Positive stories of normal twin births, please?

[MamaChris]

I had a homebirth with my first (singleton) pregnancy, and had always imagined I would do so again with my second. But now we've discovered it's twins, and I expect this will have to be a hospital birth (I think I would be too worried about risk to the second twin to feel confident to give birth at home). But everything I read suggests twin hospital births are very medicalised, far more so even than singletons. I'm now in a bit of a panic, I really really don't want a very medicalised birth.

Does anyone have positive stories of normal twin births in a hospital? I could use any reassurance that it is possible. Thanks.

A lady from our church had 2 sets of twins (under 2!!), both sets born naturally. The second set were both over 7lbs

Good luck.

Wow - four under two - that sounds a challenge, indeed. Good to hear natural birth possible, at least. Thanks.

Not me but my friend has just had twins, naturally no problems and very good birth weights.

SIL had twins - induced at 38 weeks. No problems, no drugs. Approx 4lbs and 5 lbs. It was in some kind of a Midwife led unit.

I was a doula for a Mumsnetter recently, I think she hangs out on the Twins forum.
She had a natural birth in a midwife led unit at term (even used the pool in labour)
Birth story here if you are interested-
www.magicalbirth.co.uk/13.html
Selina x

Hi, I had my twins 17 years ago (37wks +2) and in comparison to having a singleton it was more medicalised only because the hospital (Queen Charlotte's)ensured there was a team for each twin. Up until the pushing stage the room was relatively calm, but then it felt a bit like Picadilly Circus with mufflers,the room full but they were all freakishly quiet.
I'd had an active epidural which had worked brilliantly up until the final stage. unfortunately Twin#2 was a footling breech, forcep delivery, with NO pain relief. However, it had been me who had not wanted my epidural topped up because I'd wanted to stay mobile and walk around in circles. Twin#2 was transverse at the onset of labour and turned to breech as twin#1 was birthing.
It's really hard to describe this properly, not because it was so long ago, but because it is so clear. Everybody in the delivery room knew their job and when and how to do it; they were a team working for a safe delivery of the babies, in a calm and supportive manner for me.
I started pushing twin#1 @0540 and it was around this point the delivery room started to fill up.Delivered at 0637 up onto me and I held her and kissed her as the consultant calmly told me "only one more to go".
Twin#2 was delivered at 0651 and for all those 14 minutes and since I am thankful that there was a team of people standing right by to ensure she was delivered safely.
For what ever the whys and wherefores (not ready for herself to be born?) it did become increasingly clear from her heart traces that she was in distress. She "presented" a footling breech still in her own sac filled with maconiam. I am thankful to my consultant, for her skill and steely calm, because i suddenly really realised why she and everybody else on the team was there.

The birth of our twins was not more medicalised than the birth of DDC#3, but we were given more specialised care.

(BTW the twins are doing (4) A levels now - got 13 GCSEs each)

Thanks all. Selina that sounds like a fantastic birth, bur local hospital (Addenbrookes in Cambridge) won't allow twin birth in the midwife led unit (which I would prefer), and seems keen that I have obstetrician-led rather than midwife-led antenatal care. They also strongly advise epidurals (which I don't want) and, I believe, prefer delivery to be in an operating theatre, which I cannot imagine!

Thanks especially ande for the detailed post. It is good to know you can have a full room, and still have a normal birth. Can I ask how you felt afterwards about the birth - positive or ...? And very good luck to your twins with their studies!

Hi Mamachris,
LWH don't usually allow twin births in the MLU, they use the same guidelines as anywhere else.
It was through ots of negotiation, an open minded obstetrican, a fantasic consultant midwife and luck (she had had two previous normal births, the twins were non identical, both head down etc).
You need to find some advocates.
Would you think about a doula?And/or check out if there is a consultant midwife at your hospital and make an appointment tyo duiscuss with them.
Selina
PS There were paeds on standby outside the room and the obstetricuian, but they did not come in as there was no need

A friend of mine had twins born in a birthing pool, no drugs, no complications. The fact that you have had one natural birth stands very highly in your favour for a natural twin birth.

Thanks Selina, very good to know. The precedent has been set then, for a midwife led twin birth, and I shall definitely use that information when I try and negotiate.

And yes, I already have a doula! I'm very confident she'll be able to help me before and during birth, but she hasn't doula'd any twin birth before, so I'm doing trying to do lots of research too.

Hi MamaChris

I am 34 weeks with twins and suffered exactly the same anxieties as you regarding hospital birth when I found I was carrying twins.

With DD1 I had a lovely attempted home birth until labor stalled at 9cm. The hospital I transferred to then royally f*ed things up and I had a CSection.

At every step in this pregnancy I have had to negotiate and stand firm with what I want and don't want, even changing consultant and meeting early on with the midwife manager. I have found that it is key to explain that you understand their policies and have valid reasons for refusal of treatments / interventions. That way the staff have more confidence in going against policy. At the same time though, avoid being closed to suggestion.

I am hoping to have intermittent monitoring only, no routine VEs, no doctors actually in the delivery room and no needle in hand thingy. So far, this has been agreed as long as I am post 37 weeks with both head down. If one comes breech a doctor will deliver vaginally.

I met the consultant who was involved with the birth that SelinaDoula mentioned and she was happy for me to deliver in the MLU at LWH despite twins and previous CSection. She said as long as they felt the mother understands and has considered the risks thoroughly then they will always be happy. Unfortunately they are 100 miles away from me !

You never know what will end up happening though, I'm trying to remain calm about the prospect of another CSection and am practising relaxation and visualisation to make the hospital experience more bearable.

Good Luck!

Hi MamaChris

Yes, I did feel really positive about the twin birth during and after!

After the deliveries the room thinned out considerably - 1 x midwife for each of the babies and the consultant (!) stitched up my episiotmy cut (done for twin#2). Although the twins had been checked over already she re-did it and then sat with me and explained that twin#2 had slight breathing difficulties and to be on the safe side she wanted her transferred and monitored in SCBU.
She went and spoke to the senior midwife who then arranged for me to be transferred to a single room for me and twin#1. i was, naturally very upset, but shortly after I had had a shower and settled into the room she returned with a polaroid of twin#2 and explained how I could go to SCBU to feed etc and that twin#2 would have to be looked after by the midwifes in the nursery whilst I was in SCBU.

I would have had DC#3 at Queen Charlottes if I'd been able, but it just wasn't practical!
Am currently pregnant with DC#4 and all things being equal I will go for a home birth!

Having twins is amazing and incredibly rewarding. Good luck!

ande x

Thanks ande. It's feeling positive I'm most worried about. And Peas, well done on standing firm for what you want. I think it's something I will need to learn to do (not great at standing up for myself sometimes!). Meeting early with senior midwife sounds like a very good idea too. Good luck with the birth. Will you post your story here? (If you can find time, of course!)

I have twins, but one was breech and one transverse, so I had an elective c-section - obviously not what you want to hear, but it was very very smoothly done, and the whole experience was very positive for me.

I am a member of a thriving twins club, and one of my close friends there had her twins naturally with nothing but gas and air. I'm pretty sure she's not the only one. I do appreciate that the moment you realise you're expecting twins, everyone seems to think it's a "high risk" pregnancy, which is frustrating.

Congratulations, btw - most days I think I hit the jackpot by having twins - tis amazing.

I met a woman last year who had had twins, born at home, at 40 weeks. Also have an online acquaintance who has 8 children (under 8yo!), including two sets of twins, all of whom seem to have arrived vaginally (she tends to have early births though, which might make a difference).

Good luck all of you twin-expecters A dear friend of mine had identical boys recently, delivered at 32 weeks, and they are now home and thriving.

My twins were 40 weeks, both 7lbs+ and both breech .Twin 2 had forceps intervention but no other problems. I had an epidural though .

Okay, replying to this:"They also strongly advise epidurals (which I don't want) and, I believe, prefer delivery to be in an operating theatre, which I cannot imagine!"

Obviously, it seems to differ from hospital to hospital, but I had my twins last year, and I didn't have an epidural. They were very willing for me to have one, but I didn't want one.

I was in a delivery room, fully dilated, waiting for second stage, when I began wanting to push.(I won't bore you with the details of the lead-up to stage 2!)

I called the midwives, and they wheeled my bed into the operating theatre, along the hallway. The midwife in charge of me turned most of the overhead lights off, so it stopped being so noticeably an operating theatre. Which was really nice of her. Then they helped me onto a operating table type affair, and adjusted the segments of the bed to my liking. The only bad part of the delivery bit was the narrowness of the theatre bed- kept feeling I would fall off, so dh and midwives had to hold on to me at the sides.

Then I pushed, and I got two babies.

Other things I learned to pass on to others: 35 weekers can breathe. Had convinced myself they would need to be on respirators, to the point of outright ignoring midwives who tried to reassure me!

Thanks jessiealbright, that's very good to hear. And congratulations on your two babies Would they have left you stand up for delivery do you think?

Hi MamaChris,

My DTs are now 9, I had a natural birth, lots of walking around, no epidural, TENs machine and a bit of gas and air near the end... They were six weeks early...

Yes there were quite a few people in the room once I started delivering but you don't really notice (I even had an ambulance driver ask if he could come in cause he'd never seen a twin birth!)

Both twins went to SCBU but I was given a private room and spent most of my time with them...

I do remember just after DT1 was born that the consultant said to me "if you don't get a move on with DT2 then we will have to do a C section" Luckily I had a great midwife who told me to take no notice of him!!

MamaChris

Thanks!

I don't really know- I wasn't actually capable of standing up during stage 2; shifting on to that bleddy theatre bed from the delivery room one was hard enough!

Do you know what kind of twins you're having? Mine were monochorionic, diamniontic (for those new to twin-jargon, that's one placenta, two amniotic sacs!), which affects things. I had fetal monitoring belts around my bump, which would have been disturbed by my standing (and also allegedly the most active pair of babies ever, who positively delighted in moving away from the sensors. I'm not kidding here... Took 45 minutes, two midwives, a doctor, and a portable ultrasound to find twin 2's heartbeat- and this was before contractions started. Could see my bump moving, so we knew where he was, but could not find his heart!)

If your twins aren't sharing anything, and aren't really hard to find when they want to have a look, I believe they're likely tobe more flexible on the twin-birth protocols.

Further words of comfort: the operating theatre ended up being just a big, dim room. It was so big and dim, I never noticed the two paediatricians waiting at the side of the room! I actually asked dh whether they had been there afterwards.

I hope I've got the meaning of those words right, anyway.

P.S. Ask if they can find a wider theatre bed. Tell them to find one they use on people having weight-loss surgery or something!

Mine were both normally delivered. I had a home birth the last 2 times and was very upset at the prospect of being in hospital and not having unnecessary interventions.

I managed to negotiate use of the pool, no epidural, intermittent monitoring, natural third stages, and we came to a compromise om the time interval between the twins before they augmented the labour. I also was very clear in my birth plan that only midwives were to be in the room as long as the labour progressed well. All updates were to be relayed to the consultants outside the room and out of earshot.

I made it to 39 + 6 weeks and they were good weights (no.1 was 7lb 11oz). My first was cephalic and my second was breech. I did have augmentation for no.2 though, as my contractions didn't restart on their own - it took breaking my waters after 2 hours 40 minutes of waiting to bring her down and out very quickly! Don't think I would wait so long if I could do it over again.

Karen Gromada (I think) has a v.good website with a sample birth plan that I used to help draft my own.

Good luck and stay positive.