 hours for me.My labour was 8 hours in total. I had 2 hours of pushing!

I went from about 4cm-baby in about 25 hours and from waters breaking to baby in 32.5 hours. I hope it's quicker for you.

I went from 4 - 10 cm within half an hour.
Although they broke my waters at 4cm, that would have made it go a lot faster.It took me 48 hours to get from 1cm to 4cm.

I was betwee 4-5cm at midnight (waters broke 24 hours before then), and 14 hours later (+ syntocin) was 10cm.

Baby #1 - about 2 hours from 4cm to pushing, roughly. I didn't have so many VE's so I'm not totally sure. But when I got to the hospital at 9:30 am, I was 1-2, soft and stretchy, I think, and I started pushing around 12:30pm, and baby was born at 1:25pm. Total labour 7 hours.
Baby #2 - about 2 hours again, I think. Total labour 7 hours.
Baby #3 - about 1 hour, or so. Light labour all day, hard labour about 2 hours.
For me, once active labour hits, it really hits! But that's just me, and I know there's lots of variation on that.

Everyone is different, just relax and enjoy the journey.. For the record though,
Baby 1 - Already 5cm dilated when I got to hosp, and 1 hour later I was fully dilated.
Baby 2 - Already 8cm when arrived at hosp, and 1/2 hour later fully...
Baby 3 - Fully dilated at arrival, and had baby 13 minutes later!

No more for me - I will sneeze and it will pop out!

Good luck hun!

It was long for me too. After 42 hours of contractions I was only 2cm dilated. I was so tired from lack of sleep I started crying. My water broke while I was crying and there was meconium in it so they admitted me. 5 hours later I was at 5cm and already unable to stop pushing. Exhausted, I had an epidural at that time so I could get some sleep and it took another 9 hours to reach 10cm. It was 2 more hours of pushing before DS finally made an appearance. He was sunny side up though and had his head tilted back which slowed things down a little.

With DD#1 it took about 26 hours - she was induced at 4 days overdue. With DD#2 I went from 4cm to baby on my chest in 10 minutes! She came in her own good time at 9 days overdue. With DD#1 I took RLT and evening primrose oil which supposedly speed things up. With DD#2 I took nothing.

I don't think there is any reliable formula you can use to work out how long labour will be. It is what it is. Somewhere between 26 hours and 10 minutes would be good!

I was 3cm on arriving at hossy at 11pm, and 10cm at 7am. So 7 cm in 8 hours, with a posterior bub, I was pretty darn happy with that! Had a four hour second stage, but I guess that's not relevant here hehe.

I am unusual, but I went from 2cm to 10cm in between 1 and 2 hours with my first labour. My second labour was 3 hours from start to finish. My mum had quick labours too, and it often is hereditary.

The important thing I think is to remember that everyone is different. For many women it is 1cm per hour. For others it is much quicker and for others much slower. You won't know about you until you get there. But don't take it as gospel that it will be 1cm/hr.

I was 4cm and fully effaced when I got to hospital at around 2 pm. I had in my head that it would be another 6 hours and decided I couldn't do it so asked for an epidural. By the time I got the epidural and they did another internal, I was 8 cm. DD was born at 5:53pm. In retrospect, the expectation that it would be an hour per cm is what convinced me to have an epidural, but now I know I could have done it without it. It was only that intense because my body was working pretty hard and fast.
;)

I was another one who had a fast and full on labour, it took me less than an hour to go from 1cm to fully dilated!! My total labour time was 2 hours 5 minutes, but I was induced.
Like the other ladies said, everyone is different and it takes as long as it takes.
:)

i went from 4cm to birth in 2 hrs.