Expert: Catherine Beier MS CBE - 9/30/2009

Question
Hi.

I'm currently 15 weeks pregnant and have some questions to ask please. I had my boys (age 3 and 1) in water and was very happy with both experiences as my mid-wives were fantastic. My first birth was about 12 hrs long with a 2hr pushing phase and very few stitches. My send birth was about 7 hrs in total but because contractions were weak I only started to feel pain after my waters were broken 4 hours into it (so I only had 3 hrs of pain)and I only had to push three times. I had no tearing or stitches which was glorious. I've been told third labors are unpredictable. Could you please clarify what this means please? Are third labors generally quicker or easier? What are my chances of tearing this time? With both my labors I only needed pethadine for pain, is that likely to happen again this time? Also, both my babies arrived early- the first came 1 week early and the second came 2 weeks early. Is it likely that my third child will come early too and if so, is it possible to predict how early? Lastly, can you tell me how soon I'm likely to feel movement for the first time this time around? I really eager to feel it and treasure it as this'll be my last opportunity to experience this miracle called pregnancy. Thanks for your time and expertise, Jo, 29.

Answer
Jo,


All labors can be unpredictable - there's no evidence that this is more true for a 3rd labor.  In general, your body tends to do what it did before.


So, if you had relatively easy, short labors with little to no tearing, that's likely to be what you'll experience again.  If you were early with your first two, then you'll likely be early with this one as well, although there's no way to tell how early.  It would likely be 1-2 weeks, as with your other children.

Your risk of tearing, pain, length of labor, etc should all be similar to what you've experienced before.  Much of this depends upon what position the baby is in, how big it is, what position you are in, etc, which cannot be determined until labor has arrived.

Fetal movement is usually felt at around the same time, but maybe a week or so earlier in subsequent pregnancies.  So, you'd expect to feel it at abut the same time you did with your other children.  It can be sooner or later depending upon if you've gained/lost weight, are in better/worse shape, etc.



Best,
Catherine