Can I still have a natural birth?

mcselfoneal

Okay, first, I'm not trying to spark a debate here.  I welcome all opinions and thoughts.

Second, we just found out today that we are expecting twins (6w4d).  I was very much looking forward to using a midwife and possibly a doula as well to have a natural childbirth (probably in a hospital to make DH feel better about it all).  Now I know I'll pretty much need to be in the hospital since it's two and they'll probably come early.   So here are my questions:

Can a midwife still deliver twins if all looks good and healthy?

Am I doomed to have a C-section just because I have twins no matter what?

Has anyone gone through a vaginal delivery for the first twin and then have to have a C-section for the second one? If so, what's the recovery time like?!

Thanks everyone!

smscartozzi

I would guess a midwife could deliver twins at a hospital. You don't have to have a c section, it's far too early to have any idea what kind of birth you will have. I depends greatly on the position of your babies, your doctors comfort with extraction or versions and if you have any complications(ie- pre-e). As for delivery experience, I don't have any with twins so I can't speak for that!

LegallyBlonde217

First, congratulations!! 

Can a midwife still deliver twins if all looks good and healthy?  Depends on the midwife and the hospital at which you will deliver.  The hospital I delivered at required all multiples be delivered in an Operating Room just in case anything goes wrong and an emergency c-section is necessary.  Personally, I wouldn't be comfortable with a midwife delivering multiples due to all of things that can go wrong.  Though, I'm sure others don't feel that way at all.

Am I doomed to have a C-section just because I have twins no matter what?  Not at all.  My twins both turned head down at 24 weeks and stayed that way for the rest of my pregnancy.  I delivered them both vaginally. 

ShopperKristi

I originally went to a midwife practice and they dumped me when we found out it was twins.  My guess is you'll be hard pressed to find one that is willing to/has the capability to deliver twins.  Most twin deliveries take place in the operating room just in case you do need a double whammy (vaginal then c-section) or if you need to have an emergency c-section during delivery.  One option you might have is if you can find a midwife that works in conjunction with an OB so the OB can be present for delivery?

You are not doomed to have a c-section.  I didn't and I think you'll find many other ladies on this board who delivered vaginally as well!  

NBA0703

I work on a Labor and Delivery Floor and am also pregnant with twins.  Having said that I also see a midwife and she can deliver twins vaginally but like most say we usually do it in the OR with an OB doctor in the hospital in case something happens and we have to do a c-section.  You are not doomed to having a csection and my midwife I see for my pregnancy wants soo bad for me to have both head down and deliver vaginally.  We also have a girl that is 36 weeks pregnant with twins and both are head down and the midwife is expecting to deliver them!  She is being induced in a week! You do always run a risk for csection when trying to deliver twins vaginally.  Good Luck and I hope you get to have a vaginal delivery!

hootie123

My Ob told me their preference is for a vaginal delivery of twins - of course that depends on if they are head down or not.  GL and Congrats!

JodiAriel

I am a doula and was initially seeing a homebirth midwife and was unable to continue to do so because I was having twins, however I did transfer to a hospital based midwifery practice that was midwives only.

I delivered my twins vaginally (at 40w0d) in an OR with my midwife, however there was an OB standing by in the OR in the case of the need to do an emergency C-section.  All my care however was done by my midwives.  I did see MFM once a month just to check in but everything was always healthy.

There is a great FB group for mamas wanting to have a natural childbirth with multiples, pm me if you want the link.

TheDairyQueenx3

Can a midwife still deliver twins if all looks good and healthy? Yes, you just have to find one willing as most wont deliver twins. I had a midwife in the beginning as I was planning a water birth and still was once we found it was twins. However once my cervix and complications set in I had to change to a OB early on because my midwife wont deliver preterm babies and wasn't able to handle my situation. She has delivered lots of twins that we uncomplicated pregnancies though. Best thing I have learned is be flexible and keep expectations reasonable. Twins are nothing like singletons and things can change fast and without warning. They can come early or you can have a full term pregnancy. I like having an OB now because if my waters broke today I have a game plan if I was still with my midwife I would not have a clue who was delivering my babies and it would be chaotic. 

Am I doomed to have a C-section just because I have twins no matter what? No. Lots of MoMs on here have delivered vaginally both babies. Its up to your OB and position of babies and if its preterm or any other complications like IUGR or HELLP or TTTS etc. all can effect that. If A is breech then its most likely a C-Section with most all of OBs. If A is head down and B is breech its 50/50 depends on the OB delivering because of possibility of B having cord prolapse or turning sideways etc... If both are head down again its really something you and your OB have to talk about together. If you advocate you would like to try for a vaginal they may let you attempt but there is a possiblity of a double whammy c-section/vaginal.

The other one I cant answer because mine are not here yet but it has happened and my guess is its not fun. Healing from just a vaginal delivery was not fun with my singleton. I can only imagine both  

shaunah816

It depends on the policies of your hospital and your practice. I started my prenatal care with a midwife, but when we found twins at 20 weeks my practice insisted I start seeing an OB. Because I had already been with my midwife for 20 weeks, though, I continued seeing her and alternated in OB visits. My hospital's policy was a doctor for each baby being delivered, so I was able to have both my OB and my midwife at delivery (which was a C section due to both babies being breech). If I'd been able to deliver vaginally I still would've had both there, which was really, really nice. 

I did a lot of panicking about losing out on a purely natural birth, but in the end I had an absolutely awesome birth experience. Do your homework and be prepared for the unexpected, and try to find peace with whatever happens. Most hospitals will require that you deliver in the OR, even if you're having a vaginal birth, which is stressful, but not a big deal. If you want to try a pain med free delivery, have them place the epidural but not give you drugs until/unless you ask for them/it's necessary. You can absolutely have a doula there. 

Try to find the balance between fighting for the birth experience you want, and acknowledging that you'll have to make some compromises for the health and safety of birthing two babies. I feel I found this sweet spot, and I'm really happy with how things went (even though I wound up with a C section, which was basically my worst nightmare, but it turned out SO well).

pillowass

I delivered my first with a midwife and I love that model of care but I think with twins it's much safer to choose a provider who routinely deals with and specializes in multiples and other high risk births. You can absolutely have a vaginal birth if the stars align, but even so twin births are complicated - in particular, there is a much higher risk to Baby B once Baby A is out. It's not just like having 2 singletons in a row.

My MFM recommended but didn't require an epidural. I was so huge and uncomfortable, hadn't slept well in months, horrible swelling, pelvic and joint pain (you will soon become familiar with this) - the pain relief provided by the epi was nothing short of miraculous! Also keep in mind that even with a relatively uncomplicated birth it will feel kind of frantic toward the end - I was in an OR, in stirrups, with about 10 people in the room (it's usually protocol to have NICU team for each baby just in case). I wanted everyone (including myself) to be able to focus on getting my babies out safely rather than managing my pain.

Congrats on your pregnancy!

carrotcake06

I saw both an OB and a midwife w my twins in the beginning. Once I hit late second tri, my OB requested I have all of my appts w her even though I was relatively complication free.

I knew I had to deliver in the or regardless and was told that while an epi wasn't required, it was strongly suggested.

Turns out, I had an emergency c/s under general.

Brummy14

Everyone here has pretty much covered it. Had I carried the girls to 'term,' and still be able to deliver vaginally, the hospital would have required baby #2 be delivered in an OR as a precaution. 

But, obviously, everything didn't go as planned in my case, and the girls were delivered via emergency c/s under general anesthesia. I had an epi placed the night before to manage the contractions, but it wasn't a great one -- and I was still able to feel the pinching prior to the c/s, so under I went. 

Like PPs have said, with twins, you'll likely need to set aside some of your birthing expectations -- twins add a layer of complexity, risk and uncertainty. Priority is your health, and that of your LOs -- the method by which they arrive isn't really the end-all, be-all.

jessican08

LegallyBlonde217 said:

First, congratulations!! 

Can a midwife still deliver twins if all looks good and healthy?  Depends on the midwife and the hospital at which you will deliver.  The hospital I delivered at required all multiples be delivered in an Operating Room just in case anything goes wrong and an emergency c-section is necessary.  Personally, I wouldn't be comfortable with a midwife delivering multiples due to all of things that can go wrong.  Though, I'm sure others don't feel that way at all.

Am I doomed to have a C-section just because I have twins no matter what?  Not at all.  My twins both turned head down at 24 weeks and stayed that way for the rest of my pregnancy.  I delivered them both vaginally. 

This.

Mine were both head down from about 18w on. I will add that my Baby B flipped face up before I delivered her and they almost had to use the vacuum to get her out. The Dr. was finally able to deliver her with just an episiotomy.

caden

A woman in my local multiples group had a twin home birth with a midwife and doula. It's possible to go even that crunchy, although I certainly wouldn't advise it. That mom ended up in the hospital by ambulance and her babies had complications too. I think all MoMs should have some level of coordinated care with a MFM. (My OB would only have sent me to a MFM for a few u/s's and NSTs if I had no complications. I had plenty of complications though so I saw a MFM frequently.) My crunchy OBs did not insist I deliver in an OR or get an epi. I had a vaginal delivery in a regular L&D room. while they didn't insist on the epi they did explain to me what would happen if baby B didn't cooperate and it took a nanosecond after that description to ask for an epi. While I would have liked to go au naturel I'm really happy with how my birth experience went. Except for the fact that it was at 35w it was great.

katiebenes

I would say the birth experience will be dependent on your doctor's policies. I just had mine a month ago- vaginal with an epi (well, 80% of an epi lol)

Also, you aren't doomed to a hard pregnancy full of complications, a forced c section, the twins coming as premies or even NICU or "special care nursery" time... I gave birth vaginally at 38 weeks 1 day via induction, we got to hold them immediately after birth, and I was even given the option to have them wait to get their check up until after I was stitched up. I decided to have my husband stay with the twins and I got my stitches and everything, then I was holding them in the recovery room as soon as I was done.