The pattern of fast labours
Consequences of a fast labour
Emotional considerations
For some women, the labour and birth process can be unusually rapid. Fast labours tend to be more common for women having their second or subsequent baby, but can occasionally happen for first time mothers as well. Such are the individual differences of our human bodies. If the labour is being induced, then it is not uncommon for it to be quicker than normal, especially if the woman's body is very sensitive to medications being used, such as an
oxytocin drip or
prostaglandins.
A fast labour for a first time mother would be about 3 to 6 hours or less and / or less than 1/2 an hour for pushing. For a woman having her subsequent baby up to 1 to 3 hours is quick, and less than 10 minutes of pushing. A medical term often used to describe rapid labours is a 'precipitate labour' and birth. However, a precipitate labour is usually aimed at describing a rarer form of labour, where the woman has only a few contractions before giving birth. This can occasionally be seen in women who have their baby
prematurely and in women who take
cocaine throughout their pregnancy. On very rare occasions, this can also happen for no apparent reason (usually because the woman does not notice all her contractions and/or only finds the last few contractions very painful).
The pattern of fast labours
As with any labour, fast labours can start in different ways. Some women will have no build up, or prelabour, and launch straight into strong, regular contractions, which continue until the baby is born a few hours later. Others will prelabour as expected, but once the contractions strengthen (or the waters break) the labour becomes short and intense, until the birth. Some women will have a relatively normal prelabour and 1st stage, but find that once the pushing starts, the baby is born in only a couple of contractions, often with the baby's head and body being born all at once, in one contraction.