Precipitous Labor

aka Speedy Labor

Before you panic, precipitous labors, or fast labors, only make up about 2% of all births. It is considered precipitous if it lasts 1-3 hours, start to finish. 2/3 of my births have been precipitous so I do have some experience in this category. Let’s quickly go over precipitous labor, from a professional and personal viewpoint.

Nobody can predict if you will have an expedient birth. If you have already given birth before, you are more likely to experience it, and if you have already had a precipitous labor, it is very likely that you may experience a repeat. Please keep in mind that your mom’s precipitous labor stories don’t necessarily mean that you will follow the same pattern.

Labor Begins

In most fast labors, that early labor phase we talk about so fondly seems to get skipped over, completely. Early labor is a gentle warm-up time where your contractions slowly build in intensity & frequency.

You are encouraged to engage in activities that are nourishing and distracting. Eat up, rest up and binge watch comedies to prepare for the harder stages to come. Put plainly, ignore your contractions as long as possible to conserve your energy.

That is a really important marker. If your contractions begin, and they are coming hard & fast, big red flag. Early labor contractions can be anywhere from 5-30 minutes apart and are usually pretty mild – like you can walk and talk through them mild.

If it seems like you just skipped straight to active labor, pay attention. Contractions may be 2-5 minutes apart and last 1 minute or longer. They may demand your attention – translation – you are working hard with your body & breath during contractions – I repeat – you cannot ignore those surges running through you.

Your waters may or may not have broken yet. If you do have a huge gush of fluid + fast, intense contractions, same deal. Pay attention and proceed accordingly.

It usually takes a minute for your brain to catch up to your body.

If this is early labor, there is no way I can handle active labor!

I thought this was the easy part!

Oh wait, this isn’t early at all! Whoa!

My 1st Precipitous Birth Story

She was my 2nd birth, and a bit past EDD (but I knew it was just an estimate).
I woke up with contractions in the middle of the night.
I didn’t wake anyone else.
I went straight to the shower for relief.
Quickly realized this was most likely transition when I began puking.
It was so intense I barely made it back downstairs.
Dropped down on my hands & knees to moan and move which woke up my husband.
His response was “Oh shit!”
It was his first birth, and he actually started filling up the birth pool like we would be using it.
Birth tub abandoned, he called our birth doula instead who jumped in her car.
My 10 year old woke up to the labor, and helped me into the bathroom.
Mind you, even though I was a birth teacher, I didn’t think there was any way this was happening.
Sat on the toilet for a while hoping this intense urge was just a massive poop. It was both actually.
Next call that was made: 911 – midwives en route
Blanket down: check
All 4’s on the floor, my husband, best birth partner in the world, phone in one hand, catching his daughter with the other.
Lifted her through my legs, I turned around to lean on him with her on my chest.
Midwives arrived: smartass tween opens the door and exclaims: “Good timing!”
Doula arrives to help clean up the afterbirth aftermath.
Felt shocked for weeks at how that unfolded.

Where's the Midwife?

Or doctor or doula or nurse or anybody who can assist in this birth!?!

It’s now time to assess where to go from here. Your labor seems to have begun rapidly with intense, frequent contractions. Will you be having a possible, unassisted, unplanned, homebirth? Freebirthing is a thing!

You and hopefully your labor support, who is on hand and ready to assist, need to decide whether you stay home or head to your birth place. You will most likely call your healthcare provider or birthplace for advice.

You basically have two options:

Call 911 so professionals can head to you.
Get in your car quickly and head to them.

Sidenote: I do recommend your birth bag is packed by 37 weeks – be ready!

How do you make this decision? What signs are you looking for to help you decide?

Urge to push
Urge to poop
Intense pelvic/bum pressure
Crowning

If contractions are fast paced and intense, but there isn’t a huge pressure in your pelvic floor region yet, you many have time to make it to your birth provider. If you are really set on that option, make haste and fair winds to you.

How to Avoid Birthing in the Car

The answer is simple really, don’t get in the car!

If you checked in with your body, and any of signs 1-4 are present, don’t attempt to rush to your birth place. Your baby’s birth is imminent and they will most likely make their appearance en route.

Here is the quick and dirty when baby is ready to meet you:

Call 911. This really just makes you feel better about the whole unassisted bit, but they could make it to you in time. Even if they don’t, they will be handy if you need any extra assistance with the placenta or post birth procedures.
Put a blanket down if you have time (you have no idea how messy this is about to get).
Take off your pants. Seems fairly obvious, but I have seen quite a few women crown into their sweats.
Get grounded and get comfortable. All 4’s is a very natural position to take instinctively. Do what feels good to you though. It could be any variation on a squat or side lying position.
Pro Tip: Even if the 911 directions involve getting you onto your back, that is counterproductive and unnecessary. No unmedicated mammal lays back flat to get a baby down and out.
Someone needs to catch your baby when they exit.
Place them skin to skin so your chest can warm them. Cover you both with a blanket but keep contact with their skin.
They will be covered in birth goo. It is very well designed goo to insulate & protect them.
The cord will still be attached. Just leave it alone. The length of the cord might dictate their positioning on you, but they should be able to reach anywhere from your abdomen to your chest to make contact.
The blood vessels of the umbilical cord naturally clamp off. Still leaving it alone.
If you are still unattended and you feel pressure in your vagina or the urge to push, a tiny little push will usually yield the placenta or “afterbirth”. Catch it in a bowl if you can for your providers to examine later.
It can stay attached to your baby safely. Say it with me – leave it alone.
Allowing your baby to crawl up to your nipple and seek around for sustenance is nature’s way of releasing oxytocin + massaging your uterus to prevent bleeding.
Rest – you did it!
Be prepared to transfer. If you were planning to birth at a hospital, then the paramedics that you called in step #1 will usually take you in to get checked out. If you were birthing at home or in a birth center, call the midwives for directions, but they will most likely come check you out at home.

My 2nd Precipitous Birth

He was my 3rd baby, but I was ready this time for a speedy delivery.
My waters broke in bed in the wee hours of the morning. 1st time my labor began that way.
Little back and forth between the bathroom and the bed, sussing out true labor.
Contractions began.
My husband called the same doula that missed our last birth. I assured her that things weren’t as fast as last time and she could wait.
In her infinite doula wisdom and British proclivities, she proclaimed that she would just come knit in the corner, probably knowing full well this would be another quick one.
The pool is filling.
Rocking and swaying with my toddler on my hip. Finally had to hand her off.
Doula arrived 30 minutes later, and I already needed to get in the water so we filled up the bathtub while the birth tub was filling.
This time there were 2 other kids awake while I labored.
Intense contractions in the tub.
Moved to the big tub ASAP.
Feeling pushy.
Doula tells me to push if I need to, I didn’t want to poop in the water so held back a bit.
Midwife on her way. She was badass and drove a motorcycle so I can just envision her hauling ass on that thing.
Pushed & pooped for a bit. Fishnets are key components in a water birth!
This was the biggest baby, and even though I had only labored for a few hours, it felt like his crowning was taking forever.
All 4’s pushing in the water, begging him to come out.
My girls watched from the sidelines.
My toddler thought my loud primal pushing noises were hilarious and laughed while I pushed.
My son was born, still missing the midwife. My doula helped me lift him up to my chest and turn around.
It took him a while to fuss or cry which isn’t uncommon in waterbirths.
Once he started fussing, he didn’t stop for a long time.
3rd baby afterpains were so intense, maybe worse than the contractions!

More Precipitous Perspectives

“I was already planning a home birth so I didn’t feel as flustered about getting to my birth place. The only thing I was missing was the midwife.” -Me, births of Ruby & Jericho

“The smell of the fluid, blood and baby mess on our carpet smelled oddly like my hunting experiences growing up.” -my husband

“It felt like a huge wrecking ball was pushing its way out of my butt…I started screaming for my husband to call the hospital and do something.” – 2nd time mom who Ubered to the hospital in precipitous labor because her husband had to stay home with their toddler

“The experience was so empowering and terrifying at the same time.” – precipitous parent

“A 911 operator directed my husband to help me lie back. She asked him whether I could wait. I could not. That drive to push is old and animal and it lives deep inside a woman’s DNA. When your body tells you it’s time, you push.” – fast birth occurring at home with husband’s help

*Note the 911 operator directing them into a lying back position.

“The feeling of relief once the baby emerges is like nothing else in this world. It is more welcome, more gratifying, and more pleasurable than any other sensation I’ve experienced. It’s like being lifted above the world and out of your pain.” -mom after pushing with paramedics at home for 20 minutes