When births are fast!

Whew! What an intense birth I attended this month! 2 hours from start to, well, baby! It reminded me of why I tell anyone I hear say "I hope my birth is soooo fast!" that "NO, they don't!".

Fast labors.. and births, also known as precipitous births, are nothing to look at lightly! While, yes, they are shorter, they are also tremendously intense. I mean, you're packing what is usually an 8-12 hour deal into, an hour or two. What if you packed all the energy and intensity of running a marathon into 10 seconds? Chances are you might be a bit overwhelmed!

Now, there is usually nothing wrong with a fast labor. In fact, it means things are working just exactly as they should. But, I find that most women are very overwhelmed and dazed by a fast birth, and that is not always a good thing.

I think a great length for a labor is that 8 hour mark. It allows you to work into labor quickly, but also adjust to labor's increasing intensity and emotional and physical demands, without tiring you out. That's not to say that a shorter or longer birth isn't equally as wonderful (because I've had a 25 hour labor and it was wonderful).

Of course, you can always go on hoping for a fast birth! Chances are it won't matter to you in the end anyway. :)