C-section and Vaginal Delivery

jimmie48fan · August 2012

My doctor told me at my last appointment if the babies are both head down I can try and have them vaginally. This I am ok with because that is how I had my son and it is what I know. The only concern is when I had my son I tore like crazy and it took me forever to heal up. He was only 8lbs 1.5 oz not large an average baby. My concern is if I push one baby out this time around and then the other flips and they decide to do an emergency c-section I will have to heal up in two places. Has this happened to anyone? If so how was the healing process?

I am a bit nervous about having a c-section only because I have never had one. I am not against it at all, just nervous.

Thank you

Robin

JustcallmeGG2 · August 2012

i recommend a c-section to anyone. My pain was very manageable after the surgery and basically gone by the time i left the hospital. i healed fine too.

the c-section itself is kind of annoying because you feel an hour of "tugging" at your stomach, but i would take that over doing it vaginally any day.

i have read that there are some risks with doing multiples vaginally, so i didn't want to chance it.

smcgervey · August 2012

From what I have read it is really rare for this to happen. If the doctors suspect for any reason that you aren't able to have both babies vaginally they will go straight for c-section.

From a MoM who has had a c-section is was easy and beautiful. I followed doctors orders and healed pretty quickly. You will obviously get many different answers to this but I don't think there is any reason right now to worry about vag/c-section delivery.

Best wishes in the remainder of your pregnancy!

s0ulchicken · August 2012

I had both of my singletons via C-section, and will have my twins via RCS as well. I labored with my DS (8) for almost 24 hours, and pushed for 3 before they realized he was not going to descend. My DD was breech, and my OB was not comfortable trying for a vbac with a breech baby. Obviously, these two will arrive via RCS as well, at my doctors (and my) wishes. Even with laboring for as long as I did with my DS, I did not find my recovery's to be overly painful. In fact, I was pretty much pain free inside of the first week.

Have you discussed your concerns/wishes with your OB? S/He may have some insight for you...

keg · August 2012

From what I've heard, the "double whammy" is actually rather rare. However, I would try and get more information from your doctor in terms of what situations would warrant a c-section for the second baby. Would they do a breech extraction vaginally if the baby flips or would they immediately resort to a section? One thing to think about is that multiples tend to be smaller than singletons so I would think the risk of tears would be less. I will say that I think my OB said the same thing, but only A was consistenly vertex and I think my OB was relieved that B was doing something else crazy when they decided I should deliver. It was clear my OBs were much happier doing a section (since then they have said they'd support a VBAC, but I don't think that's true).

I had a c-section which was perfectly fine experience. Both DDs wound up in the NICU for a few days, one because she was under 5lbs and one because she had a respiratory issue which I'm guessing may not have existed if she had been born vaginally.

TryingforBaby1 · August 2012

I was super nervous about the same thing. I had a 4th degree tear with DS1 and having to recover from both scared me. I talked to my doctor about delivery options for a long time. He said that my chances of tearing like that again were less than 5 percent.

At my 35 week appt, baby b was transverse. My doc was willing to do a breech extraction. However, after my appt, he called me and said that after discussing with his partners and thinking about it, he recommended a c-section. I went into labor 4 days later and DH and I had decided to go for the c-section. However, at some point, baby b had turned head down. I delivered both vaginally and my recovery has been super easy!

If you really trust your doctor, I would strongly consider their recommendation. I really wanted a vagnal delivery, evenif it meant a breech extraction or healing from both places. But, at the end of the day, if a RCS was best, I was going to go for that. But, anything can happen. I spent so much time worrying about the delivery and recovery, but it turns out that anything I tried to decide beforehand was pointless. Just make sure you now what is important to you and make sure you discuss that with your doctor.

LottaLattes · August 2012

Your twins will likely be smaller so will tear less. I had mine vaginally even with a breech extraction of B (with an arm up my hooch) and my recovery was still pretty easy. I would go with what your doctor recommends, recovering from both is rare.

ninjabridemom · August 2012

My MFM said this -- you could always end up with a c-section if you try for a vaginal. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't try.

I had a vaginal birth and pushed for 5 hours. Both boys came out safely (Gabriel had the cord around his neck and was blue but only needed 1min of O2). Overall the experience was exactly as I wanted it and I couldn't imagine it going any better.

hayleydeee · August 2012

I'd be surprised if you ended up having to have both. I remember my OB saying that there are all kinds of tricks these days for avoiding that : )

Having had one vaginal birth and one c-section I personally would skip the c-section if possible. For me it was a lot harder. The recovery was pretty miserable (although I know it's not like that for everyone).

nghithy · August 2012

I was wondering about the same exact thing. It seems like one week they're both head down and one week baby B is breech. I also want to get my tubes tide so I'm geared toward C-section. I am not looking forward to another tear and cut at the stomach.

ColleenS629 · August 2012

The risk of ended up with both depends on your individual situation. My boys were both head down when my MFM and OB decided they needed to be born. It was estimated that they were about 2 pounds apart, with Baby B being bigger. Their placentas were also fused. They cautioned me that if I insisted on an induction, there was a high likelihood of ending up with both because I'd likely have to labor longer between babies than normal since B was so much bigger... it was possible that once A's cord was cut, during all that waiting time, the placenta(s) could start to detach and put B in distress. I took their recommendation and went with the c/s.

Breezy8407 · August 2012

This was a fear of mine, too. Especially since baby B was much larger than A. I let go of it when my MFM reassured me not to put too much stock in the weight estimates. (they turned out to be pretty close though!) The doctor said I got 2 tears from each baby. They weren't bad at all either.

I started to get nervous after the first hour passed after baby A was born and baby B was still hanging out...I was concerned things wouldn't move along fast enough and he would start to be distressed, leading to a c-section. I had 2 hours and 15 minutes between babies, and they were both vaginally delivered in the end.

Hopeful1! · August 2012

Look at the FAQ at the top of the page, less than 2% of us ended up with a double whammy.

LottaLattes · August 2012

Your twins will likely be smaller so will tear less. I had mine vaginally even with a breech extraction of B (with an arm up my hooch) and my recovery was still pretty easy. I would go with what your doctor recommends, recovering from both is rare.

KDR1979 · August 2012

I had a great vaginal delivery-even though baby B was 1 lb 9oz larger than baby A. They were both head down, but my OB was comfortable (she has ~20 years experience) with a vag delivery as long as baby A was head down. She was comfortable with a breech extraction or trying to rotate a transverse baby if necessary. I had a very quick labor, pushed 4 x for my 5lb daughter and then 45 minutes for my 6lb 9oz son (with a much larger head, his head was 98th percentile). I had a small 2nd degree tear that I honestly didn't feel...I just felt pain b/c of hemorrhoids. I took 4 Percocet over the first 24 hours and then only needed ibuprofen.

DH kept saying that he doesn't know how we would have managed if I had actually needed healing time (or to be cared for) after delivery. The first 8-9 weeks of having twins was really, really hard!

Good luck to you!

kzawisl · August 2012

I delivered Noah vaginally and then they couldn't get any monitors on Molly to find her heartbeat, so they were calling anotehr doc to scrub in for a c-sec. I took one look at my hubby and said "no way!" and 3 pushes later, Molly was here. So it CAN happen....and for that reason, a lot of MoMs elect to have a c-sec, at least in the hospital around me. everyone seems pretty surprised I had a vaginaldelivery. My babies were small, so even though *i* am small, I had no tearing.

ougrad1 · August 2012

I had a section w/ both pregnancies. The first one (my singleton) was an emergency and the second (the babies) was planned. Both went really well but, the second was just better only because it was planned. I much preferred the section over the long labor and not knowing the outcome with my first.

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