Twins - elective c section or vaginal birth??

[LydiaGrace1]

I wonder if any of twin mums out there can help me come to a decision. I’m 28weeks pregnant with twins and at my next consultant appt in 4 weeks time I have to say whether I’d like to be booked in for a c section or be induced at around 36/37 weeks (assuming I haven’t went into labour naturally before then). My consultant has strongly recommended vaginal birth as I have had to babies this way previously with no complications. This would be my preferred option if I knew everything would work out and the babies would be ok! But I’m scared of things going wrong (second baby being in wrong position for birth, chord prolapse etc). I’m also scared of needing an emergency c section. The consultant gave me a “decision tree” to help us decide - which gives the % chance of various scenarios. It states the risks of complications for both babies and mum are low and both the same for section vs vaginal. It states there’s only a 3% chance of needing an emergency section if I manage to deliver the first baby ok (which I found reassuring). But the one that bothers me is that it states only 56% of mothers electing for vaginal birth with twins manages to achieve this (meaning roughly half of those choosing vaginal end up needing a c-section anyway). Am I more likely to be in the 56% because I’ve already gave birth twice before?? All is well with the pregnancy so far, both babies growing well and are measuring the same size. Just wondering what others experiences were like? A vaginal birth would be my preference but being rushed to theatre freaks me out, so if I’ve got a slim chance of managing a normal delivery I think I’d rather opt for a planned section - least that way I can mentally prepare myself and it won’t be a high stress situation! Any advice greatly appreciated! Thank you!

No advice but congratulations just bumping for you!

No firsthand experience but I attended a twin birth in similar circumstances to yours - two straight forward births beforehand.

Spontaneous labour at 35+6, 6 hours from start to finish with a 5 and 6lb baby. No pain relief other than a bit of gas and air - #2 had to be manually turned as was transverse after #1 birth but no other complications.

Mum needed 1 stitch as a precautionary measure and said that other than exhaustion it was no harder than previous singleton births.

I had a c section with first baby and refused to have a c section with twins, the consultant arranged for c section paperwork just in case as it saved time if necessary

I was lucky I had a great midwife and gave birth within half an hour of each baby with no issues.

Be warned they have to hold baby 2’s head Incase they turn having suddenly been given to room to move - it’s not pleasant while the doctor tries to chat with you hands up your muff while you check out baby 1!! They give you an injection to restart contractions as your body stops naturally. So take a short while to kick in.

I was 38 weeks 5.13 and 6.3

@GreenTulips @SquintEastwood thank you so much!! Can’t tell you how reassuring I find stories like yours - I’ve decided to give it a go and try for a vaginal birth - and I just really hope I can manage it without then need for an emergency c-section. My previous 2 births were uncomplicated, fast and just on gas and air so fingers crossed the same will happen this time Thanks for taking the time to post. And @PixieDustt - Thank you very much!

I had just gas and air.

The other thing was, I was told there are so few twin births that the midwifes students and doctors all like to otter past and check on proceedings and it can become a bit crowed! Not that I noticed particularly and I didn’t mind as they had asked.

I felt brilliant afterwards full of energy and ready to deal with two babies.

I had a vaginal birth for twins at 39+6 and both were healthy and I had a 6 1/2 lb and a nearly 8lb baby. I did need a forceps delivery but they were my first.

Downside for me was not being able to move much in labour as the doctors insisted on me keeping still to have monitors attached. I do wonder whether labour would have been quicker and forceps unnecessary if I have been able to move around but I guess I'll never know. I'd recommend a vaginal birth, definitely. Good luck x

I laboured for 8 hours then needed an emergency c section with my twins. I’d never had babies before so only you know how your body will cope. My friend had twins, one vaginally, one EMCS after the second one got stuck. She had non-id twins so they had their own sac and placenta, think the placenta from twin 2 was in the way which is why she couldn’t deliver the second one herself (I think?). What kind of twins are you having? Congrats though, twins are awesome!!

@GreenTulips thanks - Yeah i can imagine lots of people being in the room, but like you i'm sure i'll be passed caring! i'm hoping for a birth like yours!

@StripeyMonkey1 thanks for post and gosh they are really healthy weights! My singletons were only 6lb’ers so cant imagine having x2 of those in there! But you did go full term - they’ve said they’ll induce me if I haven’t went spontaneously by 36wks +6. I know exactly what you mean about not being able to move around - I’m not sure how well I’ll cope with that as I was like a mad woman with my other 2, constantly pacing and trying to “walk through the pain” but understand why the babies have to be monitored - time will tell on that score. Thanks again.

@doodlejump1980 oh you’ve experienced my fear but I guess as long as babies are ok at the end of it, it doesn’t matter how they enter the world. That’s tough labouring for that long and then needing an emergency c-section. Mine have their own placenta / sac (less likely to be identical but still 30% chance as if the egg split very early they’d be identical with their own sac / placenta apparently - news to me but you learn so much when you find out your expecting twins! I’m guessing they’re non identical though and that I just released 2 eggs that month - I’m a “geriatric mother” and more likely to produce more than one egg each month). I was really concerned about being able to deliver the first one naturally then needing an emergency c for the second, but apparently that only happens in 3% of cases - so they’re pretty good odds. Sound right though, if the placenta is coming before the baby that would require a c section. I’m a real mix of emotions - so excited but so apprehensive at same time.

I had a vaginal birth with twins just over a week ago. Had an induction at 37 weeks and an early epidural as a precautionary measure in case I had to go to theatre (contractions ramped up pretty quickly but the epidural meant I was really comfortable so not knackered when it came to pushing so I was really happy with that). Twin 1 came out beautifully with a few pushes, then the world and his wife rushed in to stabilise twin 2’s position - she turned herself from breech to head first by herself so they just basically held onto my bump til she dropped enough that they could break my waters. She didn’t like that much and dropped her heart rate so ended up being a forceps delivery - had a tiny tear with twin 1 so they did a small episiotomy in the other direction during the forceps so the tear didn’t extend, cause I had the epidural pain from the forceps and the episiotomy was minimal (id stopped topping up the epidural once I was about 9cm dilated so had a bit of background pain relief but I could feel the need to push and move around a bit)
I did have a significant bleed afterwards but that was cause the placentas were enormous and my uterus didn’t contract so that would have happened if I’d had a section - so I was very wobbly post birth due to the blood loss, but was great otherwise, only taking paracetamol/diclofenac once or twice a day if that. It was a lovely delivery, even with the forceps and I’m very glad I went for a vaginal delivery.

@sallysparrow157 oh wow, and just a week ago. I’m pleased to hear you’re still pleased you went for a vaginal delivery despite the commotion for twin 2. It must have been worrying at the time when her heart rate dropped. And having the big bleed afterwards must’ve been frightening too. But great to hear all ended well. Congratulations on your 2 newborns! Hope you are recovering well and enjoying being a mum to twins! X

Oh wow I’d be a bit pissed off to be told that ‘lots of different people will probably pop in to have a look’ because it’s a bit of novelty Should be only people who absolutely NEED to be there unless mum has explicitly consented otherwise.

I had opted for vaginal delivery but was very aware that a c-section was very likely as it was my first pregnancy.

I ended up having to have an emergency c-section as my DD’s waters broke at 32 weeks (this was due to issues with my body, scarring from long term undiagnosed endometriosis and placentas not providing adequate blood flow, just wanted to add that as I don’t want to scare anybody, their prematurity was down to my body.) The c-section wasn’t as bad as I had thought it would be, I had a fairly straight forward recovery also.

If your MW and other healthcare professionals have said a vaginal delivery is possible I’d go for it if that’s what you’d prefer.

For me it was sad that I never got to really ‘go into labour’ but as you have already said, what matters most is that they enter the world and are safe and sound 😊

For the experience of the c-section - it was quite odd really, because it was emergency it was a bit of a rush to get the relevant staff required and I was in pain because DD’s cord was starting to push through when I wasn’t even dilated so they had to keep reminding me to stay still whilst they injected the numbing agent (I can’t remember it’s proper name) into my lower spine. The needle itself didn’t really hurt and once the numbness took effect it was rather odd and had I been there alone I’d probably have been very anxious about not feeling my legs. But my DH was beside me the whole time and we just chatted.

It just felt like pressure on my abdomen when the procedure was taking place and I got to give both DD and DS a quick kiss before they were taken to NICU - again that was my specific circumstance due to the complications.

I wish you a straightforward experience either way @LydiaGrace1 and congratulations on your Twins!

@NaviSprite thank you so much for your detailed message (sorry just seen it now) It has made me slightly more relaxed if I do need to go down the c-section route - like you say, I’m sure it’s not as bad as I’m making it out to be in my imagination (the spinal block and catheter freak me out never mind being sliced open! But I’m sure at the time I’ll only be thinking about my babies and not me). I’m definitely opting to try for a vaginal birth, and just hope I achieve it! Nearly 30 weeks now so not long to go! Thank you for your well wishes. Your twins are one of each - we haven’t found out what we are having but my instincts tell me boy / girl (of course I could be completely wrong!)

I had a vaginal birth with my twins at 39 weeks. Labour was only 3 hours, they were both 6.5lb each, and were born 6 minutes apart, think the midwife panicked more than I did. I did find all the monitors a bit restricting and as a pp has already mentioned there were a couple of med students in the room. Afterwards, I had a cup of tea and 4 jam do nuts (still eating for 3 I guess). Would have gone home the same day but ds1 had to go in a cot warmer. I would say the birth was easier than my first ds, I was in labour 18 hours with him. Congratulations, hope it all goes well for you.