« They`re more physically aware, » says Nicola Strydom, a licensed midwife and mother of two in Calgary. « When you`re first pregnant, you might think the movements are gaseous, but the second time you recognize the beat as the baby`s movement. » The good news is that for many, a second or subsequent labor may be shorter, as your cervix and pelvis have already stretched, making it more effective to let the baby through. In addition, many mothers who are pregnant for the second time find that their baby`s head does not engage until the last minute. Britni D., mother of a 3-year-old and a one-year-old, prepared for a long contraction for the first time. When she arrived at the hospital, she was already 5 centimeter dilated and had her baby less than three hours later. She thought the delivery would be quick the second time, but she worked a difficult 14 hours. « I feel like I had my second contractions first, then my first contractions, » she says. Your body is more experienced the second time – and some abdominal and uterine muscles are, say, a little more lax. This may have caused your bump to « burst » earlier in the pregnancy. It also allows for a potentially faster passage and process when it comes to labor and delivery. Probably! The advice for new mothers is usually to work from home until labor is regular and close to each other, but doctors and midwives often encourage women to go to the hospital much earlier with subsequent pregnancies, as things move faster the second time.

« The rule of thumb I use for patients for subsequent pregnancies is usually half the working time, half the push time, » Bartos explains. « It`s like riding a bike! Once you`re ready to push, these muscles have a reminder of what you did last time, so often pushing efforts are better because there`s no « learning time. » « Although the second birth is a much simpler process most of the time, » Bartos says, « it`s never guaranteed: there`s always a chance that the baby will be bigger or in the wrong position, a complication could arise or things just don`t go as planned. After having our second, I had severe pain all night at the birth center. Does pregnancy get easier every time? Here`s what you can expect with your second child. What surprised me, however, was how different my second labor and delivery performance was from my first! Here are just 9 of them: You`ll probably grow and clear faster because your cervix is less rigid after your first baby is born. This smoother fabric will also make it easier for your toddler to get out in the next step. I lay on my back most of the sliding platform and my midwife gently rubbing my back was all I needed to cope with my labor pain. After your second baby, the uterus has less muscle tone than the first time and is more aggressive to hang on as quickly as possible to reduce your chances of bleeding. This leads to more severe post-pain, postpartum contractions that bring the uterus back to the waist.

(They may be more noticeable when breastfeeding, as breastfeeding releases oxytocin, which can trigger contractions.) The good news is that second births are much more likely to be simple. If you plan to give birth in a midwifery ward or birth centre, you have a 97% chance of having a simple delivery, compared to 76% last time (Coxon, 2014; NPEU 2017). It`s not a sure thing, but the job will probably be shorter this time. While new mothers typically spend between five and 12 hours in active labor, it usually progresses much faster for women who have already gone through it, taking between 2 and 7 hours on average. And the push phase of the work is often easier. First-time visitors who work without epidural anesthesia tend to press for about an hour. The average is closer to 30 minutes if you have ever had a vaginal delivery. It depends on the reason for the previous caesarean section.

If you want to have a vaginal delivery for that baby, then the odds are in your favor. This time I knew that the contractions would become irregular and come back one after the other and that at some point there would be no pause. It was still overwhelming, but I knew there was an end in sight. It is very important to open a dialogue with your midwife or GP as early as possible during pregnancy in order to get the support you need (Striebich et al., 2018). You may also want to see what help the Birth Trauma Association (BTA) offers on its help page. It is a charity that supports women suffering from birth trauma. And if you have a baby or toddler, you`ll also walk around more, lifting and bending, which can put your back at risk. This fact was reassuring to me when I felt like I didn`t know what I was doing. I kept thinking, « Your body knows what to do to get this baby out. » It is very common to have negative feelings about childbirth after a traumatic experience. You can also have these feelings if you have already had a simple experience. A fear of childbirth for a woman who has already had childbirth is called secondary tokophobia.

Will your second job be a rehearsal of your first? Or is there no connection between the two? Here`s what to expect the second time. The cervix is better suited for labor and expands more easily during the second pregnancy. This is one of the reasons why most women undergo intense labor not exceeding 8 hours during their second pregnancy. Most women during their first pregnancy are exposed to eight or more hours of labor. That comes down to about 5 hours for the second because your cervix is now one step ahead. On average, new mothers are known to give birth at week 41. However, early labor of the second pregnancy is very common, and mothers enter labor as early as the 40th week. This is because the body is more accustomed to pregnancy and reacts more quickly to the hormones released at that time. If you want additional support and up-to-date knowledge about the birth process, your birth rights, and siblings for your other child, you can take an NCT refresher course. NCT refresher courses offer you a fantastic opportunity to meet other future parents who have their second or a later child. You will also have the opportunity to practice the physical delivery skills that can help you have the delivery you want.

Post-pair or postpartum contractions that put the uterus back in shape could be more painful because muscle tone is lower and the uterine walls have lost much of their strength and elasticity. It`s also quite common to have a bigger baby the second time, but « bigger » doesn`t mean twice the size — only about 5 ounces more. But then, if you had a particularly big baby the first time, you can have an average baby afterwards. A big change you may notice at the end of your second pregnancy is the lack of stress and anxiety you feel. Partly because you`re too busy and distracted by your first child, and partly because you`ve been there before. If you`re like me, you`ll be surprised every time you look at a calendar and see how close you are to the big day. Whether you`re waiting to go into labor naturally or have a scheduled C-section, many differences apply in one way or another. .

You don`t have to wait for it either. Once the baby is on its way through the birth canal, your urge to press will be so strong that it will be irresistible. Do you remember the two long hours of pushing with the first one? Belongs to the past. The seconds jump straight. I delivered seconds myself, whey, they came so fast, they fired like cannonballs. I was grateful that there was a wall behind me to support me. Doctor? Midwife? No time. Just turn on the gloves and get started. This almost never happens during a premiere. So you are pregnant with your second child! Congratulations!! Now that you`ve already had a pregnancy, you have an idea of what to expect.

But you`re probably also wondering what might be different this time around. It`s still not a sure thing, but once you`ve passed your mud plug or have a « bloody show, » blowing may be imminent. Similarly, if your water breaks before regular contractions begin, there is a chance that you will soon experience regular and more intense contractions. If this is the real deal, this first latent phase of labor can last about 10 to 12 hours for returning mothers, compared to about 20 hours for new visitors. Your cervix begins to dilate (open) and fade (thin) when you experience mild to moderate contractions that become stronger, longer, and closer together. Check with your doctor for a good record of when you should go to the hospital or maintenance department. Instead of becoming a family right away, your new baby will fit into the family you`ve already created. I was told that this was normal for second babies and any subsequent babies. Apparently, your uterus is more stretched, so it takes more contractions to bring your uterus back to the size before the baby. Nina P., mother of a 5-year-old and a 2-year-old, had a similar experience. « I was a week ahead with my first and I was determined to have a non-medical delivery. But the contractions lasted 23 hours and I finally received epidural anesthesia, » she says.

With my second, I decided to take epidural anesthesia immediately – but these contractions were so fast that my second was born about 30 minutes after I arrived at the hospital. A world full of differences! So you might consider registering this long and complicated birth plan for your second birth, which is probably simpler and better suited to a birth plan than a first. Have you ever given birth to your second (or third) baby? What were the main differences between the two experiences for you? What advice would you give to prepare mothers and fathers for their second child? Let me know in the comments! Just as you can have two children with radically different personalities, birth experiences can vary greatly each time, and there`s really no prediction. .