How did you give birth to your twins and do you wish youd done it differently?

[neonrainbow]

I am nearly halfway through my pregnancy with twins and since way before i got pg i have been worrying about the birth. All this time I've been leaning towards a section as rightly or wrongly i see it as a less risky way to give birth. Im scared of the prospect of birth injuries and the risk of an emcs, especially of having the first one vaginally and the second by emcs. I haven't yet spoken to a senior consultant about the risks of both am hoping to do that next week.

My midwife and doctor i did see say they will be pushing me towards a vaginal birth. Im trying to keep an open mind and am considering doing a hypnobirthing course to try and help me alleviate my concerns around vaginal birth. My twins have separate sacs and placentas.

So I'm looking for other people' experiences really and reassurance of twin births. Can anyone help?

[mrscee]

I was supposed to have a c section at 36 weeks with my twins. But I didn't get that far, I went into early labour at 31 weeks and gave birth with just gas and air in around 2 hours it was all abit if a shock

[Della1]

I had a planned c section- twin two was losing amniotic fluid so they needed to come out. I had them at 34 + 5 wks. I spent my whole pregnancy worrying about how I was going to give birth but in the end the decision was made for me. I think you have to go in with an open mind and try not to plan too much about how to give birth- the twins will decide for you. Fwiw most of the twin mums I know had a planned or emergency c section in the end.

[FeeFeeLaFew]

Can I add my thanks - really helpful to have seen all these replies.

[Thatznotmyname]

Ha! There's always one! I did both!!! My twins were induced at 36 weeks due to twin a having growth problems. I was induced and had an epidural. Twin a popped out after 2 pushes, twin b (breach) refused to budge and after 1/2 an hour the consultant advised a csection. You know what, it was fine , yes a csection is NO JOKE but my babies were fine and I was too. Relax it'll be fine x

[neonrainbow]

Thank you so much for all your input everyone ive got a lot to think about!

[Iwasjustabouttosaythat]

I had an elective c-section with my twins and it was wonderful! We arrived at 7am and by 9:30 I had two lovely babies. Breastfeeding within the hour. Recovery was super fast! With the help of pain relief you are moving around on day 3 just as well as if you'd had a successful vaginal birth. You can shower yourself within 24 hours.

I was much better rested with the c-section because I got a good night of sleep before the twins arrived. Compare this to however many hours of exhausting labour before you even get your babies. They are exhausting in those early days and it's so great to start with as much energy as possible.

I am a bit biased about births because my first birth, which was vaginal, was horrific. 18.5 hours labour (with no drugs - silly me) followed by a forcep delivery which gave me a fistula. Then 3 operations with a colostomy bag for 4 months. I wasn't physically recovered for 6 months. Those early days were so, so hard because I was physically just a mess, and you can imagine my mental state.

I'm not saying this to scare you. A lot of people will try to push you into a "natural" birth with claims that it's safer for you and your babies but that's simply not the case. My midwife told me the opposite is true, and if I had the choice to make again it would obviously be c-section every time. It really is so civilized.

[elvesareneverhappy]

I had an ELCS at 38 weeks because I had an emcs with my first after 2 days of labour. The best bit about it for me was that I had that date set and I just focused on getting as close to it as possible. Babies were 6.14 and 6.3 and we all went home the next day.

Good luck with whatever you choose!

[44PumpLane]

I'm currently 29 weeks and have been thinking about this too.

According to the literature I've read, if twin 1 is delivered vaginally there is a less than 5% chance of requiring a c section for twin 2.
Also I've been told by my consultant and midwife that the choice is only really mine if twin 1 is head down at the time of giving birth, so if after about 32 weeks twin 1 is head down then I have the choice, if not then it's csec.

This may not apply to all local authorities but thought it might be worth knowing as sometimes you may not have a choice.

[Middleoftheroad]

I had a planned section at 39.5 weeks. Separate sacs.
I always wanted a section. Then, when I found out one was breach this was thankfully confirmed.
I was scared to give birth naturally to twins and I'm not afraid to admit that a section was ideal for us.
Everything went so well (though recovery painful) but I saw it as a small price to pay.
Boys were 6.5 and 6.2 and are now healthy 10 year olds.
Good luck

[Oogie]

Firstly congratulations

My twins were born via planned C Section as twin 1 was breech which could have caused issues.
It was a brilliant experience, and I didn't suffer from havibg a section at all. Strangely I actually recovered faster than I did when I had my oldest naturally!

[mellysam]

Oh and I did have an episiotomy but apart from a few stingy aches have had no issues and healed really quickly (although before the birth I had read so many horror stories about them so had been dreading having to have one)

[mellysam]

Mine were born vaginally after being induced at 38+1. Twin one was head down and twin two was transverse but midwives were confident they could change her direction once there was more room after twin one was delivered.
Had gas and air to start with but knew I was going to have epidural later on which I did and was glad I did.
Little boy delivered no problems head first, half an hour later little girl delivered breach but again no issues with either of the babies.
I lost quite a lot of blood and had a few issues after with late onset preeclampsia and fluid on my lungs but that was nothing to do with the birth that had built up during my pregnancy and wasn't picked up on.
Little girl is currently snoozing on me they are five weeks old, would do it the same way again and deliver vaginally (with epidural).

[Bumptittybump]

Mine were vaginal. I was induced at 38 weeks. My only regret is that I felt quite passive and detached from the whole thing. I was convinced would end up with an emergency c section. However it was all much more straightforward than I was expecting (and even much more straight forward than a lot of my friend's single births). Took about 15 hours. If I'd thought more about this being possible I would have paid much more attention to the 'birthing' bits at antenatal classes, as although was all fine, if I had been more prepared for a vaginal birth I think I would have known to deal with it a bit better and felt more in control. E.g trying to stay active and asking for mobile monitoring rather than just lying flat on my back the whole time. Might have meant I didn't automatically opt for epidural so early and therefore maybe not have needed the episiotomy & forceps (although this has caused no lasting problems).
I'm doing natal hypnotherapy & yoga in preparation for birth of no3 and wish I'd done these for the twins, I just felt like there was no point at the time.

[joleyn]

And totally agree with the above posts - all that matters is that you and your babies are okay and it doesn't matter how that happens

[joleyn]

I was induced at just over 37 weeks. Both babies were head down and had a natural birth (with an epidural).I was keen not to have a c section as I have a toddler too and was worried about recovery time. I was home less than 24 hours later, a few stitches but fine. I think you have to do whatever you feel comfortable with and if you want a c section push for that (my consultant would have been happy with either choice).
Good luck

[Freco010]

2014newme makes a very good point! All birthing methods are natural. It's either vaginal or by c section. Both ways deliver babies.

[2014newme]

"natural" isn't always good, whatever people mean by it. Mine"naturally" started to come 7 weeks early. Luckily for them the unnatural steroids intervention meant that they didn't have lung problems.
Don't get hung up on natural, many babies especially twin babies would not be here today if it was left to nature.

[Caper86]

I aimed for a natural, and then was pushed into being induced at 37 weeks (no reason other than protocol). This led to an emcsec as they weren't ready to come out yet, which led to T2 being put in NICU. Whatever you decide to do try and wait til babies are as ready as they can be (as long as there's no risk to you or them). I really regret being induced! Good luck xxx

[Freco010]

P.s mine were delivered with gas and air, this was encouraged by my midwife during labour. My understanding was that I would have to have an epidural so worth checking your hospitals policy.

[Freco010]

My identical twins were delivered vaginally. It was a great birthing experience, I hadn't really made a decision before birth and I was steered towards vaginal as I'd had my son 2 years prior with no issues. I would say try to relax and go with the flow (I know this is easier said than done!)
However you do deliver the most important things is that you and your babies are happy.
I would have liked some more info prior about c section and procedure for twins births so would advise ask questions and discuss all scenarios with your consultant. Good luck!

[2014newme]

My consultant advise was that section is less risky for the babies but more risky for the mum which was spot on.

[2014newme]

C section, Booked for one but they came early so was emergency in the end. In hospital for a month after I had a lot of complications but would still make the same choice.

[scater]

Sorry about multiple posts, it kept saying it failed to post

[neonrainbow]

It's my first pregnancy so i have nothing to compare to!

[BingBongBingBong]

I want to start by saying I haven't had twins - however I have had a category 1 EMCS after a hard labour and I have had an ELCS. I know there are risks of twins with vaginal delivery of the first twin then the second turning requiring an EMCS (though I do not actually know what the statistics are). My EMCS recovery was so hard I simply cannot imagine having one after delivering a baby vaginally. On the other hand, my ELCS was beautiful, calm and the recovery was much easier as I was much better rested beforehand.

Best of luck with whatever you choose to do OP. My SIL had an ELCS with her twins and she had a very lovely experience.