OMG 3 hours...seriously!?

We went to our childbirth class last night, and the instructor said they will let first time moms push for 3 hours before a c-section, and most first time moms push for an average of 2 hours.  OMG
I know it's called labor for a reason, but seriously, that sounds like forever!!  Ahh, getting a little nervous!!

Each OB and/or hospital is different but that sounds correct. My doctor advise of about 2 hours. It depends on how far down the baby is before you start pushing and a lot of times the first part is just to bring the baby down. Everyone is different. I started pushing at about 1150 pm and Emad was born at 1240 am so less than an hour and then there is the afterbirth as well but that I do not count. Honestly, it felt like less time. You are so in the moment and focused on doing everything like they tell you that time really has no relativity. Of course you may get other opinions but that is my perception and 2 cents on it all.

3 hours? holy crap!!!!! i hope you dont have to push that long...

2 freaking hours??? Ok, I pushed for 10 minutes - with both! Seriously - 1 push, head was out, next push - WHAM holding my baby :)

My other 2 friends were 45 minutes and 1 hour. So.... I wish they wouldn't say stuff like that and scare people!!!!!!

Everyone is different Karen, let just home for somewhere between 30-45 minutes at the most! I am hoping you are a 10 minute girl like me! :)

LOL thanks everyone, I feel better.  I think it's the way they break things down, like first stage labor can be 4-10 hours ect ect. then she said 3 hours of pushing i about died in my chair haha

I pushed for 3 hours and then had to have a C section. When you're in the midst of it, you're not even thinking of how long you've been doing it for, you just keep going.

 Oh I pushed for HOURS with my first pregnancy....but good news is they started coming faster and faster and I had more.  On my last one (fourth pregnancy) the nurse was holding the baby in waiting for the doc to get gloves on because I went from 4 cm to delivery in about half an hour!!!

-Michelle

I'm one of those!

I actually pushed for 3 hours. For most of the time I really couldn't feel anything because of the epidural. Poor little thing was going back and forth because I wasn't pushing correctly -- they finally shut off the epidural after 2 hours and about 45 minutes later I started to be able to feel what was going on.

I was literally 5 minutes from a C-section when she was born.

It's like the PP's said though, time is relative. I was really surprised when I found out I was pushing for that long.

My son took three pushes and he was out.  The dr wasn't ready for him...he thought he'd be there for a while.  Fooled him.  : )  My son was also big - 9 lb 12 oz - so I obviously have good 'birthing hips' to pop him out that quickly.

I think they're giving yo the worst case scenario just so you are prepared.  You know what they say...prepare for the worst but expect the best?  You'd be really stressed out if they told you it'd take 20-30 minutes and be over with, because then you'd be worrying something was wrong.  Though I do think they should be a little more reassuring and realistic, I do understand where they're coming from.  They'll have you and the baby on monitors and if things aren't going the way they expect, they won't keep telling you to push for the entire three hours.  I'm not saying that it CAN'T take 3 hours, but it won't necessarily take 3 hours. 

Just keep calm and remember what you're working towards...and breath.  Honestly all that 'hee-hee hoo-hoo' breathing didn't do a thing for me.  The only thing that helped me was slow deep breaths in, deep breaths out, sort of like 'cleansing' breaths.  I think I did that so much that I dried out my throat severely...I had a blister on that little thing that hangs in the back of your mouth - uvula I think it's called?  - by the time I was through w/delivery.  My dr said he'd have never known it was my first baby just by looking at me because I was so calm.  The truth was, though, I was totally exhausted.  My husband and I had walked the length of Manhattan the day before, went home and had dinner and went to bed at midnight.  I couldn't sleep because I kept getting up every 30 minutes to pee but barely doing anything.  I finally realized around 5 a.m. that I was in labor...so by the time I was in the hospital, I hadn't slept the day before, the night before or the day of labor.  I was literally falling asleep for those 2-3 minutes between contractions.  I couldn't have an epi because of previous back surgery, so they gave me a demarol injection in the IV.  I told the nurse I was going to hurl and she just kept writing in my chart and told me that the feeling's normal and would go away....I told her 2-3 more times I was going to hurl and needed a barf pan...she ignored me...I puked all over the bed, the floor, my husband's feet...projectile vomiting.  The injection didn't do a thing for the pain...but that's probably just me. I bet she listens next time someone says they're going to hurl though. 

 

I pushed for over 2 hours. He was big and sunny side up. But I got him out! You so don't even notice it's been that long. It will be ok!!

Jackie