Is my peri trying to scare me, or is she right about vag. birth?
I asked my doctor about whether or not I'll be "allowed" to deliver vaginally (assuming both babies are head down & no other complications). Her not-so-enthused response had something to do with the fact that, "baby b always has trouble, especially with a vaginal birth". She also said that if I try a vaginal birth I will deliver in the O.R. just in case an emergency C-section is needed. From what I can gather, it will be up to me despite the fact that she's not crazy about the idea.
I feel like I REALLY want to deliver vaginally, but I also feel scared. I dont want my selfish desire to avoid abdominal surgery to create long term problems for one of my kids! Do you think she's trying to scare me out of it, or is this true about always having complications with the second twin?
One more question.....if you deliver vaginally in the O.R., are you required to have an epidural/spinal?
Re: Is my peri trying to scare me, or is she right about vag. birth?
There are not always complications with Baby B. In fact there are many women on this board who have had successful vaginal births with their twins. If you want to try vaginally, and both babies are in a good position for it (Baby A HAS to be head down, and some doctors will only allow it if Baby B is also head down, but some will do a breech extraction on B if needed). I don't know if you have to have an epidural (most docs will push you to at least have the line put in, even if you don't use the meds, so it's already there if the need for a c-section comes up quickly). I don't know of any hospitals that don't make you push in the OR, but it's not so bad. You'll likely labor in a regular room and then be wheeled over when it's go time.
Here's my story, take it as it is. Both of mine were head down, so I decided to try for a vaginal birth. Everything was going great until my Baby B shifted somehow and got his cord between him and my pelvis. When I was at about 6cm they started noticing that his heartrate was slowing down some during contractions. Not enough to get him out right then or anything, but enough to keep an eye on. I got to 10 and was wheeled to the OR for pushing. The first couple of pushes were ok, his heartrate dropped a little but nothing too concerning. But the farther down that Baby A got, the more cramped B's cord got. After about 10 minutes of pushing his heartrate was dropping dramatically during each push and it wasn't always coming back up between pushes. My OB called an emergency c-section. My epidural had worked its way out of my spine by that point and wasn't working, so they had to put me under general anesthesia. I don't tolerate general anesthesia well and it was a HORRIBLE birthing experience in the end.
That being said, I don't regret AT ALL trying for a viginal birth. I felt empowered just to get as far as I did, and to know that if B's cord hadn't gotten in a bad spot, I could have done it (and I was terrified of a vaginal birth). Clearly I wish it would have gone according to plan, and I could have been awake for their birth (even if it was a C), but it was what it was and there's no going back to change it.
My suggestion, is that if you want to try for a vaginal birth, find a different OB. Yours does not sound committed to the idea and you need a doctor that is 100% behind you. Good luck whatever you decide to do!
Thanks so much for sharing!
I had a vaginal birth with my twins and didn't have any problems. My OB was willing to do anything she could do so I woudn't have to have a c-section. I pushed in the labor room and then was wheeled over to the OR to deliver the babies. I have never heard that "Baby B" will always have problems. There was an hour and 5 minutes between the birth of my boys and "Baby B" never had an issue.
My doctor was willing to let me go without an epidural if I wanted, she didn't have an opinion either way. I ended up getting one when I was 9 cm. I was able to give birth to my older son without an epidural so I have given birth both ways.
Good luck with whatever way you choose to deliver!
I had asked my OB about this and he said that if they are in the right position and there are not any other problems then it's up to me, but that vaginal is a lot more risky especially for baby B. I was also wondering if he was using a scare tactic or what.
From what I understand at our hospital, delivery takes place in the OR either way. If going for a vaginal birth, they want an epidural in place in case it turns into a c-section. I'm guessing this is to avoid having to be put under if an emergency c-section is needed. I'm not going to lie, I'm ok with that. If it's a planned c-section then they do a spinal.
I'm just going to go with the flow for now since neither baby is head down. Luckily, I don't have to make that decision today!
*Siggy Warning*
About me 2007: Started TTC. 2008: OB prescribed clomid, went to RE and was Dx with PCOS. 2009: IUI #1 w/follitsim and trigger = BFP. B/G Twins born at 33 weeks. 2012: TTC #3, Round 2 of Letrozole w/TI = BFP, missed m/c at 8 1/2 wks. Currently on the bench as we make plans for a new home. Anxious to start TTC #3 within the next year!
It sounds like she just doesn't like to have vaginal twin births and is trying to avoid it if possible. I had a wonderful vaginal birth experience. Both my girls were head down when I got to the hospital (B had been flipping on and off for the last 2 months of the pregnancy), we even did not have an acurate measurement on Baby A at my last growth scan at 36 weeks because she was so low in my pelvis they could not get a good measurement of her head and the peri did an estimation and he put her smaller than B, but since he was not sure he said I could try and see what happened. They were very open to it. I delivered at a military treatment facility and saw a different OB at almost every appt. I had, which was a lot of them and not one OB discourgaged me from considering a vaginal birth.
They did push for me to have an epidural line put in, they said they could not make me do it, but would feel more comfortable with the line already in place in case we had to do a last minute C-Section. I was ok with that and had the meds put in, boy am I glad I did. Baby A broke her water at 3:55PM and I did not deliver baby B until 3:52PM the next day, so 24 hours worth of labor I am glad I had the epidural, I just did not progress and they had to give me the max. amount of pitocin allowed (both babies tolerated the pitocin very well, so they kept upping the dose to get them to progress). My nurse told me there is no way I would have been able to tolerate the pain brought on by that much pitocin, my uterus was contracting way above what is normal in a natural birth. Anyway, I pushed for about an hour in the labor room until I got Baby A's head to crown and then they told me to hold her there and wheeled me down the hall to an OR room to finish pushing her out. Once she was out we had to wait for Baby B to move down and she did perfectly, no turning which was great since she had all that room and that is what they were afraid she would do. They broke her water and I started pushing and she was born 11 min. after Baby A. I had only very minor tearing and only required 1 stitch. Baby A was 4lbs. 14oz. and Baby B was 4lbs. 15 oz.
I think things probably went so well for me because I went into it with an open plan, I knew it might now go how I wanted and told myself, DH and doc that I would do whatever needed to be done to have a safe delivery and I didn't care how they came out of me as long as they were safe.
Some doctors really annoy me! I had an all natural vaginal birth with my twins. They did have to break baby b's water but there were no problems at all. I did deliver in the O.R. "just in case" but I did not have to have epidural.
Let me know if you have any questions!
Ditto PPs. B doesn't always have problems (my A actually had meconium in her sac at the time of my section, so there would have been problems for her had we tried to go vag). There are complications all the time about everything. Regardless of the number of people you grow :P
If you go vag, she is right that you will have to be in the OR, on the just in case something goes wrong- front. If both babies are head down, they will likely let you decide. If one of the babies is breech, you will probably have a section. But don't be afraid of the section. It's magically-shiittastic for the first day, but it's not the end of the world.
Sounds like your peri is afraid of lawsuits. Personally, I'd look for another one.
I saw a peri exclusively and he was very pro-vaginal birth. He actually talked me into a vaginal birth (I had been on the fence for a long time). Both of my girls were head down. All my problems came with Baby A - she didn't want to come out. After nearly 4 hours of pushing and vacuum extraction, Baby A came. Only 14 minutes later, completely on her own, Baby B came.
My hospital did have a policy that multiple births had to be in the OR and that an epidural had to be used. I knew going into my pregnancy, even before I knew it was multiples, that I wanted an epidural. So I didn't protest the policy at all. I will say that birthing in the OR is less than a desirable experience (at least it was for me), but I do think it's better to be safe than sorry.
Even though I didn't have the easiest of labors, I would do a vaginal birth again in a heartbeat. It was a good experience and I had the easiest recovery ever.
I pretty sure that about half of twin births are vaginal, so the statement that Baby B always has problems is bull.
I had a vaginal birth with my twins and baby B did just fine! Well at first there was a bit of a scare, when they broke his bag of water his heart rate dropped really low for a little bit. But he rebounded just fine and I pushed him out pretty quickly.
My OB and Peri warned me all along that I might not be able to deliver both babies vaginally. If baby A came out and B was in distress I would have to have a c/s for baby B. But both of my babies were head down so we went for it.
I did have an epi b/c I was told that if I didn't have one and they had to do an emergency c/s at any point I'd be put under general anesthesia and not be awake for the births. I didn't want that. Plus when the time came I was in so much pain I was begging for the epi!
I think that all doctors have to 'scare' you and warn you about all of the risks b/c it can be very risky. But ifyour babies are head down and you want to go for the vaginal delivery, then go for it. You will be in the OR, so if there is a problem, they can handle it. But just have confidence that you can do it and things will be fine!
Do your girls share a placenta? If they do, that could be the entire reasoning behind your doctor's claims. If they share a placenta, there is a chance of the placenta detatching after baby A is born but before baby B is born, which would be VERY dangerous for baby B. I don't know what risk factors there are in addition to a shared placenta, but this is definitely worth talking to your doctor about.
I had a practice with 4 doctors... one OB always said that if they were both head down it would be no big deal to do a vaginal birth. One said if I wanted to do it it was up to me, the other two always pushed for a C-section.
I just happened to deliver on a day where one of the pro C-section docs was on call. He gave me the exact speech you're recounting on the day I had them, while I was in labor. He said it was safer to do a C-section, that baby B would most likely have trouble, that he was sure I would end up with one vaginal and one C-section. I said I didn't care and he got mad, but couldn't make me do it... so I had a vaginal birth. It turned out fine. Babies were born 7 minutes apart, everything was ok... but I was pissed at the doctor (long story about that too but I won't go into it) and would be happy if I never ever saw him again.
Lesson learned... if you don't agree with your doctors switch now while you still have the chance. I always just figured I'd get to have the doc that I wanted, and instead got my last choice.
Yes, they do share a placenta! She did mention that part of the plecenta could detach after A's arrival, causing baby B to get less than an adequate supply of blood, oxygen, etc. This, precisely, is what scared me the most!