Parenting: Pregnancy

Is labor hereditary? This sounds like a lead into a joke rather than the topic of a recent iParenting chat, but many women take this question very seriously, especially if their mother or grandmother had a particularly hard labor or complications.

Shannon Boehmer, a media relations manager from Philadelphia, Pa., finds the question intriguing. "My mom, born in 1950, had two [breech] births in the '70s," she says. "In those days they actually let them go vaginally. Many years later my sister and I both also had [breech] babies. However, we opted to go C-section with ours. I never thought there was a connection, but am now thinking there may be."

"After reviewing the literature, there is no evidence-based medicine suggesting that there are some patterns of labor from mothers to daughters or familial occurrence of pre-eclampsia," Dr. AL-Jamal says. "Having said that, there are few reports that suggest a genetic influence on labor and pre-eclampsia. Detection of genes related to labor might lead to better pathophysiological understanding of parturition and the possibility of detecting mothers who will have difficulties during labor."

Dr. Susan Klugman, an assistant professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Women's Health in the Division of Reproductive Genetics at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx, N.Y., says that while it is more difficult to judge if normal labor patterns run in families, it is clear that preterm patterns can run in families.

"There are preterm labor patterns that can run in families," Dr. Klugman says. "It would be difficult to study normal labor patterns for several reasons. One, the estimated date of delivery is dependent on the patient's report of her last menstrual period. That is not always 100 percent accurate. In addition, how could you quantify minor differences in the normal range? Also, one patient's perception of a fast labor may be different from another patient's. That being said, clearly very fast labors, called precipitous labors (under four hours) may run in families."

Another aspect that can influence a woman's labor experience is her body type, and that can definitely be inherent in some families. For instance, the shape of a women's pelvis can alter the labor pattern and predispose her to a Cesarean section.

"Medical problems such as hypertension, pre-eclampsia and diabetes can run in families, as well," Dr. Klugman says. "Often their labor management decisions (whether induced or Cesarean) can be influenced by their medical issues. One study showed women who have fibroids are less likely to have precipitous labors, and fibroids do run in families, as well."

"If your mom had a fast and furious first labor and delivery, you may follow in her footsteps, but so many other factors can affect one's individual labor patterns," Souza says. "The baby's gestational age, size and positioning in the pelvis will all affect the labor pattern as well as the individual's choice for natural labor or labor with an epidural. Going into labor naturally is different than being induced with medications. All of these factors can alter the course of labor, so don't necessarily expect to have a similar experience as your mother or sisters."

There are many variables that can change an entire labor experience, no matter what kind of labor you may be disposed to have. For instance, the position of the baby, the size of the baby's head in relation to the mother's pelvis, the size of the baby – all of these factors affect the progression of one's labor.

"With the increasing number of labor inductions, use of continuous electronic fetal monitoring and availability of epidural anesthesia for labor and delivery, we are seeing different labor practices than were seen even 20 years ago," Souza says. "There is more medical intervention involved. This, along with the factors, may make comparing familial labor and deliveries a thing of the past."

So while you can keep a wary eye on the type of labor your mother or grandmother had, remember that it isn't a sure bet that you'll have the same type of labor. Patterns do run in families, but considering all the variables, it isn't something that should be obsessed over.