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The Birth!!

Hi ladies,

I am currently 18+5 with twins (our first pregnancy) and I am a little confused about the birth.

From my understanding, if the lower twins head is down then I will go for a natural birth and if it hasnt turned the will be a c-section.

If I was to go for a natural birth, do they wait for labour to start naturally, or would they induce you?

Also at what point would they make the decision as to what type of birth you will be having?

Thanks in advance xxx

Replies

  • Hi,

    My non id twins are now 19 months old and it seems like an age ago that I was pregnant!!! I was also in the same situation as you... My first pregnancy was a singleton who was born by emergency section!!! Not nice!!!

    I desperately wanted a natural birth with the twins and was told that this was possible as long as twin 1 was head down... My waters broke at 34 weeks and twin 1 turned to a breach position and twin 2 was transverse so I had another section!!!

    I'm very disappointed as I have 3 gorgeous boys but have never experienced a contraction or natural birth. Some people say thats a good thing but recovery from a section is a long process!!!

    Loads of women have natural births with twins, so will keep everything crossed for you...

    Sara x
  • I cant decide which I would prefer, on the one hand it means avoiding the pain of labour, but then it means the pain of recovering for an operation.

    Before your waters broke, had they given you any idea of what birth you were likely to have?

    I like to be able to plan things and I am feeling really lost about how it all works hehe
  • I had girl/boy twins 4 months ago. All the way along, I was told that as long as twin 1 was head down (which she was) we could go for a natural birth and would probably be induced around 37 weeks. I was induced at 37+1 and delivered them at 37+2 with the help of forceps. Twin 2 had to be turned as he was transverse. I think every hospital is a bit different. Have a long chat with your consultant and ask every question you can think of to make a plan that's right for you.

    [Modified by: kkng on July 02, 2010 03:14 PM]

  • Ours switched and changed constantly!

    I was induced at 37+5 and twin1 was head down, twin 2 was transverse so they tried turning her once twin2 was out but she went breach but i still delivered her vaginally as well despite being prep for a c-section!

    talk it over with your consultant hun if u want a vaginal delivery then go for it, my labour was a total of 50mins and although a little scary was fab birth experience!
  • My Twin 1 (and Twin 2) was head down, and I was lucky, I got to have the natural birth I wanted with both. I was induced at 36+5 though, for restricted growth.
  • Thanks for the info ladies. I havent met the consultant yet, when did you have your first consultant appointment?

    Also how did they decide when to induce you.... was there a particular reason for it or they just chose a date?
  • Most cases it depends on you hospital policy, when ur actually due and how uncomfy/probmatic ur pg.

    Me for example:
    *37 week policy
    * due date was the 1st jan, 39 weeks was xmas day so had to go a week earlier.
    * restricted growth my 2nd twin was showing small

    As for the consultant i didn't meet mine till 19 weeks.

    Lilac*
    xxxxxxxxxxxx
  • My consultant said she felt women's bodies stopped coping so well at 37 weeks and that babies' placentas stopped coping so well around then too so it was better for everyone to deliver then. Saying that, lots of women go on to 38, 39, even 40 weeks and have very healthy babies. I agreed that 37 would be ok for us, if we made it that far. It gave us a date to aim for. We were able to choose a specific date for induction that fit in with our 2 year old going to nursery. We wanted her to be in an environment she felt very secure in that day. Our consultant agreed with the understanding that if the labour ward was full, we'd have to wait until the next day. We arranged this date at 32 weeks.

    I met my consultant at 12 weeks when I had a nuchal scan. I saw her again at 24 weeks and every 4 weeks after that.
  • Hi,

    I have just given birth to my twins on 01/07/2010 at 31+5. Both were head down and I gave birth naturally. I only used gas and air but had been worried would have to have epidural as there is a higher risk of you needing assisted delivery. Thankfully for me this was not the case. I was discharged from hospital the following day although my boys are in NICU as they need help with their breathing.

    It's hard not to think too much about the birth before it happens but I believe whats meant to be will be and you will deal with whatever happens. It's all over so quick that time is of no essence when in labour.

    Good Luck and try not to worry.

    Tasha x x x
  • my first pregnancy was a singleton,so my second pregnany (twins) like the other ladies have said if twin one is head down then they let you try for natural labour,they said that if i hadnt had them by 37wks (i think it was) they would induce me,every 4wks i went to see the consultant and he said your never gonna make it to 37wks,he was right,my waters went at 35wks,twin 1 was head down and i gave birth natural,when he popped out 2 midwifes put there hands on my belly and moved twin2 down in the right position and i had her natural 2,iam really glad i had them both natural as recovery time was much less
  • Hi Vix and congrats! My twins were born 2 weeks ago tomorrow at 32 weeks and currently in NeoNatal.
    I had lots of questions like you that noone really seemed to be able to answer. I was going to have a planned c-section because my son's placenta was grade 4 placenta previa (totally covering the cervix) but due to bleeds from 28 weeks had emergency c-section at 32 weeks when I went into labour (was already living at the hospital by then).
    Turns out my daughter was breech too so I would've had to have c-section for that too!

    Plenty of people do have natural births with twins, and from my experience the consultant kept re-assessing me at each appointment so you may not know until later in the pregnancy, and it can change a couple of weeks later.

    My story is not one to scare you, I had a pretty bad time but would most certainly do it all again, and more for my twins as it's the most amazing feeling in the world when they're here.

    good luck
  • Hi,

    I'm 24+5 with twins. I had my first consultant appointment at 17 weeks, made by my midwife when I saw her at 16 weeks & she saw the scan results! Though having had 2 appointments at the hospital so far I've yet to meet the actual consultant but seen a registrar instead.

    I have been told that 36-37 weeks is the most common/likely time for the twins to arrive. If one twin is head down then it can be natural. Due to a difficult induction with my first labour where I came very close to having a c-section (preped & in theater ready but dd delivered by ventouse) I have discussed opting for a c-section over an induction if it is needed. It looks likely that I could but they won't discuss it further till later in the pregnancy. They also said that they will 'let' me be pregnant for as long as is healthily possible, they won't suddenly induce me at 37 weeks but that the twins often run out of space by then and things kick off naturally.

    Congrats and good luck!
  • Loopy that might explain why I havent seen the consultant yet.... at my 16 week check my midwife was off due to emergency surgery and I had a stand in.... the sonographer at my 20 week scan was shocked that I hadnt seen a consultant yet so I am now booked in for scans at 24, 28. 32 and 36 weeks and booked in with the consultant/registrar after each one!
  • Hi-congrats on your twin pregnancy image i delivered my twins naturally but mine were pretty well behaved and both were head down for the majority of my pregnancy! My consultant said as long as twin one was head down, then i could give it a go naturally! good luck with it all, twins are an absolute joy image
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