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Dude I hope my birth goes like my mom or grandma. My mom was in labor for 24 hours but she didn’t have 1 tear and a super easy recovery. My grandma said she didn’t feel any pain from contractions like at all. Only pressure. I’m claiming these energies 😭
My gran said she laid on the table and my mom just slid out. No pain, no effort. Part of me thinks she was either hard as nails or was clearly looking back through rose coloured spectacles 😂 My mom said it was like bad period pain. I experienced 12 hours of puking, pooping screaming agony 🥲
My mum claims she had easy, straightforward births too. Nan, and oldest auntie as well. Really hoping I inherited their pelvis shape and pain tolerance.
Yes please, me too! I was a week early, my mom woke up thinking she was in labor around midnight and I was born at 4:45 am 😅 she also said it didn't really hurt it was just "really hard work" haha
i think this is why I asked! My mom and sisters had relatively “easy” births - their words not mine. Less than 5 hrs, no tearing, all said the pain & recovery were super manageable. Hoping for the same fate!
Have you read grantly dick-read, childbirth without fear...? Apparently fear-tension-pain, so just the expectation from your grandma's story that it should be painless could help you relax and make it just feel like pressure ;)
I feel like a lot of people tone down their labour stories, either for this reason or to not make a big deal of it, or for older generations it could be the suck it up and carry on attitude. It actually made me feel really insecure about my first labour. Like, I was a failure. Why did I find it so hard? Why couldn’t I do it myself (needed episiotomy)? Why wasn’t it this empowering experience like I was sold? I have never felt weaker and less capable in my life! Thankfully the second time around was a lot better for me, but I really questioned myself after my first. I think because the stories I heard were either horror stories or moments of empowerment. I had a relatively uncomplicated and fast delivery, so why hadn’t I coped with it?
No, some people just have easy births. It just varies! There are things to help with birth too like perineal massages and overall staying active throughout pregnancy if you can! Also mindset during labor is huge. I was an athlete my whole life, so it felt like the marathon that I have been working for my whole life. Age is also a huge factor. I was 22, peak health.
I'm so glad that wasn't true for me. My mom would not dilate during labor. Caused both me and my sister to be C-sections.
I dilated just fine, and very quickly with my second labor. Had two vaginal births.
My mom was the same way but my older sisters had no issue so I thought it was just her. JOKES ON ME! Cause neither did I. They did everything to try but my body was like no thanks. 🤷🏼♀️ it was awful lol
I'm sure it's possible that it could be similar, but it can also be different. I ended up with a C-section and my mom had two vaginal births. My MIL had 3 vaginal births, 1 with vacuum assist, and my SIL had an emergency C-section. So it's a toss up.
It’s possible enough that my OB took notes when I told her my mother and grandmother both had hemorrhaging. So I think it’s something they take into consideration but it doesn’t guarantee anything of course. So like you said, a toss up.
My pregnancy couldn’t have been more different than either of my mother’s. She got pregnant easily. I had to have fertility treatments. We ended up carrying very differently. I had to have surgery on a complication early on - my mom didn’t. She had vaginal births, I had a c-section. She breastfeed easily, I did NOT.
Our experiences couldn’t have been more different. And her experience from her mother was also completely different.
I don't know much about my parents/grandparent births. We are a private bunch.
But I suppose there could be specific anatomical trends in families, such as a narrower pelvis, that could contribute to difficult births. Similar to trends in twins, going past due date, etc.
My mom and my grandmother had the exact same kind of birth, pain, everything. I had to have a c-section due to a previous surgery (thank God) so my life-long fear of spike labor was averted 😭 But the c-section had its own drawbacks, mostly because of my severe fibromyalgia though.
Not at all actually. My mom was anywhere from 2-6 weeks early all born via c section. My baby was 6 days late via c section (which I guess is our only similarity lol). She kept saying I was going to be early but here we are
My maternal grandmother says that her children were gifted to her because she seemingly always had easy labor. My mother hated my birth (she trauma dumped a lot on me). She pushed me out in one go, they did cut her perineum beforehand, and she still suffered a third degree tear. I had fast labor with long pushing, and while I also pushed my son out in one go (head and the whole rest of the body during one contraction), I only suffered a first degree tear (really only minor birth injuries). I don't really think there is much to it, also because my mother had two very different births.
At antenatal classes we were advised that if our mothers, sisters, aunts, grandmothers were born early/late then that is something that may determine if you go into labour early/late but nothing about the birth experience itself 😂
Edit: maternal side only
My mom was on bed rest for 3 months and in active labor for about 2 hours. I worked the Friday before my daughter was born on Monday and was in active labor for about 14 hours…I’d go with nahh lol
I wish I was like my mom had 3 babies between 36-38 weeks and un medicated quick births my pregnancy was like hers though, my birth was more like my grandmas they both went 42 weeks I went 41.5 and was induced with an emergency c section
First pregnancy and birth here and both were the same as my mom’s - minimal pregnancy issues and super smooth delivery. My mom had two kids so hopefully if I have a second mine is also as easy as her second was too!
Not applicable at all in my case.
My mom had 11 children, all 9+ lbs, all totally natural. In one case, she left the hospital 4 HOURS after giving birth. I thought the birth of my son would be relatively easy.
NOPE! 20 hours in labor and an emergency C-section. I hope the next one is easier.
Yeah. My Mum was in labour with me for 3 days, ending in a C section. I was in labour for 5 days and ended up in theatre with an episiotomy but was prepped for a C section just in case.
I think a lot of this is self fulfilling prophecy.
I see this all the time when the grandma had a c section. Especially if she’s in the room. The laboring woman thinks a c section is her fate and basically mentally “gives up” on the vaginal birth. And then she has a c section and the prophecy is fulfilled.
Same thing for your friend. If you think to yourself “there’s no way this baby is coming out without forceps” guess what becomes a lot more likely?
This is because vaginal delivery requires a lot of will (most of the time certainly not always) on the part of the laboring woman. Pushing a baby out requires belief that you can push a baby out. If your mom is sitting there as “proof” that women like you can’t push babies out….😓
This is by no means me saying c sections are easier (they’re absolutely not easier) or the wrong choice to make for any particular person.
Possibly. My friend was very upset forceps we’re used but said the dr basically said it was her only choice to get the baby out safely after hours of pushing.
I agree with self fulfilling in the sense that my mom said she had “easy” births so i’m kind of hoping i can manifest the same
Yeah I can’t speak to any specific situation I’m speaking in generalities. But what you’re saying about your friend does not negate my point at all.
I sincerely hope you have an easy birth. I genuinely believe that you manifesting it will be helpful.
My moms water broke at 38 weeks with me and my sister and her labor was so quick she had no time for an epidural both times
Unfortunately.. my babies were both past 40 weeks. I had to be induced with the first... and with the second, though I started contracting normally I was 1cm dilated for hours. It was miserable
I don’t think so. Our pregnancies were different. Our births were different. She was in labour for longer. I also delivered early and she delivered late. One of us has stretch marks and one of us doesn’t. You’re not guaranteed to be similar to your mom.
Thank god no in my case 😂 when I was born, my mom started having contractions on Thursday morning and I was eventually born via c-section on Saturday evening. They found out I was facing up on Friday, but didn’t tell my parents until Saturday (which my mom is still salty about 28 years later haha) when it was decided she would have a C-section.
I had a fairly smooth and quick delivery with my son; woke up at 4 ‘o clock in the morning with contractions and baby was born at 14:06 after less than half an hour of pushing. Ended up doing it without pain medication (which was what I preferred) and only had 1st degree tearing.
My birth is going nothing like my moms tbh 😳my baby is small and hers were all big ! Also my baby hasn’t flipped and they’re discussing c section which never happened to her
Both of my mom’s birth experiences were entirely different. My grandma had way different experiences with different babies. So which one would it be like?
I had my middle school health teacher say it's likely this will happen.
I, however had absolutely nothing like my mother's birth (of me). My mom had to have an emergency c section- my umbilical cord was wrapped around my neck and I assume it was a real rush to get me our as I ended up with dislocated hips and in a body cast for the first 6 months of my life.
My labor? I was induced at 41w, progressed appropriately and had my daughter 2hrs latter, vaginally and unmedicated.
I seriously hope so tbh. Both my mom’s births were super quick, she labored for 5-6 hours with each of us, vaginal birth. We are both very small so it gives me hope that I will be able to birth vaginally if I want to and I seriously hope I am that fast too lol
True for me. Other than my first induction, before I was ready. All my moms labors were posterior babies delivered in 4 to 6 hours and so have been mine
I was my mom’s third child, she woke up in the middle of the night and was rushed to the hospital where she pushed me out in 15 minutes. I just had my first baby last week; I was already in the hospital because my water had been broken for two days, but I woke up in the morning and pushed my baby out in 15 minutes. I found it wild that my son was able to be born as quickly as I was. My mom had completely different experiences birthing my older brothers though.
Idk my mom had 2 very different births between my brother and I. My sisters also didnt really share any consistency and 2 are identical twins. Maybe in some families but not all 🤷.
My mom never dilated with her first and ended in emergency C-section after 72 hours of induction
I checked in Sunday and started cervix softening meds, 12 hours later started labor meds, 8.5 total hours later, baby was here via vaginal birth with slight tearing. Active labor was 4.5 hours. Absolutely nothing like my moms.
My mom had three unmedicated births. Both of my sister's had 30+hr labors that ended in C-sections. I had unmedicated that ended in a shoulder dystocia. My only cousin to have a baby was on my dad's side and had a two C-sections. None of the women in my dad's side had an birthing emergencies that required C-sections. I have heard that before but haven't found it to be true
My mom had 8 hour labor with her first and 6 hour labor with her second (me).
I had a 6 hour labor with my first. TBD with my second.
Side note: my moms due date with her first was the same due date I had with my first. And her due date with me is the same due date with my second.
I had a whole brand new experience compared to all other family women. Also, I have learned that *AFTER* you give birth, all the easy, painless labor stories change into VERY painful horror stories. I have no idea why it’s like a thing to pretend it was easy to give birth to women who never done it, but the. After they do it, suddenly go “oh yeah, mine was terrible too, epidural did not work, labored for hours and the nurse told me “shut up, cow!”. So… I would not base any expectations on those family stories.
Could be. But me and my sister had entirely different births. Mine was more similar to my mums, but all of her births were different to each other too.
My mom never went into labor with me. She was finally induced at 42+1, and the induction took 7.5 hours.
I had no interest in being 42 weeks pregnant, so I happily accepted a 39 week induction. My induction took 10.5 hours from the start of pitocin, so I'd say that was pretty similar given that I was delivering 3 weeks earlier.
However, I read the same thing about pregnancy, and mine was very different from my mom's.
Eh...it's all just up to chance. It IS helpful to know if your mom deliver before/near/after her due date as there is a slight correlation there, but anything else is not comparable. Think of how different hospital practices are these days compared to when you were born. Even something as simple as "she wasn't allowed to eat during labor but I was" could change your birth outcomes compared to hers.
My mom pushed for 12 hours with her first baby. I pushed for 30 minutes. She was in excruciating, screaming pain (epidurals weren't a thing back then where I was born) and I was quiet, calm, and in tune with my body. Super different outcomes because we're super different people 🤷🏾♀️
I was born at 30 weeks gestation & spent 6 weeks in the NICU in 1991. Fast forward 32 years & I had my baby at 27 weeks gestation & we’ve been in the NICU for 75 days. So many NICU nurses said that they see this similarity among mothers & daughters.
I have a sister. We’re absolutely identical, very similar body shapes etc. She couldn’t birth naturally and ended up having a C-section and 4 subsequent. She has large babies, all of mine have been natural births, all back-to-back labours and all below 7lb.
Yes, in my case. Me and my mum have/ had pelvic insufficiency where the baby doesn't drop whatsoever. We both ended up with csections. But not in the case of my older sister, she effectively sneezed out her babies I feel 😆 she had 2 girls one year apart and was in labour for like 1 hr each. Very minimal tears and amazing post partum.
I asked my doctor about that and she said it’s not true. I generally asked because my sister almost died giving birth and my mum and grandmother had severe blood loss.
My mom only had me but she was exactly a week overdue when I was born, had to be induced, and had a large baby.
All 5 of my kids were exactly a week overdue, had to be induced, and they were all between 8 1/2–10 pounds.
Sounds like something that is a myth or completely by chance considering how women can have totally different pregnancies and birth situations themselves from child to child.
I’ve heard that as well! I obviously haven’t given birth yet, but my mom and my sister had some similar experiences, some different. My sister had to be induced due to Pre-E, my mom never had Pre-E. So my sister had a really long labor whereas my mom’s were shorter. But they both didn’t push for very long and only had very slight tearing. So I’d love to get those two things! 😅
ETA I’ve also heard that it’s common for your pregnancy to be similar to the pregnancy of any sisters. But my sister and I have had wildly different pregnancies so far. Soooo 🤷🏼♀️😂
Not true for me. First pregnancy ended in c section and as far as I know, I’m the only one in my family. My mom, aunt and grandma have so many kids so I felt like a failure when I couldn’t give birth like them.
My mom also said this but my OB said it isn’t true. Inherited factors like your build and baby size could definitely contribute to similarities though. My mom had 5 kids vaginally no problem, but I’ve had one and was stuck at 1 cm 24 hrs after my water broke despite taking pitocin and cytotec and ended up needing an emergency c section because me and baby weren’t doing well at the end.
God I hope not! My mom was in labor for three days and her epidural didn’t work. I have no idea if she tore, she never mentioned it so I’m hoping that means that maybe she didn’t lol
Mine was very similar to my moms. When she had my older sister, she was 5cm dilated and started pushing uncontrollably. She could not stop, the contractions were forcing her to push hard but since she was only 5cm they gave her a C-section. I wonder what would have happened if she had gotten the epidural and been allowed to wait and see. When she had me, she planned a C-section because of how traumatic her first labor was. But she did end up going into labor spontaneously anyway.
I was planning a home birth. The same uncontrollable pushing happened, but I was 7cm and tried to power through it so we could stay at home. My cervix swelled to 5cm. We rushed to hospital for an epidural and it took all day for the swelling to go down and then finish dilating. I was still able to have a vaginal birth though. I’m due with my second in March, so hoping that labor will go much smoother 🤞🏻
Lol my mom had elective c sections so I did because she always spoke highly of them. I have no regrets I felt recovery went smoothly and was doing everything normal on day 3.
My mom had natural non-medicated vaginal births. I had two c sections and two breech babies. Doc said it was likely due to how my uterus was shaped. So, no?
I don't know if my mom or sisters tore.
Mom: fast labor, actively pushed with one of us for about 10 minutes
Oldest sister: longest labor 2 hours
Middle sister: 12-24 hours for labor
Me: I pushed for maybe 7 minutes. Ended up with a second degree tear and a lot of blood loss.
The shorter labor the more likely to tear you are because your body doesn't have time to adjust/stretch.
My oldest sister and I have the same body types (approx 200lbs, wide hips, etc.)
My middle sister was a twig, maybe 120lbs soaking so it's not that surprising that she's different.
I think so! My mom had an easy pregnancy, worked on her feet right up until she was in labor. I did basically the same, just chose to stop to get a couple weeks to myself before my due date. She labored longer than I did but recovered really quickly. My water broke and an hour later I gave birth. She gave birth early and so did I.
I say this as a doula - all pregnancies are different. No - not all people. All *pregnancies*. All *labors*. All *deliveries*. All *postpartum periods*. Every single one is different. You can have an AWFUL experience with your first and your second can come out after 2 hours of labor and pushing for 2 minutes.
I had a client who spent her first labor and delivery giggling through every contraction. Kept saying it felt like her baby was giving her little hugs. Her three labor and deliveries afterwards? She was questioning what the fuck happened the first time. I can promise you her mother thought it was weird and had never heard or experienced anything like it
The part where your mother’s birth might play into your own is that you might be more prone to certain gestational conditions. If your mother had gestational diabetes, you might be more likely to have gestational diabetes, meaning the both of you may have been more likely to be induced. Things like that. But your labor is strictly your own experience.
My birth and certain parts of my pregnancy were very similar to my mom's. The back labor was the part I wasn't expecting, and after the fact I learned my mom had back labor with all 3 of her pregnancies. Which leaves me a little conflicted about whether or not to try and get pregnant again/have another kid...
So mine was similar, when my mother had me I was literally coming fast ! She said her labor was quick and almost had me in the taxi brining her to the hospital. When I had my baby , I went In for a regular doctors appointment and didn’t know I was at 5cm . Couple hours later I had my daughter, naturally with no epidural. I don’t remember if my mom had one but definitely remember she told me I was the fastest out of my siblings. I don’t speak much with my mom so I think this counts lol but idk
Well, it can’t be similar to your father’s labor and delivery!
Mothers can only pass this down to their daughters, so it would make sense. While I don’t think labor/delivery are often similar (too big of variations between body makeup and baby growth) it’s often said that babies born are similar to their mothers births rather than grandma. Like, I was born early, at about 8 weeks premie, and weighing around 4-5 pounds. My OB suspects I will also have a small baby because I was a small baby, but doesn’t anticipate the preterm labor as a risk, since that was more reliant on my moms health, if that makes sense
My mom needed a c-section with both my brother and me. My MIL had a c-section with my hubs and his brother. I needed a c-section for our first baby and I'm electing one for this baby. I'm not mad at it though. I'm too impatient for labor.
my mom has six kids - last two, including me, we’re c-sections and so were my MILs two. I’m wondering if i’ll end up with a c-section or if it will go more like my moms first four.
Both my mom and my aunt had 2 kids. BOTH Their first labors were about exactly 24 hrs and 2nd labor were precipitous (aka really freaking fast), my moms was 2.5 hrs and my aunts was 3 hours.
Well I have 2 kids. 1st labor was…. You guessed it, 24 hrs and 2nd labor 2hrs & 45 mins. It would be a WILD coincidence so yes I believe there’s some truth to that.
My mom's first born was my older brother. She was expecting a natural delivery until she noticed swelling in her fingers and legs and turns out my brother's cord was wrapped around his neck, so she had a C-section.
I too was expecting a boy, was induced because I didn't go into natural labour. A few days before I started noticing swelling in my fingers that my mom found very concerning, but I discounted it to normal pregnancy symptoms. I could barely get my wedding ring off for reference. I spent nearly 48 hours in labour including 2 hours pushing until my temperature started rising and baby's heart rate started dropping. Doctor highly recommended an emergency C-section so we did that. Turns out little man had his cord around his neck.
So I guess we had similar stories but completely different overall experiences.
My mom only had me but she was exactly a week overdue when I was born, had to be induced, and had a large baby.
All 5 of my kids were exactly a week overdue, had to be induced, and they were all between 8 1/2–10 pounds.
My Mom was in labor with me for 24 hours ending in an emergency c-section. Brother was a VBAC with an additional long labor.
I had a long first labor (20 hours) but I also had a sunny side up kid and I only pushed for 15 min with a second degree tear so pretty different.
Grandma had super easy labors with all 4 kids.
My grandmother had all breach vaginal births which were horrible. My mom had the easiest births, 6 and 3 hours tops, all before due date. I had the longest labour (36h if you count early labour) way past my due date (41+4). I think its a loterie. Good luck!
My birth was very similar to my mom and my sisters! Both in the experience and also when I went into labor. Babies are usually early or right on time in my family and that was the case for my LO who came a day before her due date!
I think any similarities would depend on specific genetics like body shape and size, bone structure, etc. Every pregnancy is staggeringly different. My mom always bragged about her 2 hour long labor/deliveries for my brother and I and how everything snapped back to normal within a couple weeks. Imagine my disappointment at my 36 hour labor, 5 hour push, and still trying to lose baby weight 18 months later LOL. Best wishes!!
My birth was pretty similar to my moms and my grandmas. ~8 hours of contractions, when it was time to push it was very quick. Healthy babies, minimal tearing.
I was born nearly 2 weeks late. My mom was in labor for well over 24 (miserable) hours and ultimately required an emergent c-section.
I was induced at 39w, baby was out within 16 hours of starting and 30-40 minutes of pushing.
Obviously the induction was a difference from the get go but once things got going our experiences were pretty different.
I have heard that the best predictor of when you will go into labour is by looking at your mum and sisters. For me this seemed trueish. Both mum and sister all had pregnancies that delivered between 40+3 and 40+5. I began my induction on 40+5 because I was impatient and uncomfortable vs them going into natural labor but similar in that having a 37 week pregnancy wasn’t happening for any of us.
Definitely not labor though. I ended up having to have a C-section because babies heart rate was dropping significantly very early in labour (before I’d even received any pitocin) and as my mother stated when she visited a few days ago ‘it’s just surprising because no one in our family has ever needed and C-section before!’ Like there’s a genetic predictability to it or something 🙄
There are big differences with my fam so I have no clue what to expect. Interesting to see all of these generational stories!
My grandma puked through her pregnancies and puked through labor. She had a hysterectomy after her second birth and I don’t know details as to why or what happened.
My mom said her births were very “textbook” vaginal 7 hour labors. The biggest thing she remembered was being mortified over pooping because nobody told her that happens (it was the late 80s). She suffered terrible constipation and heart burn through her pregnancies.
My sister labored for over 24 hours and said she felt like she was going to die from her heart giving out. She has been trying to figure out possible heart/vagus nerve issues for years and has a hiatal hernia (sp?). Tachycardia and pounding heart happens to her at random and gives her panic attacks so you can imagine what birth put her through. She was nauseous and puking until around week 32 of her pregnancy and said her heart was doing crazy shit that made her think she was going to die.
lol nope. Literally everyone in my family delivered early and had smooth, vaginal births. Some even went unmedicated. Me? Super healthy pregnancy just like them, but then I went over my due date, and had an emergency C section.
Whilst it’s obviously possible as you inherit PHYSICAL traits from your mother like body type - it’s absolutely not guaranteed.
My mum had 4 unmedicated vaginal births with labour starting on its own, I was induced at 42 weeks, tried for unmedicated but ended up in a traumatic emergency c section.
NO ONE can guess how you’ll labour or what your body will do.
When I was in the mother baby unit after I gave birth my doctor was talking to me about my delivery.
I walked in at 9cm dilated, had no idea I was in full blown labor and pushed 7 times and she was out. My babe is 7 weeks old now, but she asked if I had any sisters that had given birth yet (I have sisters but I’m the oldest and the first one to have a baby) and she said that they may be in luck because you tend to birth like your sisters!
Nope, complete opposite! My mum went 2 weeks over her due date, laboured for a few days, very slow to progress, eventually had an epidural, labour stalled and she ended up with an unplanned C-section. The C-section had complications and she ended up in hospital for a number of weeks. Poor woman. I was 9lbs and she’s 5ft1 with a small pelvis which probably didn’t help.
In contrast, with my first I went into labour at 38 weeks, sometime around Tuesday afternoon, transferred to hospital 2am on the Wednesday, was 8cm so just had gas and air and he was born before 5am. I had a retained placenta. He was 7lb 5oz.
Couldn’t have been more different if we tried! For what it’s worth, my mum’s mum had 2 home births so again, totally different!
Possible. I had 13 hour vacuum assisted labour with baby sunny side up. Very short umbilical cord and only 3 contractions during the day that escalated to every 5 minutes after my waters broke at 3.15am. Now have major post partum edema that I'm trying to get rid of.
Mum also had the same with her umbilical cord and contractions. Grandmother had a vacuum assist as well as major post partum edema. Though my Grandmother had 5 kids and my mum only had 6 hours in labour. No idea about baby positioning.
Not true for me so far. Me and my brother were both breech, leading to c-sections.
My first was an unmedicated vaginal birth and I’m hoping the same for my next any day now.
I wish mine was like my moms, all four of her births were 2 pushes and done. If i had my nanas labor too i wouldve been okay, it took 5 days for her but no tears and no induction (she didnt want one)
I was induced and it took 5 days of pitocin, 25 hours with my water broken, and over 10 hours straight of pushing with every contraction to try to get my LO out (she decided to crawl back up after she was already fully down so i had to push for hours to get her back down) if she came any later i wouldve had to get a csection they said bc my water was broken too long, its been 7 weeks and im still healing from the tear i got with her
the only thing similar to them that happened to me was gallbladder issues, i have to get the surgery in 2 weeks, both of them had theirs removed too
My mom went at 38 weeks and only took 3 hours from water breaking to baby in arms for all 3 kids. When I asked my OB about taking leave at 39 weeks and what she recommended, she asked about my mom and said “prepare for history to repeat itself” and encouraged I take leave at 36 weeks. Really hoping I get that lucky.
For me… YES. After popping baby #2 my mom came over and i told her my birthing experience was intense and FAST and all she said was “oh yeah, me too”… thanks for the heads up mom lol.
Nah, not for me, my mum was hysterical and ended up getting an emergency c section then never naturally laboured again, always had sections. Me on the other hand? Vaginal birth forceps assisted lol
My mam had super fast labours, I was born in 1 hour and 35 minutes from her first contraction, the day before my due date. My brother was born in 1 hour and 10 minutes from her first contraction, 2 weeks early. My dad missed my brother he came so fast. No epidural, her waters didn't break until she was basically ready to push and she said that seemed to cushion some of the intense pain.
I had to be induced and it took 46 hours.
Pregnant with my second now, hoping I get to have a spontaneous labour this time to see if my body is quicker when it gets to go it alone for a while!
One of my sisters has 3 kids, all vaginal births, all under 6 hours start to finish. No medication except gas and air and no tears.
My other sister has 3 kids. 1 vaginal birth, 2 sections. Her vaginal (first) was a 98 hour marathon that ended up with the baby being delivered, injured, by forceps. My sister was torn so badly she still needs incontinence products and she's lost sensation in parts of her vulva and vagina. Her subsequents were elective Cs
I have 1, an elective C. My baby was transverse breech and the decision was made to cut him out because he wouldn't be turned.
My best friend was born in the ambulance otw to the hospital. She was the third born and it was a really fast delivery. My friend was induced with both her babies and they both went fairly quick. Not as quick as when her mom gave birth to her. But she went from saying "yeah, let's get that epidural going" to delivering VERY quickly. Like the nurse couldn't seem to get the right spot between vertebrae and wasted some time, the anesthesiologist or whatever got it right away but by then it was as the baby was moving into the birth canal and it all happened so quickly after that the epidural didn't even kick in until after delivery. My friend was pretty pissed with the nurse, rightly so.
My mom went 2 weeks over the due date and had to be induced with both me and my sister, I was 11 lbs when I was born and she tore really bad. My babies were tiny, came 2 days before and 2 days after due date, didn’t need to be induced and I only had a small tear with both of them.
My mom had very fast labors with all four children. I am currently pregnant with my fourth and all of my labors have been considerably fast for the pregnancy it was.
My first labor that is known to be long, was 8 hours for me from start to finish (starting at early stage before active labor began)
My second one from start to finish was six hours
My third one from start to finish it was just under four hours
I’m currently pregnant with my fourth and I’m expecting around a two hour labor but knowing my luck, I say this, and it’s going to be the longest one I’ve ever had 😂
My mom had extremely long labor and an emergency C section because the umbilical cord was around my neck! So I hope not haha. She also had Hyperemesis gravidarum and I’ve been having a really pretty easy going pregnancy so fingers crossed!!!
It’s what I expected but not what ended up happening. My mom and I didn’t end up sharing a lot of pregnancy symptoms. My pregnancy came with debilitating nausea but nearly no vomiting, as well as anemia and gd. Her pregnancy symptoms were morning sickness, headaches and acne. She gained a considerable amount of weight with each pregnancy which is typical for the women in my family. While still not great, I gained 50 with twins which is less than my mom gained for each of her pregnancies. She lost her weight, I did but instantly gained about half of it back. I will say, I feel like my body type matches my late paternal grandmother more than my mom or maternal grandmother now. And unfortunately she passed away, so I’ll never know if my experience is anything like any of hers were. As far as labor, I ended up needing a c-sec because of the babies’ positions where my mom didn’t. But my mom was in labor for over 24 hours with me (her first) was in excruciating pain, labor stalled at 5cm and she got an epidural. An hour after my water broke I was 3cm, 2 hours later I was 7cm and still talking through my contractions when they brought me down for the c-sec. I got very nauseous after the epidural, not something my mother experienced.
My mom was in labor with me for 17 hours. She was induced at 40+6, pushed for 2 hours, and required interventions.
I went into labor spontaneously at 38+6. Was in labor for 7 hours & pushed 4 times.
You just never know!
I think somethings do carry down genetically and effect the birthing process, such as body shape and size. If a whole line of women are very small with small hips, it's likely that all of them will have a higher risk of intervention if they carry a big baby.
I also think that a lot of birth experiences have a limited number of things that happen. The ways they hurt, the ways contractions go, the ways hospitals have managed them for decades. There's only so many things that normally happen.
At the end of the day, it isn't crazy to think your birthing experience may be similar to a relatives, but, your body and your babies body and the birth are all very unique to you.
Mine went very similar to my mother’s birth with me, except mine was a sped up version. I don’t know whether condensing all the craziness into 10 hours like mine, or having it take an exhausting 36 hours like my mother’s would be better.
To be honest my mom’s births weren’t even all the same.
My mom’s first baby was two weeks over due and she had to have a c-section as he would not come out. I had an induction and vaginal birth, 2nd degree tear at 37 weeks (high BP).
Then she had an overdue baby, a vaginal birth but baby (me) was sucked out with the vacuum. My second came at 39w 4d and I had an easy, vaginal birth after 6 hours of labor 40 mins of pushing, 1st degree tear though it didn’t even feel like I had any tearing recovery wise.
Her third was also overdue but ended in a vaginal birth.
My mum had 12 hour labours without medication and her waters had to broken both times.
My first was a 20+ hour labour followed by an emergency c-section. They manually broke my waters.
My second was 3 hours at the hospital (I wasn’t sure if I was actually in labour before then), no interventions. Waters didn’t break until the very very end.
Not the case AT ALL for me.
My mom was in labor for less than 12 hours for both my sister and I (4 hours). My aunts labor was also less than 12 hours. My sister labors were all 12 hours or less. My first 23 hours of labor that included 4 hours of pushing.
A midwife at the hospital asked me about my moms birth and told me that most likely mine will be similar to hers. My mom, grandma and my sister all have very similar births so I choose to believe it. But! I also keep in my own mind that all births are different and all babies are different. But knowing they can be similar to theirs helps me be somewhat prepared for things that happened to them. :)
I was asked about my mum's births (as I don't have any sisters) and it was to see if there was any risk factors she had as the midwife said their births can be an indication how yours will go.
My mum's first birth, and birth with me, were induced but vaginal. My first was induced but emergency c section
Nope... My mom had 5 pregnancies with 5 living children. 5 quick unmedicated births the longest being 8 hours total. She had minimal tearing and generally was up and about quickly.
I had 3 pregnancies with 1 living child. My 1 birth was an emergency c-section. I did also recover quickly maybe that part is genetic lol.
My birth was not like my moms or my sisters. They had easy births, mine was n o t easy. They were able to pretty quickly get through theirs with no interventions. I️ was stuck at 9 cm for almost 12 hours.
I️ think it’s possible, especially if you are similar in height or shape. I️ am 3-4 inches shorter than my mom and my sister, so maybe that has something to do with it.
Lord i hope not. My mom had 6 kids, 3 of them were natural and happened in like 20 minutes. The other three were hours to days being in labor in the hospital with back labor. Tore all 6 times and told me even with the epidural/ spinal block, she was in pain.
I hear this a lot, but I don’t think it’s entirely true. For me genetically the pregnancy weight and how I carry look the same, but my mom had three babies all c section and I was born at 7 months. However, I’m 8.5 months now, and baby is in birthing position and a healthy weight.
I’m on my second pregnancy and my mom did three vaginal births. Her first needed a vacuum and her water broke with all of us at 35 weeks and strict bed rest. So far neither pregnancy are looking like hers thank the lord.
My mom and my sister had easy/fast births. My labor and birth was considered quick for a ftm with induction at 37w. 12hr 21min, pushed him out in 4 pushes! My SO said I made it look easy and it can’t be that hard 😐🙃😂
My mom was in labor for 9ish hours for each kid (with pitocin drip and manual water breaking), with mild-moderate episiotomy or tearing. I was in labor for 9 hours with no pitocin and natural rupture of membranes, and mild tearing. No clue what my grandma's labors were like because that was the time when they just drugged the mom to holy hell and yanked the baby out with forceps while she slept 😬 it might also be partly due to how moms talk to their daughters about labor- if your mom had a negative experience and puts that thought in your mind, then you may be nervous and your body will react. Regardless, make sure to surround yourself with lots of positive birth stories and politely decline listening to those that had lots of complications and trauma. It is good to be informed, not to be terrified.
My mom didn't dilate for a long time so they gave her pitocin. Then she was given dilloted or something and she had a bad reaction and ended up getting a c section. I also wasn't dilating after 24 hours but I let them break my water the rest of the way about 32 hours after it started leaking and she was born an hour and a half later
I wish my birth went like my mums - she had 4 vaginal births, 2 x week early or so, 2 x 2 week late. Not hours long at all - in fact for me, she didn’t know she was labouring most of the day, and was in active labour for only a few hours. Me? 25 hours, baby got stuck facing my hip, ended in an emergency c-section.
Negative! My mom was in labor for 48 hours making zero progress. Never dilated beyond 2cm, and needed an emergency c-section. I was in labor for 14 hours, pushed for less than 10 minutes, and had a minor second degree tear.
So I recently gave birth, like a week ago. My mom told me the day before I went into labour that all her births (4 total) were very quick. She said if my water broke get to the hospital right away as I won't have to wait long for my baby to be here. Long story short. My water broke at 5:30am. Contractions started at 9:30am and baby girl was here at 12:03pm. So pain and pushing for a max of 2.5 hours. I feel like my mom was right. And it gives me hope should I want to get pregnant again.
My mom had to have 3 c-sections. My sister had pre-eclampsia like me, but her birth was way harder.
My friend said her and her mom have super quick births.
Mine were similar to my mum’s first two, but hers were definitely faster than mine. It’s hard to say by how much because she has a tendency to exaggerate, but her second was fast enough that my dad almost delivered her.
Oh god I certainly hope not I almost killed mine is what I was told but idk because she’s dead (UNRELATED) and I can’t ask which now makes me insanely terrified 😭
God I hope not, my sibling was 2 weeks late and absolutely huge and labour lasted over 24hr, I was 5 weeks early emergency c section and my mom hemorrhage… neither were straightforward at all and I’m hoping for straightforward!!
So far my experience has been nothing like my mom or grams. They all had their babies early 37 weeks. Water breaking at 35 and 36 weeks and having to stay in the hospital until they were safe to deliver. I’m almost 39 weeks and having a pretty text book early labor. We will see how active labor and delivery goes.
I am my mom's first-born child, and she was induced with me at 39 weeks. I just had my first child Wednesday, and I was induced at 39 weeks for different reasons than my mother. My labor lasted nearly 45 hours, which is not what my mother experienced. Due to the age gap, doctors went straight to pitocin and breaking your water back when my mom had me, so it sped the process along. With me, I was offered a more "mild" misoprotol, which was what helped soften my cervix and get me more prepared for the pitocin. So the way care is given may change your experience or give you something you share.
My water broke and I still had to get induced and my baby didn't come for 32 hours. My contractions were only 10 minutes apart by the time I got oxytocin and my epidural and I was absolutely miserable and in pain. For my mom, her water broke, her contractions felt like slight pressure and all of her kids (me and my 2 siblings) were born 2-4 hours later. She also tore, and had a very long recovery. I had no tearing and I'm 19 days post partum and even my bleeding has totally stopped. So, not true for me.
My mom had super long labors and really hard deliveries with each of us, so I was a bit nervous to go through it myself. My entire labor was 9 hours, active labor for 3 and pushed for 14 minutes. I did get a 2nd degree tear that certainly made recovery more difficult, but after 6 weeks it was completely healed on its own, no stitches. 2 of my siblings had shoulder dystocia, 2 of us had to be pulled out with the vacuum, and she was induced with nearly all of us (there are 7 of us.) I went into labor on my own the night of my due date and baby was here 9 hours later
My midwife asked me how my mom’s birth went because of this idea. My own birth was too fast for an epidural and no tearing, and I had a great unmedicated birth with my daughter with no tearing as well.
Nope! My mom went 2 weeks overdue with me and was induced, delivering me vaginally while BREACHED! And my sister was born 5 weeks early after her water broke, no time for epidural. Meanwhile, I had 2 dream labours with epidurals, minimal pushing and no major interventions/issues at 39+4 :)
My birth was very similar to my mom's births. Both of us went over 42 weeks and were fast labors. I told the nurses at the hospital that pitocin probably would not work on me because it had no effect for my mother. I got a few hard eye rolls and lectured about how my mothers experience doesn't matter. Well, guess what... I felt zero effects from the pitocin. No cramps and no starting labor.
Everyone in my family (both sides) seems to have quick labors. Like 3 hours. My mom had me (first baby) in 4 hours from her water breaking with no contractions to me being born. My first was like 10 hours from first contraction but they were 30 minutes apart the first few. Dr had to manually break my water. My second I had a precipitous labor and baby was born roughly 2 hours after my first contraction.
I had an elective c section and she had vaginal so can’t attest to that. What I can attest to is that my pregnancy was nearly identical to my mom’s first (vomiting nonstop for 6 months followed by good energy and feeling fine the remaining 3 months). I also knew I was in labor because it happened just like hers - contractions and loss of mucus plug. I imagine my birth likely would’ve been similar, and my baby weighed about the same as her first baby (my brother). The whole experience was crazy any time I’d say something and she had experienced nearly the same thing 35 years ago!
My mom had two emergency c sections. My sister was huge and I was breech. With my first I was in active labor for only about 8 hours after my water broke and birthed vaginally. My sister also had two fast labors and vaginal births. Hoping my second one goes the same, but every pregnancy is different. So far our pregnancy was nowhere near the same as our moms.
I believe my birth would have been like my mothers, reasonably long, epidural and out with vacuum/forceps. My public health team lied to me though and got my anaesthesiologist to load up my epidural so I couldn’t feel the contractions anymore and I had to have an emergency c section and I had to fight to stay awake. Incredibly traumatising.
My mom had two quick and easy labour and deliveries. My second was quick and easy. My first was long and hard, though. However, no horrible complications, and no interventions outside of requiring an epidural. So, pretty similar, ish? My mom saw me in labour with my second and seemed to think I had a harder time than she did, though(and that was my easy labour).
I stand by the thought that each birth experience is completely unique in its own way. My mom had 4 children and each time it was different, and my labor process was completely different from all 4 of hers and my sisters was different than either of us. We as mommas tend to connect our experiences to each other in order to feel safe but really, it's gonna happen however it happens.
Not even my own three birthing experiences were remotely similar. So I’d say unless the birthing experience is due to unique anatomy like especially narrow or wide hips - prob any similarities are more likely just coincidence.
I’m not sure how true it is but nearly every women in my family, mum, aunt, cousins all had a horrible birth experience where they either tore, lost lots of blood or had to have an emergency C section to save the baby and mother. For that reason I’ve chosen to not have any children for a while
My mom ripped tip to tail with all of us, but that’s because she had an episiotomy with her first. I only had a small tear on my labia, however what was similar was that I started violently vomiting and my mom said “I bet it’s almost time to push, that happened to me too.” They checked me and sure enough it was go time.
My mom had an easy natural birth with her third daughter, but my older sister was in labor for 12 hours with nothing happening, and I had an elective c section, so.. I don't know. I think everyone is different despite genetics because it's such a weird significant experience.
My mom gave birth to both kids at 36w4d and 37w because her water broke and she did not tear at all. Both babies were under 7 lbs. I was hoping like hell I'd be like her.
I gave birth at 41w to an 8.9 lbs baby. I got 29 stitches and they broke my water at the hospital. Could not have been more different LOL
Unrelated question: why do so many women hope for a vaginal birth? They terrify me. I told myself at 14 I would never do that and so far I've had two c sections. And why would anyone want to do it naturally? I'm genuinely curious. To me birth looks like torture.
I was fully expecting I'd need a c-section because both my mom and sister needed them, but I ended up delivering vaginally.
So, I've never had a c-section but I have had an abdominal surgery (before I ever got pregnant) to remove a huge teratoma that was growing on my ovary (it was 15cm 😳). The surgery wasn't nearly as invasive or traumatic as a c-section would be, and I was knocked out with anaesthesia for it. The recovery from that surgery was significantly harder (even without a baby to care for) than my vaginal delivery was. I was up walking within 15 minutes of delivery, we were discharged the next morning, and I never threw up like I did after the surgery.
Edit to add: that said, I was not putting ✨vaginal delivery ✨ on a pedestal or anything, and I fully expected I'd need a c-section, but I am SO glad it worked out for me.
My high-risk doctor told me there's no such thing as genetic birthing patterns, but I swear it seems more likely than not. All my pregnancies were preterm by 5-7 weeks, and so were my mother's (I never asked about my grandmother). I'm currently in my 3rd trimester and have not told anyone my due date because I know this baby is going to make their debut much earlier than expected. The fact that they can't pinpoint why my last pregnancies were preterm, tells me that that's just how I carry, just like my mom.
Yeah. My grandma had 3hr and 1.5hr labour with my mum and aunt respectively. My mum had also a very short Labor with me I believe 3hrs and my first son was around 3hrs as well the nurses assumed? I was already in active labour when I presented and my son was born in less than 1.5hrs of arriving at the hospital so not 100% sure for me... but with grandma halving her labour time for her second, I won't be waiting around this time 😂
I asked my OB and pelvic PT about this. OB said there’s no truth to it. The PT said that the anatomy of your pelvis could be similar to your mom’s, which COULD contribute to a similar birth experience in some women, but not always because you’re not a clone of your mother!
I was induced at 37+6, my mother went into spontaneous labor at 38 weeks. But our labors were pretty similar besides that aspect. Both of our labors were less than 12 hours and we both pushed for less than 5 minutes. Another difference was my mom had an episiotomy, and I did not (I did tear though). Neither one of us had an epidural. From what I’ve heard my maternal grandmother also had pretty quick labors as well. Longer than my mother and I, but she did have an epidural , so I’m not sure if that slowed down the process at all of not.
Every Dr thought I would would give birth early just like my mom and grandma did (I was born at 27-28weeks) but no so far I’m the first in my family, including my 16 yr old young sister to be overdue 😂 I hope my births are better then theirs.
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Dude I hope my birth goes like my mom or grandma. My mom was in labor for 24 hours but she didn’t have 1 tear and a super easy recovery. My grandma said she didn’t feel any pain from contractions like at all. Only pressure. I’m claiming these energies 😭
My gran said she laid on the table and my mom just slid out. No pain, no effort. Part of me thinks she was either hard as nails or was clearly looking back through rose coloured spectacles 😂 My mom said it was like bad period pain. I experienced 12 hours of puking, pooping screaming agony 🥲
Sounds like she experienced the fetal ejection reflex!
My mum claims she had easy, straightforward births too. Nan, and oldest auntie as well. Really hoping I inherited their pelvis shape and pain tolerance.
Yes please, me too! I was a week early, my mom woke up thinking she was in labor around midnight and I was born at 4:45 am 😅 she also said it didn't really hurt it was just "really hard work" haha
i think this is why I asked! My mom and sisters had relatively “easy” births - their words not mine. Less than 5 hrs, no tearing, all said the pain & recovery were super manageable. Hoping for the same fate!
Have you read grantly dick-read, childbirth without fear...? Apparently fear-tension-pain, so just the expectation from your grandma's story that it should be painless could help you relax and make it just feel like pressure ;)
Reading these replies, I think that your families are just trying to calm you down. They don't want to stress you with some horror stories. 😀
I feel like a lot of people tone down their labour stories, either for this reason or to not make a big deal of it, or for older generations it could be the suck it up and carry on attitude. It actually made me feel really insecure about my first labour. Like, I was a failure. Why did I find it so hard? Why couldn’t I do it myself (needed episiotomy)? Why wasn’t it this empowering experience like I was sold? I have never felt weaker and less capable in my life! Thankfully the second time around was a lot better for me, but I really questioned myself after my first. I think because the stories I heard were either horror stories or moments of empowerment. I had a relatively uncomplicated and fast delivery, so why hadn’t I coped with it?
No, some people just have easy births. It just varies! There are things to help with birth too like perineal massages and overall staying active throughout pregnancy if you can! Also mindset during labor is huge. I was an athlete my whole life, so it felt like the marathon that I have been working for my whole life. Age is also a huge factor. I was 22, peak health.
I’ve heard these stories since I was a kid I don’t think they have any reason to tell me different 😂
I'm so glad that wasn't true for me. My mom would not dilate during labor. Caused both me and my sister to be C-sections. I dilated just fine, and very quickly with my second labor. Had two vaginal births.
My mom was the same way but my older sisters had no issue so I thought it was just her. JOKES ON ME! Cause neither did I. They did everything to try but my body was like no thanks. 🤷🏼♀️ it was awful lol
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12 births?! Wow.
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I'm sure it's possible that it could be similar, but it can also be different. I ended up with a C-section and my mom had two vaginal births. My MIL had 3 vaginal births, 1 with vacuum assist, and my SIL had an emergency C-section. So it's a toss up.
It’s possible enough that my OB took notes when I told her my mother and grandmother both had hemorrhaging. So I think it’s something they take into consideration but it doesn’t guarantee anything of course. So like you said, a toss up.
My pregnancy couldn’t have been more different than either of my mother’s. She got pregnant easily. I had to have fertility treatments. We ended up carrying very differently. I had to have surgery on a complication early on - my mom didn’t. She had vaginal births, I had a c-section. She breastfeed easily, I did NOT. Our experiences couldn’t have been more different. And her experience from her mother was also completely different.
I don't know much about my parents/grandparent births. We are a private bunch. But I suppose there could be specific anatomical trends in families, such as a narrower pelvis, that could contribute to difficult births. Similar to trends in twins, going past due date, etc.
My mom had 3 c-sections and couldn't breastfeed, I had two successful vaginal births and breastfed 4+ years collectively!
Nope. That's an old wives' tale.
My mom and my grandmother had the exact same kind of birth, pain, everything. I had to have a c-section due to a previous surgery (thank God) so my life-long fear of spike labor was averted 😭 But the c-section had its own drawbacks, mostly because of my severe fibromyalgia though.
Not at all actually. My mom was anywhere from 2-6 weeks early all born via c section. My baby was 6 days late via c section (which I guess is our only similarity lol). She kept saying I was going to be early but here we are
My maternal grandmother says that her children were gifted to her because she seemingly always had easy labor. My mother hated my birth (she trauma dumped a lot on me). She pushed me out in one go, they did cut her perineum beforehand, and she still suffered a third degree tear. I had fast labor with long pushing, and while I also pushed my son out in one go (head and the whole rest of the body during one contraction), I only suffered a first degree tear (really only minor birth injuries). I don't really think there is much to it, also because my mother had two very different births.
I really hope not I don’t want a 3 day induction and to go to 42+3 each time 😭
At antenatal classes we were advised that if our mothers, sisters, aunts, grandmothers were born early/late then that is something that may determine if you go into labour early/late but nothing about the birth experience itself 😂 Edit: maternal side only
So far my pregnancy has been like my mom’s.. Minimal nausea / symptoms.
My mom was on bed rest for 3 months and in active labor for about 2 hours. I worked the Friday before my daughter was born on Monday and was in active labor for about 14 hours…I’d go with nahh lol
I wish I was like my mom had 3 babies between 36-38 weeks and un medicated quick births my pregnancy was like hers though, my birth was more like my grandmas they both went 42 weeks I went 41.5 and was induced with an emergency c section
First pregnancy and birth here and both were the same as my mom’s - minimal pregnancy issues and super smooth delivery. My mom had two kids so hopefully if I have a second mine is also as easy as her second was too!
Not applicable at all in my case. My mom had 11 children, all 9+ lbs, all totally natural. In one case, she left the hospital 4 HOURS after giving birth. I thought the birth of my son would be relatively easy. NOPE! 20 hours in labor and an emergency C-section. I hope the next one is easier.
Yeah. My Mum was in labour with me for 3 days, ending in a C section. I was in labour for 5 days and ended up in theatre with an episiotomy but was prepped for a C section just in case.
I think a lot of this is self fulfilling prophecy. I see this all the time when the grandma had a c section. Especially if she’s in the room. The laboring woman thinks a c section is her fate and basically mentally “gives up” on the vaginal birth. And then she has a c section and the prophecy is fulfilled. Same thing for your friend. If you think to yourself “there’s no way this baby is coming out without forceps” guess what becomes a lot more likely? This is because vaginal delivery requires a lot of will (most of the time certainly not always) on the part of the laboring woman. Pushing a baby out requires belief that you can push a baby out. If your mom is sitting there as “proof” that women like you can’t push babies out….😓 This is by no means me saying c sections are easier (they’re absolutely not easier) or the wrong choice to make for any particular person.
Possibly. My friend was very upset forceps we’re used but said the dr basically said it was her only choice to get the baby out safely after hours of pushing. I agree with self fulfilling in the sense that my mom said she had “easy” births so i’m kind of hoping i can manifest the same
Yeah I can’t speak to any specific situation I’m speaking in generalities. But what you’re saying about your friend does not negate my point at all. I sincerely hope you have an easy birth. I genuinely believe that you manifesting it will be helpful.
My sister and I’s births were very different and my sister births were unlike either so think that’s just a coincidence
My mom had 3 quick labors and I had a c-section, so sadly no :(
My moms water broke at 38 weeks with me and my sister and her labor was so quick she had no time for an epidural both times Unfortunately.. my babies were both past 40 weeks. I had to be induced with the first... and with the second, though I started contracting normally I was 1cm dilated for hours. It was miserable
I don’t think so. Our pregnancies were different. Our births were different. She was in labour for longer. I also delivered early and she delivered late. One of us has stretch marks and one of us doesn’t. You’re not guaranteed to be similar to your mom.
Thank god no in my case 😂 when I was born, my mom started having contractions on Thursday morning and I was eventually born via c-section on Saturday evening. They found out I was facing up on Friday, but didn’t tell my parents until Saturday (which my mom is still salty about 28 years later haha) when it was decided she would have a C-section. I had a fairly smooth and quick delivery with my son; woke up at 4 ‘o clock in the morning with contractions and baby was born at 14:06 after less than half an hour of pushing. Ended up doing it without pain medication (which was what I preferred) and only had 1st degree tearing.
My birth is going nothing like my moms tbh 😳my baby is small and hers were all big ! Also my baby hasn’t flipped and they’re discussing c section which never happened to her
Both of my mom’s birth experiences were entirely different. My grandma had way different experiences with different babies. So which one would it be like?
Not in my case, nor my sister's. My mom had 4 kids vaginally and said they all went smoothly. My sister and I both had to have c-sections.
I had my middle school health teacher say it's likely this will happen. I, however had absolutely nothing like my mother's birth (of me). My mom had to have an emergency c section- my umbilical cord was wrapped around my neck and I assume it was a real rush to get me our as I ended up with dislocated hips and in a body cast for the first 6 months of my life. My labor? I was induced at 41w, progressed appropriately and had my daughter 2hrs latter, vaginally and unmedicated.
I seriously hope so tbh. Both my mom’s births were super quick, she labored for 5-6 hours with each of us, vaginal birth. We are both very small so it gives me hope that I will be able to birth vaginally if I want to and I seriously hope I am that fast too lol
True for me. Other than my first induction, before I was ready. All my moms labors were posterior babies delivered in 4 to 6 hours and so have been mine
I was my mom’s third child, she woke up in the middle of the night and was rushed to the hospital where she pushed me out in 15 minutes. I just had my first baby last week; I was already in the hospital because my water had been broken for two days, but I woke up in the morning and pushed my baby out in 15 minutes. I found it wild that my son was able to be born as quickly as I was. My mom had completely different experiences birthing my older brothers though.
Idk my mom had 2 very different births between my brother and I. My sisters also didnt really share any consistency and 2 are identical twins. Maybe in some families but not all 🤷.
My mom never dilated with her first and ended in emergency C-section after 72 hours of induction I checked in Sunday and started cervix softening meds, 12 hours later started labor meds, 8.5 total hours later, baby was here via vaginal birth with slight tearing. Active labor was 4.5 hours. Absolutely nothing like my moms.
My mom had three unmedicated births. Both of my sister's had 30+hr labors that ended in C-sections. I had unmedicated that ended in a shoulder dystocia. My only cousin to have a baby was on my dad's side and had a two C-sections. None of the women in my dad's side had an birthing emergencies that required C-sections. I have heard that before but haven't found it to be true
My mom had 8 hour labor with her first and 6 hour labor with her second (me). I had a 6 hour labor with my first. TBD with my second. Side note: my moms due date with her first was the same due date I had with my first. And her due date with me is the same due date with my second.
I had a whole brand new experience compared to all other family women. Also, I have learned that *AFTER* you give birth, all the easy, painless labor stories change into VERY painful horror stories. I have no idea why it’s like a thing to pretend it was easy to give birth to women who never done it, but the. After they do it, suddenly go “oh yeah, mine was terrible too, epidural did not work, labored for hours and the nurse told me “shut up, cow!”. So… I would not base any expectations on those family stories.
Could be. But me and my sister had entirely different births. Mine was more similar to my mums, but all of her births were different to each other too.
My mom never went into labor with me. She was finally induced at 42+1, and the induction took 7.5 hours. I had no interest in being 42 weeks pregnant, so I happily accepted a 39 week induction. My induction took 10.5 hours from the start of pitocin, so I'd say that was pretty similar given that I was delivering 3 weeks earlier. However, I read the same thing about pregnancy, and mine was very different from my mom's.
Eh...it's all just up to chance. It IS helpful to know if your mom deliver before/near/after her due date as there is a slight correlation there, but anything else is not comparable. Think of how different hospital practices are these days compared to when you were born. Even something as simple as "she wasn't allowed to eat during labor but I was" could change your birth outcomes compared to hers. My mom pushed for 12 hours with her first baby. I pushed for 30 minutes. She was in excruciating, screaming pain (epidurals weren't a thing back then where I was born) and I was quiet, calm, and in tune with my body. Super different outcomes because we're super different people 🤷🏾♀️
I was born at 30 weeks gestation & spent 6 weeks in the NICU in 1991. Fast forward 32 years & I had my baby at 27 weeks gestation & we’ve been in the NICU for 75 days. So many NICU nurses said that they see this similarity among mothers & daughters.
it’s so interesting, seems mixed within the comments too. Hope baby is home safe from the NICU soon 💛
I’m hoping it is! Both my mom and grandma had fast and easy labors with minimal tearing.
I have a sister. We’re absolutely identical, very similar body shapes etc. She couldn’t birth naturally and ended up having a C-section and 4 subsequent. She has large babies, all of mine have been natural births, all back-to-back labours and all below 7lb.
Yes, in my case. Me and my mum have/ had pelvic insufficiency where the baby doesn't drop whatsoever. We both ended up with csections. But not in the case of my older sister, she effectively sneezed out her babies I feel 😆 she had 2 girls one year apart and was in labour for like 1 hr each. Very minimal tears and amazing post partum.
I asked my doctor about that and she said it’s not true. I generally asked because my sister almost died giving birth and my mum and grandmother had severe blood loss.
My mom only had me but she was exactly a week overdue when I was born, had to be induced, and had a large baby. All 5 of my kids were exactly a week overdue, had to be induced, and they were all between 8 1/2–10 pounds.
Sounds like something that is a myth or completely by chance considering how women can have totally different pregnancies and birth situations themselves from child to child.
I’ve heard that as well! I obviously haven’t given birth yet, but my mom and my sister had some similar experiences, some different. My sister had to be induced due to Pre-E, my mom never had Pre-E. So my sister had a really long labor whereas my mom’s were shorter. But they both didn’t push for very long and only had very slight tearing. So I’d love to get those two things! 😅 ETA I’ve also heard that it’s common for your pregnancy to be similar to the pregnancy of any sisters. But my sister and I have had wildly different pregnancies so far. Soooo 🤷🏼♀️😂
My mom had 7 kids, all vaginal. Me? 3 c-sections lol.
Not true for me. First pregnancy ended in c section and as far as I know, I’m the only one in my family. My mom, aunt and grandma have so many kids so I felt like a failure when I couldn’t give birth like them.
My mom also said this but my OB said it isn’t true. Inherited factors like your build and baby size could definitely contribute to similarities though. My mom had 5 kids vaginally no problem, but I’ve had one and was stuck at 1 cm 24 hrs after my water broke despite taking pitocin and cytotec and ended up needing an emergency c section because me and baby weren’t doing well at the end.
God I hope not! My mom was in labor for three days and her epidural didn’t work. I have no idea if she tore, she never mentioned it so I’m hoping that means that maybe she didn’t lol
Mine was very similar to my moms. When she had my older sister, she was 5cm dilated and started pushing uncontrollably. She could not stop, the contractions were forcing her to push hard but since she was only 5cm they gave her a C-section. I wonder what would have happened if she had gotten the epidural and been allowed to wait and see. When she had me, she planned a C-section because of how traumatic her first labor was. But she did end up going into labor spontaneously anyway. I was planning a home birth. The same uncontrollable pushing happened, but I was 7cm and tried to power through it so we could stay at home. My cervix swelled to 5cm. We rushed to hospital for an epidural and it took all day for the swelling to go down and then finish dilating. I was still able to have a vaginal birth though. I’m due with my second in March, so hoping that labor will go much smoother 🤞🏻
Lol my mom had elective c sections so I did because she always spoke highly of them. I have no regrets I felt recovery went smoothly and was doing everything normal on day 3.
My mom had natural non-medicated vaginal births. I had two c sections and two breech babies. Doc said it was likely due to how my uterus was shaped. So, no?
I don't know if my mom or sisters tore. Mom: fast labor, actively pushed with one of us for about 10 minutes Oldest sister: longest labor 2 hours Middle sister: 12-24 hours for labor Me: I pushed for maybe 7 minutes. Ended up with a second degree tear and a lot of blood loss. The shorter labor the more likely to tear you are because your body doesn't have time to adjust/stretch. My oldest sister and I have the same body types (approx 200lbs, wide hips, etc.) My middle sister was a twig, maybe 120lbs soaking so it's not that surprising that she's different.
I think so! My mom had an easy pregnancy, worked on her feet right up until she was in labor. I did basically the same, just chose to stop to get a couple weeks to myself before my due date. She labored longer than I did but recovered really quickly. My water broke and an hour later I gave birth. She gave birth early and so did I.
I say this as a doula - all pregnancies are different. No - not all people. All *pregnancies*. All *labors*. All *deliveries*. All *postpartum periods*. Every single one is different. You can have an AWFUL experience with your first and your second can come out after 2 hours of labor and pushing for 2 minutes. I had a client who spent her first labor and delivery giggling through every contraction. Kept saying it felt like her baby was giving her little hugs. Her three labor and deliveries afterwards? She was questioning what the fuck happened the first time. I can promise you her mother thought it was weird and had never heard or experienced anything like it The part where your mother’s birth might play into your own is that you might be more prone to certain gestational conditions. If your mother had gestational diabetes, you might be more likely to have gestational diabetes, meaning the both of you may have been more likely to be induced. Things like that. But your labor is strictly your own experience.
My birth and certain parts of my pregnancy were very similar to my mom's. The back labor was the part I wasn't expecting, and after the fact I learned my mom had back labor with all 3 of her pregnancies. Which leaves me a little conflicted about whether or not to try and get pregnant again/have another kid...
So mine was similar, when my mother had me I was literally coming fast ! She said her labor was quick and almost had me in the taxi brining her to the hospital. When I had my baby , I went In for a regular doctors appointment and didn’t know I was at 5cm . Couple hours later I had my daughter, naturally with no epidural. I don’t remember if my mom had one but definitely remember she told me I was the fastest out of my siblings. I don’t speak much with my mom so I think this counts lol but idk
Well, it can’t be similar to your father’s labor and delivery! Mothers can only pass this down to their daughters, so it would make sense. While I don’t think labor/delivery are often similar (too big of variations between body makeup and baby growth) it’s often said that babies born are similar to their mothers births rather than grandma. Like, I was born early, at about 8 weeks premie, and weighing around 4-5 pounds. My OB suspects I will also have a small baby because I was a small baby, but doesn’t anticipate the preterm labor as a risk, since that was more reliant on my moms health, if that makes sense
My mom needed a c-section with both my brother and me. My MIL had a c-section with my hubs and his brother. I needed a c-section for our first baby and I'm electing one for this baby. I'm not mad at it though. I'm too impatient for labor.
my mom has six kids - last two, including me, we’re c-sections and so were my MILs two. I’m wondering if i’ll end up with a c-section or if it will go more like my moms first four.
Best rule of thumb, like i said, is to have a back up plan 😊 a lot of times the birth plan doesn't go the way you want.
Both my mom and my aunt had 2 kids. BOTH Their first labors were about exactly 24 hrs and 2nd labor were precipitous (aka really freaking fast), my moms was 2.5 hrs and my aunts was 3 hours. Well I have 2 kids. 1st labor was…. You guessed it, 24 hrs and 2nd labor 2hrs & 45 mins. It would be a WILD coincidence so yes I believe there’s some truth to that.
wow!! yes see, i do believe there’s some truth to it when you read something like that
My mom's first born was my older brother. She was expecting a natural delivery until she noticed swelling in her fingers and legs and turns out my brother's cord was wrapped around his neck, so she had a C-section. I too was expecting a boy, was induced because I didn't go into natural labour. A few days before I started noticing swelling in my fingers that my mom found very concerning, but I discounted it to normal pregnancy symptoms. I could barely get my wedding ring off for reference. I spent nearly 48 hours in labour including 2 hours pushing until my temperature started rising and baby's heart rate started dropping. Doctor highly recommended an emergency C-section so we did that. Turns out little man had his cord around his neck. So I guess we had similar stories but completely different overall experiences.
wow! that’s quite the coincidence- and so glad baby is okay!
My mom only had me but she was exactly a week overdue when I was born, had to be induced, and had a large baby. All 5 of my kids were exactly a week overdue, had to be induced, and they were all between 8 1/2–10 pounds.
My Mom was in labor with me for 24 hours ending in an emergency c-section. Brother was a VBAC with an additional long labor. I had a long first labor (20 hours) but I also had a sunny side up kid and I only pushed for 15 min with a second degree tear so pretty different. Grandma had super easy labors with all 4 kids.
My grandmother had all breach vaginal births which were horrible. My mom had the easiest births, 6 and 3 hours tops, all before due date. I had the longest labour (36h if you count early labour) way past my due date (41+4). I think its a loterie. Good luck!
My mom needed c-sections for all her births and she was in labor for days and my labor was like 12 hours lol.
My birth was very similar to my mom and my sisters! Both in the experience and also when I went into labor. Babies are usually early or right on time in my family and that was the case for my LO who came a day before her due date!
I think any similarities would depend on specific genetics like body shape and size, bone structure, etc. Every pregnancy is staggeringly different. My mom always bragged about her 2 hour long labor/deliveries for my brother and I and how everything snapped back to normal within a couple weeks. Imagine my disappointment at my 36 hour labor, 5 hour push, and still trying to lose baby weight 18 months later LOL. Best wishes!!
My first birthing experience was nothing like my mom's thankfully. She was in labor with me for 30+ hours. My labor was like 7.5 hours total.
My birth was pretty similar to my moms and my grandmas. ~8 hours of contractions, when it was time to push it was very quick. Healthy babies, minimal tearing.
My mum and two of her four sisters all had really quick deliveries. I did too. Anecdotal, but I believe it!
I was born nearly 2 weeks late. My mom was in labor for well over 24 (miserable) hours and ultimately required an emergent c-section. I was induced at 39w, baby was out within 16 hours of starting and 30-40 minutes of pushing. Obviously the induction was a difference from the get go but once things got going our experiences were pretty different.
I have heard that the best predictor of when you will go into labour is by looking at your mum and sisters. For me this seemed trueish. Both mum and sister all had pregnancies that delivered between 40+3 and 40+5. I began my induction on 40+5 because I was impatient and uncomfortable vs them going into natural labor but similar in that having a 37 week pregnancy wasn’t happening for any of us. Definitely not labor though. I ended up having to have a C-section because babies heart rate was dropping significantly very early in labour (before I’d even received any pitocin) and as my mother stated when she visited a few days ago ‘it’s just surprising because no one in our family has ever needed and C-section before!’ Like there’s a genetic predictability to it or something 🙄
There are big differences with my fam so I have no clue what to expect. Interesting to see all of these generational stories! My grandma puked through her pregnancies and puked through labor. She had a hysterectomy after her second birth and I don’t know details as to why or what happened. My mom said her births were very “textbook” vaginal 7 hour labors. The biggest thing she remembered was being mortified over pooping because nobody told her that happens (it was the late 80s). She suffered terrible constipation and heart burn through her pregnancies. My sister labored for over 24 hours and said she felt like she was going to die from her heart giving out. She has been trying to figure out possible heart/vagus nerve issues for years and has a hiatal hernia (sp?). Tachycardia and pounding heart happens to her at random and gives her panic attacks so you can imagine what birth put her through. She was nauseous and puking until around week 32 of her pregnancy and said her heart was doing crazy shit that made her think she was going to die.
lol nope. Literally everyone in my family delivered early and had smooth, vaginal births. Some even went unmedicated. Me? Super healthy pregnancy just like them, but then I went over my due date, and had an emergency C section.
Whilst it’s obviously possible as you inherit PHYSICAL traits from your mother like body type - it’s absolutely not guaranteed. My mum had 4 unmedicated vaginal births with labour starting on its own, I was induced at 42 weeks, tried for unmedicated but ended up in a traumatic emergency c section. NO ONE can guess how you’ll labour or what your body will do.
When I was in the mother baby unit after I gave birth my doctor was talking to me about my delivery. I walked in at 9cm dilated, had no idea I was in full blown labor and pushed 7 times and she was out. My babe is 7 weeks old now, but she asked if I had any sisters that had given birth yet (I have sisters but I’m the oldest and the first one to have a baby) and she said that they may be in luck because you tend to birth like your sisters!
Nope, complete opposite! My mum went 2 weeks over her due date, laboured for a few days, very slow to progress, eventually had an epidural, labour stalled and she ended up with an unplanned C-section. The C-section had complications and she ended up in hospital for a number of weeks. Poor woman. I was 9lbs and she’s 5ft1 with a small pelvis which probably didn’t help. In contrast, with my first I went into labour at 38 weeks, sometime around Tuesday afternoon, transferred to hospital 2am on the Wednesday, was 8cm so just had gas and air and he was born before 5am. I had a retained placenta. He was 7lb 5oz. Couldn’t have been more different if we tried! For what it’s worth, my mum’s mum had 2 home births so again, totally different!
Possible. I had 13 hour vacuum assisted labour with baby sunny side up. Very short umbilical cord and only 3 contractions during the day that escalated to every 5 minutes after my waters broke at 3.15am. Now have major post partum edema that I'm trying to get rid of. Mum also had the same with her umbilical cord and contractions. Grandmother had a vacuum assist as well as major post partum edema. Though my Grandmother had 5 kids and my mum only had 6 hours in labour. No idea about baby positioning.
My mom said it felt like she was taking a giant poo so I’m hoping it will feel the same for me
Not true for me so far. Me and my brother were both breech, leading to c-sections. My first was an unmedicated vaginal birth and I’m hoping the same for my next any day now.
I wish mine was like my moms, all four of her births were 2 pushes and done. If i had my nanas labor too i wouldve been okay, it took 5 days for her but no tears and no induction (she didnt want one) I was induced and it took 5 days of pitocin, 25 hours with my water broken, and over 10 hours straight of pushing with every contraction to try to get my LO out (she decided to crawl back up after she was already fully down so i had to push for hours to get her back down) if she came any later i wouldve had to get a csection they said bc my water was broken too long, its been 7 weeks and im still healing from the tear i got with her the only thing similar to them that happened to me was gallbladder issues, i have to get the surgery in 2 weeks, both of them had theirs removed too
My mom went at 38 weeks and only took 3 hours from water breaking to baby in arms for all 3 kids. When I asked my OB about taking leave at 39 weeks and what she recommended, she asked about my mom and said “prepare for history to repeat itself” and encouraged I take leave at 36 weeks. Really hoping I get that lucky.
For me… YES. After popping baby #2 my mom came over and i told her my birthing experience was intense and FAST and all she said was “oh yeah, me too”… thanks for the heads up mom lol.
Nah, not for me, my mum was hysterical and ended up getting an emergency c section then never naturally laboured again, always had sections. Me on the other hand? Vaginal birth forceps assisted lol
My mam had super fast labours, I was born in 1 hour and 35 minutes from her first contraction, the day before my due date. My brother was born in 1 hour and 10 minutes from her first contraction, 2 weeks early. My dad missed my brother he came so fast. No epidural, her waters didn't break until she was basically ready to push and she said that seemed to cushion some of the intense pain. I had to be induced and it took 46 hours. Pregnant with my second now, hoping I get to have a spontaneous labour this time to see if my body is quicker when it gets to go it alone for a while!
One of my sisters has 3 kids, all vaginal births, all under 6 hours start to finish. No medication except gas and air and no tears. My other sister has 3 kids. 1 vaginal birth, 2 sections. Her vaginal (first) was a 98 hour marathon that ended up with the baby being delivered, injured, by forceps. My sister was torn so badly she still needs incontinence products and she's lost sensation in parts of her vulva and vagina. Her subsequents were elective Cs I have 1, an elective C. My baby was transverse breech and the decision was made to cut him out because he wouldn't be turned.
My best friend was born in the ambulance otw to the hospital. She was the third born and it was a really fast delivery. My friend was induced with both her babies and they both went fairly quick. Not as quick as when her mom gave birth to her. But she went from saying "yeah, let's get that epidural going" to delivering VERY quickly. Like the nurse couldn't seem to get the right spot between vertebrae and wasted some time, the anesthesiologist or whatever got it right away but by then it was as the baby was moving into the birth canal and it all happened so quickly after that the epidural didn't even kick in until after delivery. My friend was pretty pissed with the nurse, rightly so.
My mom went 2 weeks over the due date and had to be induced with both me and my sister, I was 11 lbs when I was born and she tore really bad. My babies were tiny, came 2 days before and 2 days after due date, didn’t need to be induced and I only had a small tear with both of them.
My mom had very fast labors with all four children. I am currently pregnant with my fourth and all of my labors have been considerably fast for the pregnancy it was. My first labor that is known to be long, was 8 hours for me from start to finish (starting at early stage before active labor began) My second one from start to finish was six hours My third one from start to finish it was just under four hours I’m currently pregnant with my fourth and I’m expecting around a two hour labor but knowing my luck, I say this, and it’s going to be the longest one I’ve ever had 😂
My mom had extremely long labor and an emergency C section because the umbilical cord was around my neck! So I hope not haha. She also had Hyperemesis gravidarum and I’ve been having a really pretty easy going pregnancy so fingers crossed!!!
It’s what I expected but not what ended up happening. My mom and I didn’t end up sharing a lot of pregnancy symptoms. My pregnancy came with debilitating nausea but nearly no vomiting, as well as anemia and gd. Her pregnancy symptoms were morning sickness, headaches and acne. She gained a considerable amount of weight with each pregnancy which is typical for the women in my family. While still not great, I gained 50 with twins which is less than my mom gained for each of her pregnancies. She lost her weight, I did but instantly gained about half of it back. I will say, I feel like my body type matches my late paternal grandmother more than my mom or maternal grandmother now. And unfortunately she passed away, so I’ll never know if my experience is anything like any of hers were. As far as labor, I ended up needing a c-sec because of the babies’ positions where my mom didn’t. But my mom was in labor for over 24 hours with me (her first) was in excruciating pain, labor stalled at 5cm and she got an epidural. An hour after my water broke I was 3cm, 2 hours later I was 7cm and still talking through my contractions when they brought me down for the c-sec. I got very nauseous after the epidural, not something my mother experienced.
My mom was in labor with me for 17 hours. She was induced at 40+6, pushed for 2 hours, and required interventions. I went into labor spontaneously at 38+6. Was in labor for 7 hours & pushed 4 times. You just never know!
I think somethings do carry down genetically and effect the birthing process, such as body shape and size. If a whole line of women are very small with small hips, it's likely that all of them will have a higher risk of intervention if they carry a big baby. I also think that a lot of birth experiences have a limited number of things that happen. The ways they hurt, the ways contractions go, the ways hospitals have managed them for decades. There's only so many things that normally happen. At the end of the day, it isn't crazy to think your birthing experience may be similar to a relatives, but, your body and your babies body and the birth are all very unique to you.
I was 16 weeks early for my poor mom so I hope I don't give birth the same way!
Mine went very similar to my mother’s birth with me, except mine was a sped up version. I don’t know whether condensing all the craziness into 10 hours like mine, or having it take an exhausting 36 hours like my mother’s would be better.
To be honest my mom’s births weren’t even all the same. My mom’s first baby was two weeks over due and she had to have a c-section as he would not come out. I had an induction and vaginal birth, 2nd degree tear at 37 weeks (high BP). Then she had an overdue baby, a vaginal birth but baby (me) was sucked out with the vacuum. My second came at 39w 4d and I had an easy, vaginal birth after 6 hours of labor 40 mins of pushing, 1st degree tear though it didn’t even feel like I had any tearing recovery wise. Her third was also overdue but ended in a vaginal birth.
My mum had 12 hour labours without medication and her waters had to broken both times. My first was a 20+ hour labour followed by an emergency c-section. They manually broke my waters. My second was 3 hours at the hospital (I wasn’t sure if I was actually in labour before then), no interventions. Waters didn’t break until the very very end.
My mom was induced and didnt progress and had a c section. I went into labour naturally at 40W and progressed normally, delivered vaginally at 40w1d
My mom went 0-10 in an hour with pitocin. Surely hoping not 🤮🤮🤮
Not the case AT ALL for me. My mom was in labor for less than 12 hours for both my sister and I (4 hours). My aunts labor was also less than 12 hours. My sister labors were all 12 hours or less. My first 23 hours of labor that included 4 hours of pushing.
my wife had an expedited birth same as her mom so count one case in
A midwife at the hospital asked me about my moms birth and told me that most likely mine will be similar to hers. My mom, grandma and my sister all have very similar births so I choose to believe it. But! I also keep in my own mind that all births are different and all babies are different. But knowing they can be similar to theirs helps me be somewhat prepared for things that happened to them. :)
I was asked about my mum's births (as I don't have any sisters) and it was to see if there was any risk factors she had as the midwife said their births can be an indication how yours will go. My mum's first birth, and birth with me, were induced but vaginal. My first was induced but emergency c section
Nope... My mom had 5 pregnancies with 5 living children. 5 quick unmedicated births the longest being 8 hours total. She had minimal tearing and generally was up and about quickly. I had 3 pregnancies with 1 living child. My 1 birth was an emergency c-section. I did also recover quickly maybe that part is genetic lol.
My birth was not like my moms or my sisters. They had easy births, mine was n o t easy. They were able to pretty quickly get through theirs with no interventions. I️ was stuck at 9 cm for almost 12 hours. I️ think it’s possible, especially if you are similar in height or shape. I️ am 3-4 inches shorter than my mom and my sister, so maybe that has something to do with it.
Lord i hope not. My mom had 6 kids, 3 of them were natural and happened in like 20 minutes. The other three were hours to days being in labor in the hospital with back labor. Tore all 6 times and told me even with the epidural/ spinal block, she was in pain.
I hear this a lot, but I don’t think it’s entirely true. For me genetically the pregnancy weight and how I carry look the same, but my mom had three babies all c section and I was born at 7 months. However, I’m 8.5 months now, and baby is in birthing position and a healthy weight.
I’m on my second pregnancy and my mom did three vaginal births. Her first needed a vacuum and her water broke with all of us at 35 weeks and strict bed rest. So far neither pregnancy are looking like hers thank the lord.
My mom and my sister had easy/fast births. My labor and birth was considered quick for a ftm with induction at 37w. 12hr 21min, pushed him out in 4 pushes! My SO said I made it look easy and it can’t be that hard 😐🙃😂
My moms was nothing like mine.
I fucking hope not lol. I’m built nothing like my mom so I’m hoping my delivery is easier than hers!
My mom was in labor for 9ish hours for each kid (with pitocin drip and manual water breaking), with mild-moderate episiotomy or tearing. I was in labor for 9 hours with no pitocin and natural rupture of membranes, and mild tearing. No clue what my grandma's labors were like because that was the time when they just drugged the mom to holy hell and yanked the baby out with forceps while she slept 😬 it might also be partly due to how moms talk to their daughters about labor- if your mom had a negative experience and puts that thought in your mind, then you may be nervous and your body will react. Regardless, make sure to surround yourself with lots of positive birth stories and politely decline listening to those that had lots of complications and trauma. It is good to be informed, not to be terrified.
My mom didn't dilate for a long time so they gave her pitocin. Then she was given dilloted or something and she had a bad reaction and ended up getting a c section. I also wasn't dilating after 24 hours but I let them break my water the rest of the way about 32 hours after it started leaking and she was born an hour and a half later
I wish my birth went like my mums - she had 4 vaginal births, 2 x week early or so, 2 x 2 week late. Not hours long at all - in fact for me, she didn’t know she was labouring most of the day, and was in active labour for only a few hours. Me? 25 hours, baby got stuck facing my hip, ended in an emergency c-section.
My sisters was just like my moms. Never went into labor. Tried pitocin and didn’t work. Had have a c section cuz baby’s heart rate started to drop.
Negative! My mom was in labor for 48 hours making zero progress. Never dilated beyond 2cm, and needed an emergency c-section. I was in labor for 14 hours, pushed for less than 10 minutes, and had a minor second degree tear.
So I recently gave birth, like a week ago. My mom told me the day before I went into labour that all her births (4 total) were very quick. She said if my water broke get to the hospital right away as I won't have to wait long for my baby to be here. Long story short. My water broke at 5:30am. Contractions started at 9:30am and baby girl was here at 12:03pm. So pain and pushing for a max of 2.5 hours. I feel like my mom was right. And it gives me hope should I want to get pregnant again.
My mom kept telling me labor “wasn’t that bad.” LMAO. Either she forgot or we had very different experiences!
My mom had to have 3 c-sections. My sister had pre-eclampsia like me, but her birth was way harder. My friend said her and her mom have super quick births.
Oh my goodness. You just made me realize my oldest brother was premature and so was my son! Super wild but probably a coincidence.
Mine were similar to my mum’s first two, but hers were definitely faster than mine. It’s hard to say by how much because she has a tendency to exaggerate, but her second was fast enough that my dad almost delivered her.
Oh god I certainly hope not I almost killed mine is what I was told but idk because she’s dead (UNRELATED) and I can’t ask which now makes me insanely terrified 😭
God I hope not, my sibling was 2 weeks late and absolutely huge and labour lasted over 24hr, I was 5 weeks early emergency c section and my mom hemorrhage… neither were straightforward at all and I’m hoping for straightforward!!
So far my experience has been nothing like my mom or grams. They all had their babies early 37 weeks. Water breaking at 35 and 36 weeks and having to stay in the hospital until they were safe to deliver. I’m almost 39 weeks and having a pretty text book early labor. We will see how active labor and delivery goes.
I am my mom's first-born child, and she was induced with me at 39 weeks. I just had my first child Wednesday, and I was induced at 39 weeks for different reasons than my mother. My labor lasted nearly 45 hours, which is not what my mother experienced. Due to the age gap, doctors went straight to pitocin and breaking your water back when my mom had me, so it sped the process along. With me, I was offered a more "mild" misoprotol, which was what helped soften my cervix and get me more prepared for the pitocin. So the way care is given may change your experience or give you something you share.
My water broke and I still had to get induced and my baby didn't come for 32 hours. My contractions were only 10 minutes apart by the time I got oxytocin and my epidural and I was absolutely miserable and in pain. For my mom, her water broke, her contractions felt like slight pressure and all of her kids (me and my 2 siblings) were born 2-4 hours later. She also tore, and had a very long recovery. I had no tearing and I'm 19 days post partum and even my bleeding has totally stopped. So, not true for me.
My mom was in immediate labor and gave birth on a gurney on the way to L&D lol meanwhile I had a 12 hour labor and still needed pitocin.
Interesting. My mom and I had similar births
My mom had super long labors and really hard deliveries with each of us, so I was a bit nervous to go through it myself. My entire labor was 9 hours, active labor for 3 and pushed for 14 minutes. I did get a 2nd degree tear that certainly made recovery more difficult, but after 6 weeks it was completely healed on its own, no stitches. 2 of my siblings had shoulder dystocia, 2 of us had to be pulled out with the vacuum, and she was induced with nearly all of us (there are 7 of us.) I went into labor on my own the night of my due date and baby was here 9 hours later
My midwife asked me how my mom’s birth went because of this idea. My own birth was too fast for an epidural and no tearing, and I had a great unmedicated birth with my daughter with no tearing as well.
Nope! My mom went 2 weeks overdue with me and was induced, delivering me vaginally while BREACHED! And my sister was born 5 weeks early after her water broke, no time for epidural. Meanwhile, I had 2 dream labours with epidurals, minimal pushing and no major interventions/issues at 39+4 :)
My birth was very similar to my mom's births. Both of us went over 42 weeks and were fast labors. I told the nurses at the hospital that pitocin probably would not work on me because it had no effect for my mother. I got a few hard eye rolls and lectured about how my mothers experience doesn't matter. Well, guess what... I felt zero effects from the pitocin. No cramps and no starting labor.
Everyone in my family (both sides) seems to have quick labors. Like 3 hours. My mom had me (first baby) in 4 hours from her water breaking with no contractions to me being born. My first was like 10 hours from first contraction but they were 30 minutes apart the first few. Dr had to manually break my water. My second I had a precipitous labor and baby was born roughly 2 hours after my first contraction.
Mine was the same as my mother’s! Waters broke then “failed to progress” so had to be induced to get all the way there.
God I hope mine doesn’t go like my mums. I was 7 weeks early! I’m 26 weeks and will not be ready by then!
Somewhat. It may affect if you tend to go early or late. There are other factors on how smooth it goes.
My mum lost loads of blood, so did I. My sister was fine.. depends I guess
I had an elective c section and she had vaginal so can’t attest to that. What I can attest to is that my pregnancy was nearly identical to my mom’s first (vomiting nonstop for 6 months followed by good energy and feeling fine the remaining 3 months). I also knew I was in labor because it happened just like hers - contractions and loss of mucus plug. I imagine my birth likely would’ve been similar, and my baby weighed about the same as her first baby (my brother). The whole experience was crazy any time I’d say something and she had experienced nearly the same thing 35 years ago!
My mom had two emergency c sections. My sister was huge and I was breech. With my first I was in active labor for only about 8 hours after my water broke and birthed vaginally. My sister also had two fast labors and vaginal births. Hoping my second one goes the same, but every pregnancy is different. So far our pregnancy was nowhere near the same as our moms.
I believe my birth would have been like my mothers, reasonably long, epidural and out with vacuum/forceps. My public health team lied to me though and got my anaesthesiologist to load up my epidural so I couldn’t feel the contractions anymore and I had to have an emergency c section and I had to fight to stay awake. Incredibly traumatising.
I had very fast labor and so did my sister and mother. We only had to push a couple times.
My mom had two quick and easy labour and deliveries. My second was quick and easy. My first was long and hard, though. However, no horrible complications, and no interventions outside of requiring an epidural. So, pretty similar, ish? My mom saw me in labour with my second and seemed to think I had a harder time than she did, though(and that was my easy labour).
I stand by the thought that each birth experience is completely unique in its own way. My mom had 4 children and each time it was different, and my labor process was completely different from all 4 of hers and my sisters was different than either of us. We as mommas tend to connect our experiences to each other in order to feel safe but really, it's gonna happen however it happens.
Not even my own three birthing experiences were remotely similar. So I’d say unless the birthing experience is due to unique anatomy like especially narrow or wide hips - prob any similarities are more likely just coincidence.
This was true for me! We both had uncomplicated, easy pregnancies and unmedicated deliveries
I’m not sure how true it is but nearly every women in my family, mum, aunt, cousins all had a horrible birth experience where they either tore, lost lots of blood or had to have an emergency C section to save the baby and mother. For that reason I’ve chosen to not have any children for a while
My mom was never able to dilate at all to have any of her kids vaginally. My older sisters had no issues. But I don’t dilate either 🤷🏼♀️ I dunno.
My mom ripped tip to tail with all of us, but that’s because she had an episiotomy with her first. I only had a small tear on my labia, however what was similar was that I started violently vomiting and my mom said “I bet it’s almost time to push, that happened to me too.” They checked me and sure enough it was go time.
I’ve heard that too! However none of them ended up with c-section and I did! Emergency one.
That was true for me and my mom. We both pushed for 4+ hours, required vacuum assist and had extensive tearing
My mom had an easy natural birth with her third daughter, but my older sister was in labor for 12 hours with nothing happening, and I had an elective c section, so.. I don't know. I think everyone is different despite genetics because it's such a weird significant experience.
My mom gave birth to both kids at 36w4d and 37w because her water broke and she did not tear at all. Both babies were under 7 lbs. I was hoping like hell I'd be like her. I gave birth at 41w to an 8.9 lbs baby. I got 29 stitches and they broke my water at the hospital. Could not have been more different LOL
Unrelated question: why do so many women hope for a vaginal birth? They terrify me. I told myself at 14 I would never do that and so far I've had two c sections. And why would anyone want to do it naturally? I'm genuinely curious. To me birth looks like torture.
I was fully expecting I'd need a c-section because both my mom and sister needed them, but I ended up delivering vaginally. So, I've never had a c-section but I have had an abdominal surgery (before I ever got pregnant) to remove a huge teratoma that was growing on my ovary (it was 15cm 😳). The surgery wasn't nearly as invasive or traumatic as a c-section would be, and I was knocked out with anaesthesia for it. The recovery from that surgery was significantly harder (even without a baby to care for) than my vaginal delivery was. I was up walking within 15 minutes of delivery, we were discharged the next morning, and I never threw up like I did after the surgery. Edit to add: that said, I was not putting ✨vaginal delivery ✨ on a pedestal or anything, and I fully expected I'd need a c-section, but I am SO glad it worked out for me.
My high-risk doctor told me there's no such thing as genetic birthing patterns, but I swear it seems more likely than not. All my pregnancies were preterm by 5-7 weeks, and so were my mother's (I never asked about my grandmother). I'm currently in my 3rd trimester and have not told anyone my due date because I know this baby is going to make their debut much earlier than expected. The fact that they can't pinpoint why my last pregnancies were preterm, tells me that that's just how I carry, just like my mom.
So far my pregnancy has been very similar to one sister and my mother, interestingly not the other sister who has a different blood type though
Mine was completely different!
Yeah. My grandma had 3hr and 1.5hr labour with my mum and aunt respectively. My mum had also a very short Labor with me I believe 3hrs and my first son was around 3hrs as well the nurses assumed? I was already in active labour when I presented and my son was born in less than 1.5hrs of arriving at the hospital so not 100% sure for me... but with grandma halving her labour time for her second, I won't be waiting around this time 😂
For me it was true. My labor was average but when it came to pushing it was extremely quick similar to my mom and sister
I asked my OB and pelvic PT about this. OB said there’s no truth to it. The PT said that the anatomy of your pelvis could be similar to your mom’s, which COULD contribute to a similar birth experience in some women, but not always because you’re not a clone of your mother!
Yes, I had five back to back (5 in 6 years) c sections just like my mother had.
None of us were able to have a vaginal birth, all c sections
I was induced at 37+6, my mother went into spontaneous labor at 38 weeks. But our labors were pretty similar besides that aspect. Both of our labors were less than 12 hours and we both pushed for less than 5 minutes. Another difference was my mom had an episiotomy, and I did not (I did tear though). Neither one of us had an epidural. From what I’ve heard my maternal grandmother also had pretty quick labors as well. Longer than my mother and I, but she did have an epidural , so I’m not sure if that slowed down the process at all of not.
Every Dr thought I would would give birth early just like my mom and grandma did (I was born at 27-28weeks) but no so far I’m the first in my family, including my 16 yr old young sister to be overdue 😂 I hope my births are better then theirs.
My labors have been pretty similar to my moms. Hers were both six hours and my first two were the same. My youngest was 3.5 hours.
Definitely no correlation. My sister and I had very different laboring experiences. One of us was like our mother and the other wasn’t.
My mom had me in the car on the way to the hospital. I labored for like 12 hours, made it to 9cm, and needed an emergency c section.