Epidural - for or against?

[MumofthreeandBean]

My consultant has made it quite clear that he expects me to have an epidural when I am in labour. His reason is that if anything shows either twin in trouble he will be able to get them both out in a matter of minutes.

My last baby was 10.3 but that was near 11 years ago.

The twins are one head down and one breech.

Interested in opinions x

Hello,

I am 16 weeks pregnant with twins and had my appointment with my consultant earlier in the week.

The consultant told me that they expect me to have a natural birth in a theatre surgery room in case they have to do emergency csection. They also said it would only be a vaginal birth if twin one was not breach at 34 weeks otherwise it would be a planned csection.

The consultant concluded that I had to have an epidural as they would need to physically change twin 2 position if they were breach which would be uncomfortable.

I left the appointment feeling as if I was not in control and did not have any choice regarding the birth.

This is how I feel - my last 3 pregnancies I managed without, even with my 10.3lb

I have 16 year old twins , birth induced at 39 +2 ( my choice ) previously had 3 singletons with straightforward deliveries , no 3 being a home birth weighing 9lb 10 , after a relatively slow start when my contractions suddenly sped up I did have an epidural ( again my choice ) twin 1 was born not long after followed by twin 2 who turned and was born breech 15 mins later .
However I think the epidural was turned off before actual delivery as twin 1's heart rate dropped and I believe my blood pressure went down ( memories a bit hazy now ! ) I was able to get up and walk to the toilet shortly after delivery .
I didn't feel I had to have the epidural but one of the midwives did suggest it would help if twin 2 needed to be a section ( luckily she didn't need to be .)
This was the only delivery where I had the epidural and I didn't like the experience but it's likely it gave some time to rest .

Thinking about it I had an excellent consultant ( saw him on one born every minute deleting twins years later in Leeds)

Delivering twins ! ( not deleting )

Twins are much more likely to require a c-section or assisted delivery, and if you have an epidural this can be done much more quickly. Ultimately it's up to you, but your consultant wouldn't be pushing for this if he didn't think it was necessary. Do you have another appointment with him? If so then you should go in armed with a list of questions. I know it's frustrating to feel out of control, but with a high risk pregnancy your medical team won't want to take any chances.

twinnypops I have another apt at 32 weeks and then 36 weeks, it's random whether we see consultant or registrar,

Whichever one you see, make sure that they explain why they want you to have this and the pros and cons. I was also told that I'd have to have an epidural for a natural birth, although it was a moot point as twin 1 stubbornly refused to move from being breech so I had to have a c-section anyway :-)

How did you find c sec?? That's another worry

I was booked in for a planned c section but my waters broke early (36 weeks) so I had to have an emergency. It was obviously a really busy day with lots of other high risk and emergency c sections so it kept getting later and later. Finally they checked to see how dilated I was, panicked, and then opened up a theatre for me. The actual operation was fine though, it was just a shame that as I was in such a small theatre they had to take away the babies, so I didn't get to see them for a while. Overall, it wasn't great, but we were all fine, that was main thing :-)

From personal experience (two natural labour and one emergency c section) it's so different with each birth the more you plan the worse you feel if it doesn't go to that plan. Keep an open mind and just have options. Trust your body and go with the flow. The more relaxed you are the easier and less stressful I think it is. I had an epidural for the c section and thought to myself my god this is amazing I'd do this again (the epidural not the c section) but then only had gas and air with my 3rd so it's just so different everytime.

I guess everyone worries about the birth - everything else seems to be at the back of your mind.
I am feeling so big and tired atm that I would take any delivery option once babies are ready