Birth of a third child: difference to the first birth

• On average, the first birth of a child takes the longest at 12 to 14 hours. With the second and third child, it is usually much quicker at around 7 hours. If your previous births have already been quick, you can assume that your third child will not take too long to be born.
• With your third child, you should therefore not wait until the contractions come at short intervals before traveling to the clinic. Make your way directly to the delivery room as soon as you notice that the birth is about to start with a rupture of the membranes or the opening contractions.
• If you gave birth to your first two children spontaneously, the birth canal has already been dilated twice and your body knows how a natural birth works. If you gave birth by caesarean section, the third child can still be born naturally – if the scars have healed well and your doctor gives his or her consent.
• Some women also prefer to give birth to their third child in a birth center or at home. Because you have already given birth twice, you may want the third birth to take place in a familiar and familiar environment.

How the third birth differs from the first

In addition to the speed, the third birth can be either similar or completely different to the first birth. Even if you cannot plan the exact course of the birth in advance, you will still be more confident with the third child than with the first.

• It is normal to be afraid of the birth. Pregnant women who have already given birth know what to expect with their third child. On the one hand, this can be good if your previous births went well and without complications, but on the other hand it can cause even more anxiety if your other births were difficult.
• In contrast to the first birth however, you have the great advantage with the third birth that you can imagine what is to come. You know your body and what it can do during labor and you know which painkillers you would like to take during the birth or what you should rather do without.
• You can communicate your wishes for the birth better than you could the first time and discuss how you would like to give birth when you register for the birth. Also discuss with the midwives and doctors what special features there were in previous births.
• Even if you may not have attended a birth preparation course for your third child, you will automatically remember the right breathing techniques during labor and feel what is good for you to deal with the birth pain.
• However, the third birth needs to be better organized in advance than the first. Discuss in advance with grandparents or friends who will look after the siblings when you go to hospital. Go through various scenarios, for example, that it will start at night and someone will have to come to your home or that the siblings will have to be picked up from nursery or school.
• The time immediately after giving birth is also different with the third child than with the first. As dad has to look after the older children, there is usually no possibility of a family room in the hospital. Many mothers try to be discharged as quickly as possible or give birth on an outpatient basis in order to be back with their family quickly.