5 Ways to Get Through a Long Labor

By Robin Elise Weiss, LCCE, About.com Guide

While the average length of a first labor is typically 12-18 hours, not including inductions, there are labors that last longer. Some labors last longer because of physical issues, the baby moving into a better position, mom’s body opening. Other labors are longer because of emotional issues like fear of your surroundings or of becoming a parent, or that your husband won’t make it on time. These can be very real things. For the women who have to deal with lengthy labors, it sounds like it’s a lot of pain. Though having had six labors of my own, I’ve had a wide variety of times: (in order) 36 hours, 45 hours, 8 hours, 11 hours, 4 hours, 2-3 hours, and 45 hours. The easiest labor was actually my 45 hour labor. The reason? Because I managed my labor well. And I’ve also seen it happen many other times in my time as a doula. So here are tips on making the most of a longer labor.

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