Written by Editorial Team
How you welcome your second labor and delivery depends on the labor and delivery you go through during the first pregnancy. With a good experience during the first delivery, you will feel less anxious, and if your first delivery was a traumatic one, you may feel nervous thinking of going through the same experience again.
As throughout your second pregnancy period, once you come to the end of it, you always compare the situation with your first pregnancy. It is quite natural to do so. What you should understand is that there is no certainty when it comes to labor and delivery. So, comparing two pregnancies in all aspects may not work always.
In This Article
There is a good chance that not only labor and delivery, but also some of the physical and emotional bandwidths will also alter during your second pregnancy. Your body has gone through the entire process of childbirth already.
You don’t get or you can’t enjoy the attention as much as your first pregnancy, as you are busy managing a toddler or a preschooler. Some women say that their second pregnancy period seems to go much faster.
Some major differences that can be during the second pregnancy, labor, and delivery are:
A first-term mom usually recognizes the baby’s movement around her fifth month. But during your second pregnancy, you would be able to recognize the movements of the baby towards the end of the third month or the beginning of the fourth month. This is because you already know what a baby moving inside you feels like, unlike your first pregnancy
During your first pregnancy, your abdominal muscles will get stretched so much that they can get weaker. Hence, during your second pregnancy, the abdominal muscles may not be able to support the baby as in your first pregnancy. This results in your baby dropping lower in your abdomen.
The positive side of this condition is, you can eat more comfortably and breathe more easily, unlike your first pregnancy. The negative side is that your urge to urinate frequently starts earlier due to the pressure added to your bladder and also your pelvic discomfort increases due to the additional pressure on your pelvic area
During your second pregnancy, your experienced uterus possesses more false contractions called Braxton Hicks than your first pregnancy. These are warm-up contractions, getting the uterus ready for real labor contractions
The more space in the womb as it is stretched and used before lets the baby continues to change its position until the labor starts. Hence, the second babies are found to engage later than the first babies
As your cervix will be more effaced and dilated than during your first pregnancy when you are admitted to the hospital, this will provide you a head start which helps to shorten the length of labor–
But if your second baby is bigger than the first baby or in an unusual position, all these calculations and assumptions can change accordingly.
Braxton Hicks’s contractions will often stop when you change your positions. So just change your positions once you feel the contractions, like, stand up or walk around if you are feeling the contractions while you are sitting and so on.
Even though Braxton Hicks contractions are false contractions, these contractions can cause some dilation and thinness of the cervix.
The more Braxton Hicks contractions mean a more dilated and effaced cervix. This can make the delivery easier. Early loss of mucus plug – a thick mucus that blocks bacteria and external particles to enter the uterus – has also occurred as the result of the early cervix effacing due to more Braxton Hicks contractions.
The second baby can be a little bigger than the first baby. But this is not a rule that always happens. So this cannot be said with certainty, though there are some changes.
This entirely depends upon the health of the mother. If there are no medical complications then it is no need to expect a troublesome pregnancy and labor.
A vaginal birth after a cesarean (VBAC) is possible. However, you have a normal pregnancy, and if the reasons for your first C-section don’t exist. Another factor that determines the possibility of VBAC is the type of incision made in your uterus during the previous C-section. You can read more about VBAC here.
If you have undergone a perineal tear or an episiotomy during your first delivery, you can:
Some other good news regarding the second time pregnancy are:
Most women do have shorter labor with their second child. They might even give birth a little earlier than their previous pregnancy. Most women report being able to handle the contractions better, despite the fact that the feelings are likely to remain the same.
Women still experience labor pains during normal delivery. Birth usually entails many hours of uterine contractions, perineal incision, and opening of the cervix from 0cm to 10cm. Every vaginal birth feels like shattering 20 bones. Yet, obstetricians and gynecologists think second-time mothers deliver easier. Their bodies and uteruses went through the procedure once. As muscles, tissues, and bones have stretched out since their initial birth, the baby descends effortlessly.
Second-time mothers’ latent period lasts 10 to 12 hours, whereas first-timers’ last 20. For first-time parents, the second stage of labor (pushing and delivering the baby) takes one to three hours, while for experienced mothers, it may take less than one hour and sometimes just a few minutes. First-time parents might expect 14–21 hours. For women with children, it may take less than 14 hours.
Your second child is generally more likely to be larger than your first. The abdominal and uterine muscles will have expanded during your first pregnancy. This implies that your abdominal muscles won’t pull your baby as close to your spine throughout future pregnancies. It’s common for a second child to be heavier than their sibling.
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