I'm 21 weeks with my first pregnancy and have mono di twins (Girls!).
I asked my Dr. the other day for a natural delivery how long you have to deliver baby B after baby A is out, and he said "no time. It needs to be instant." I just read on another board, however, that someone said they had their mono di twins 12 minutes apart.
I'm terrified of delivery and will do whatever the doctors want, but if there really isn't much time between the two, it's stressful to think about delivering naturally. I just want my babies to be okay and want to do whatever is safest. Selfishly, I also don't like the idea of delivering one and having a c-section for the other. I just don't want to have to heal both ways since I know I'm going to need to recover quickly...
Does anyone have experience with this? I'm wondering how much time you really have before you need an emergency c-section to delivery baby B? Also, am I overly concerned about delivering both ways?
Re: Mono Di Twins - Worried about delivery!
I don't have mono/di twins. We are di/di but my OB said if we were in a position to try VBAC that as long as the twins are not in distress he would let them come out at their own pace. But that might be different based on the type of twin.
A c-section takes time, so I think I would specifically ask your OB how long is he willing to wait for twin B to come out before he moves to a c-section. With my singleton c-section from start to baby coming out took about 40 minutes.
As for your specific question your dr is really going to be the one deciding, with your input, of course. If he only give mo/di twins 5 minutes before he goes to a c-section, you just need to be prepared for that - just as some drs won't do vbacs, period. You can't plan anything to do with their delivery, just have plan A, B, C, etc. and roll with the punches as they come. Also you have lots of time to talk it over, just be thinking about what is most important to you. It will be different for everyone. I obivously have my own ideas based on my singleton birth but do some research and soul searching and you will know the answer by the time the day arrives.
GL to you momma!
#1 BFP 1/10/11; missed m/c discovered 7w5d
IF Dx: Endo, hetero MTHFR mutation, poor morphology
#1 IUI: 1/18/12 = BFN
#1 IVF/ICSI 4/2/12 = 2 x 7-cell and 1 x 5-cell transferred (3dt) = BFP!!
H was born at 41w2d on 12/29/12 - be still my heart!
#2 IVF/ICSI 1/19/14 = 2 x 8 cells transferred (3dt) = BFP!! EDD 10/09/14
M&W born at 37 weeks on 9/18/14 - I am the momma of 3 boys!!!
They will be monitoring both babies constantly the entire time you are in the hospital, and if you successfully deliver baby A, they probably won't rush you into the OR unless there is a medical need for it - like if they see Baby B's heartrate dropping or there is some other issue. Honestly, try not to worry about it. You really have very little control over what happens once its time. The best thing you can do is just try to stay calm and trust that your doctors will take care of you and your babies. I had mo-di girls and they were both head down for most of my pregnancy so my doctors thought I'd be a good candidate for vaginal delivery. We induced at 38 weeks because they were concerned about placental degradation after that point, but the induction did not work and after 4 days, Baby A's heartrate began to drop so I went in for an unplanned C-section.
Before going in I really had not wanted a section and was a little unprepared for it but when you are in the moment, all you are thinking about is that you want those babies out and you want them out safely. Your mindset will be in a completely different place by that point than it is now and once you see your healthy little babies, you won't care how they came out!
Good luck!
For anyone who might read this later, it really is amazing how your feelings change in the face of your baby's health and safety.
My girls were born at 24 weeks and when it came time for delivery, no scenario sounded safe. I literally ended up asking if they would break my bones to ensure their heads wouldn't get stuck in the birth canal. They said they don't do that to women and that a C-section would be best. Fortunately, they came out just fine and have been in the NICU ever since.
But I just wanted to follow up for anyone who might ask this later...even for someone like me who was terrified of delivery...nothing else mattered when it came down to their health.