The delivery itself takes only minutes, but getting prepared for it can take 45 minutes as you may need a top up or insertion of an epidural or spinal anesthetic. You will also need a catheter inserted to drain urine so that your bladder is unlikely to get damaged. After the delivery of baby and placenta, you will normally be sutured straight away by whoever did the delivery. So it may seem that it takes a long time if you put all these things together!