Natural birth or C/section for twins

[starshaker]

I know i have quite a long way to go but wanted to know whether people went for a natural or an ecs birth. Both seem very scary for different reasons.
Natural- I could go for natural but might end up with a c/s anyway in which case i will have pain in 2 places.
ECS- the thought of a needle in my back terrifies the living crap out of me.

Advice please

I had a vaginal birth with epidural. I tried to manage without it but by the time I couldn't bare it I didn't care about the needle and it was an enornmous relief. I felt nothing and it helps that you cant see what's going on when they give you it.

However it really depends on how your twins are lying when you are close to giving birth. You may have no alternative but to have a c section if the way they are lying is a way that is too dangerous to deliver vaginally and your doc may 'strongly' advise an epidural in certain situations too. So my advise is to keep an open mind about all delivery options just incase you get thrown a curve ball at the last minute.

I have a fear of needles. My labour with dd was very quick (2 hours) and they say twins can come quicker. Managed on G&A with her so had no needles really.

Recovery after CS is hard, and I struggled to care for one baby properly so I desperately want to avoid having one with my twins. Both are breech and have been since day one so I'm facing a birth with a room full of doctors but I still favour this to a CS!

However, if you arm yourself with enough helpers after the birth maybe it wont be such a struggle.

My problem is either way i will have very little if any help

I opted for natural birth, had to be induced as got to 39+6, everything progressed very slowly and ended up with emergency c-section. However, I don't regret trying for a natural birth at all. I am very glad that i got to experience some of it and I think it gave us all a better start, even though it was unsuccessful.

I am expecting no 3 and really want to try for a vaginal birth this time, and the fact that i got to 5-6 cms dilated is apparently a really good thing for having a successful vbac.

I found the recovery after a c-section quite hard, (though of course sometimes its tricky with a vaginal birth too) but basically had to have help lifting babies etc for the first few days after I came home from hospital.

I wasn't offered a section even though had already had one. First twin was normal birth, 2nd crash section. Not nice. In some ways wish had just had a section but then again what happened to me is rare thankfully.

I had an emergency section cause my twins were born at 32+0. The section itself was very weird but on the whole fine, thanks mainly to the anaesthetist who was lovely, in direct contrast to londonlottie's experience! Receiving the anaesthetic was fine, even though I was mid panic attack (someone told me it's normal to panic, something to do with hormones?? But anyway, they gave me a whopping great sedative after the babies were out, but even before that it wasn't too bad). However, the week directly afterwards is really hard going in terms of pain. But I would imagine recovering from a natural birth isn't exactly a walk in the park either, I've just never done it. But as I say, the section itself was fine.

Mine was a planned c-section. It could only be c-section as my girls were sharing a placenta. It is a strange feeling, almost felt clinical. My eldest was born naturally. The thing with natural birth is that you feel the pain (extreme for me) but it goes away after birth (for me anyway) But with caesarian, pain starts after delivery, but ususally very uncomfortable for only a couple of days. again, just my experience. I'm sure it doesn't apply to everyone.

At my antenatal class I think the teacher said the chances of having 1st vaginally and 2nd by cs were actually small. She may have said 2%, not sure, but I remember thinking it was very small and therefore not a figure that was significant to be making decisions about ecs on.

I had mine both vaginally, and the second was breech. The breech was a very easy birth, she slipped out nicely in 2 pushes. I was really scared about a cs as, like you, I had older children and the prospect of coming to terms with twins while looking after the older ones and recovering from abdominal surgery was not one a relished.

Either way, it'll all be worth it in the end ;)

I agree with Dhara - a few months later, you won't care.

I had an ecs as both were breech (this was despite having a natural birth plan at 36 weeks because both were head down, so things can literally change to the end). Having the epidural was quite unpleasant, but not painful and the section was a wonderful experience - I saw both babies lifted out and had skin to skin contact just a few moments after they had been delivered and I was able to breastfeed both in the delivery room about 45mins after they were born.

I did a lot of reading on mumsnet about peoples' experiences of c-sections and that really helped me to prepare for what it was going to be like.

Having said all that I did have a lot of help in the first few months and my husband got the babies for feeding in the night for the first 6 weeks - I found lifting the babies fine but getting in and out of bed was difficult.

I had mine vaginally.
DD was born 34 minutes after my 1st contraction followed 13 minutes later by DS2, who came out feet first(but caused him no harm other than bruised feet for the first week) I just had gas and air.
When I 1st arrived at the hospital the on duty consultant wanted me to have a csection and I laughed in her face lol

Your consultant will probably advise the best course of action for you nearer the time, dependant on their position and how the pregnancy is going.
You cant really plan anything with twin Births so just be open minded till the time comes x

I had a planned c-section due to the positioning of the twins (1 breech, 2 transverse) which I must admit I didn't like very much. I preferred the natural birth of my eldest. I've heard loads of women say they found their c-section a doddle though, so don't go by me. (I'm a big coward when it comes to needles & things).

I wouldn't worry too much about it anyway. It might be beyond your control when the time comes. good luck xx

Hi Starshaker,

This was one of my main worries about the birth too but thankfully I was really pleased with how the birth went. I ended up being induced at 37 weeks. Labour took less than 7 hours and the babies were born 15 mins apart. The first dose of prostin gel worked a treat and I got by on just gas and air. This was despite the fact that I was told that it was preferable to have an epidural in place. I was allowed to have a bath two hours after they administered the prostin gel and my waters broke while I was in the bath. I was 9cm dilated by the time I got out of the bath two hours later (much to the midwifes shock!).

Good luck!

This article might have some useful info for you:

lucysymons.squarespace.com/vaginal-twin-birth-it-can-be/

It sounds as if the woman concerned faced an almighty struggle to get an NVB, but the sources she quotes might be helpful to you in making your decision.

Wishing you all the best!