Giving Birth to Twins

W.:

Congratulations on your upcoming twins!!

I have 2yr old b/g twins, a 10 yo b and 5 yo g. My singletons came vaginally, boy w/ an epidural and g completely natural and the twins via c-section at 38wks/1day. My recovery for all scenerios was great. The c-section was a blessing in disguise as I was able to speed more time in the hospital taking care of myself before going home with 2 babies and my other children.

My drs deliver 80% of twins vaginally, with very few cases where one came vaginal and the next via c. Because my twins were breech for the majority of my pregnancy and my daughter came with only 1 hr of hard contractions and just 20 min after arriving at the hospital, my drs felt that a c-section was the best choice. However, they made it clear that just because I had a scheduled date didn't mean I wouldn't go into labor before and made me prepare for either scenario--better to be over prepared.

I would stress to your dr that you would prefer a vaginal delivery, but also ask how they will handle complications. The main concern is bringing 2 healthy babies into your life.

Good luck to you, I would love to hear how things go.

M.

Hi sorry for the late advice but i figured i would share my experience if it helps in any way. I have 2 yr old boy/girl twins and I had many complications during my first trimester but things calmed down (relatively) during the 2nd trimester. I went into preterm labor during my 28th week and was on bed rest in the hospital on various medications for 6 weeks to try to hold off labor. I was told when I first came in that the kids were too young to be born vaginally even though twin A was facing the right way. My son was twin b and he was constantly moving. When I finally gave birth at my 34th week (they stopped all medication because the kids had stopped growing so they decided it was time for them to come out which I was completely unprepared for) my dr had me have an epidural just in case i would need an emergency c section for my son. My labor and delivery thank G-d was easiest thing I had been through. I was in active labor for about an hour and delivered both children vaginally (it was very fast 6 min in between both of them). My son was not in the right position and when my daughter came out instead of shifting down as my dr hoped he went up to my rib cage. My dr has twins herself and believes in doing it naturally as long as it is possible so she had one doctor push down on my stomach which she went in to turn him around and pull him down. (That probably sounded painful but it actually wasnt, i really had a very easy and not painful labor without much medication). My son ended up having the chord around his neck which we didnt know but the drs took care of everything very quickly so he was fine.

Hi W.,
I successfully delivered my twin girls vaginally last November. There is of course always a risk delivering twins, but I am SO much happier not to have had to recover from the C-section.
I had the same concerns as you, but my OB assured me that only about 1% of the time do they have to do a C-section for baby B. I trusted her, and we had a vaginal delivery for both my girls.
Good luck! I hope you have lots of help lined up!!!
all best,
J.

Congratulations! My boys were nearly 5 & 7 when my daughter was born and 6 years later, I think it has all worked very nicely!

As far as giving birth goes, trust your body. If your OB is not giving you a reason to doubt yourself then do what comes naturally. You have given birth vaginally twice before and know that the process works beautifully for you. Twins are not so different.

The likelihood is that you will deliver both twins vaginally. If something should change, if the babies or one baby has distress, then your plan might change. But this is the case no matter who is giving birth! We tend to forget that the good Lord designed us to give birth vaginally and until the past 15 years, c/s was something done only for critical emergencies. It is a surgery, one that can save lives, but a surgery nonetheless.

Trust birth!!

hi W.
I am the mother of identical twin girls. (now 4 years old) They were my first and only children and were delivered vaginally. You already have had two natural births so dont have a c section as it takes so long to recover and you will want to enjoy your gorgeous babies. I have met lots of mums of twins and all of them delivered natuarally unless there was a major problem beforehand so go for it .
J.

Hi W.,
Congratulation!! I have 10 month old b/b twins and I was scared to death to deliver vaginally. I wanted to have a C section out of fear. But both boys were head down in such a perfect position. I went into preterm labor at week 20 and had a very difficult pregnancy ( hospitalzed at NYP Columbia for a long time ) but in the end they didn't want to come out. I was induced and they came out within 20 minutes of eachother. Giving birth was the easiest part for me in comparison to the pregnancy and being a mom to twins with colic!!!! I am so glad I didn't have a CSection. My fear was the same as yours - going through all the pushing and labor and then still having a C section if Baby B didn't cooperate. It all worked out and if the Dr says the babies are in position and looking good, I say go for a vaginal delivery. I know anything can happen and Baby B can flip, but do what your heart tells you. Until reading all the responses I thought vaginal delivery of twins was rare - guess not!!!

Good luck, get your final days of rest!!!

Jenn

hi W.,

i really understand your fear. i am not the mother of twins but i am a childbirth educator and birth doula so i just wanted to add my 2 cents about labor... it's important for both baby and mother to experience it. labor hormones prepare baby's body to enter the world and prepare mother for being mother to this particular little one. i.e. beta-endorphins, one of the many hormones released in undisturbed labor, facilitates the release of prolactin (yet another hormone) during labor; prolactin prepares the mother’s breasts for lactation and is important in preparing the baby’s lungs and heat-regulating systems for life outside the womb. this is just one of the multitude of ways, of which many have yet to be discovered, that labor positively effects mother and child.

coming through the birth canal holds its own set of mysteriously important value. baby gets to experience the "squeeze" on all its organs, but most importantly, on its lungs as lungs are filled with amniotic fluid in-utero. the squeeze empties lungs as toothpaste is emptied from its tube when squeezed. studies have shown that babies who didn't get squeezed, but suctioned instead, are more likely to have respiratory distress in the short-run and asthma in the long run. for whatever reason, suctioning just isn't the same as squeezing. yet another one of nature's workings.

also, as your babies descend into the birth canal they will be colonized by your vaginal and fecal bacterial colonies. as unsavory as these bacteria sound, they’re highly desirable, as this welcome-to-the-world present is critical to the health of the newborn. slowly, inevitably, the growing infant’s environment and genes reshape that maternal gift into the child’s own microbiome... this gift from mom leaves a profound imprint as scientists are finding that babies who emerge from the germ-free environment of the womb and get colonized this way by the birth canal are much less likely to develop allergies.

just an aside, i did labor with my child and ended up c-sectioned so i got to experience both. my 47 hours of labor was like a stroll in the park compared with the 4 weeks i was a patient after being operated on. i was deeply disappointed i didn't deliver my baby vaginally but way more disappointed when i couldn't even hold him (unassisted) for the first 8 days. you can imagine that breastfeeding in those first weeks was frought with more difficulty than the usual sore nipple stuff. and even after those 8 days it was still a struggle bcs the scar was very tender (and it got infected too, more drama and more pain). recovery was slow and not without major bumps.

i whole-heartedly believe that c-sections can be a life-saver for some mothers and their babies. but when medically unnecessary, they can do more harm than good. so if a c-section is something you're seriously considering then also consider allowing the girls (and yourself) to experience some labor first. let them choose the day they're ready to "flower" and you choose the way they are to flower from you.

i wish you lots of love and luck, whatever you decide to do. and feel free to contact me if you want more information/ clarification on anything.

K.

hi W.,

I am the mother of 3year old twin girls. I too had the same worries about trying vaginal delivery and ending up with a c section (comes from too much reading i think). My doctor and the whole practice were very pro vaginal delivery when ever possible. i was high risk because of my age 40+ and high BP. When it came time to deliver at (37weeks) i basically trusted my doctors and without complication delivered healthy girls vaginally and was very happy not to have to deal with the extra recoup time of a csection. so my advise is to discuss these concerns with your doctors and, assuming you trust your doctors, relax and take their advise. good luck

L.

Congrats and good luck. I delivered my twin girls vaginally 17 months ago. I had contractions at 23 weeks stopped by trebutilin (sp?) and then went to 37 weeks and 2 days. Was in labor and then had potocin and an epidural. Doc had asked if I wanted a "C". I said if they are both head down no. She was suprised and then really supportive. She stayed with me the whole time and massaged --- don't think I can say it on the internet --- you know what I am talking about. Was shocked as this is a lot of work. AND then 2 times twin Bs heartrate dropped and she said we are going to do a "C" as they moved me from side to side and said stay on the left side -- twin Bs heartrate went back up. (Since it was twin B she was calling the shots. If her heartrate was low they both had to come out stat.) AND then baby A was crowning - we went to OR the baby A arrived and then I pushed out baby B. It was amazing. And the recovery, as I am told, was so much easier than having an incision. HOWEVER, it could have gone a myriad of ways, one vaginal, one c both c...on that day. I said let's just do what works for all of us on the day and then I will deal with the aftermath. I gave birth at 42 and it was a amazing. My best to you and your family. Be well and do what you think is right at the time. I don't know if you can plan this unless you just say c section from the start. Which is OK too!

I have 1 year old b/g twins. They were delivered by an unscheduled c-section. I was on board to deliver vaginally until the day before going into labor I found out (at my non stress test)that baby B was breech and had its knees out to the side. After speaking to my doctor he said there was a good chance I would end up having a c-section for baby B so I opted to deliver both that way. M<y decision was based on the fact that I didnt want to recover from 2 incisions. It wasnt a bad experience at all. It was quick and the recovery wasnt bad at all. Be sure to keep it dry and clean to avoid infections and take it easy afterwards. This will probably be difficult with 2 other kids!! Best of luck to you and your family. Feel free to e-amil with any twin questions I would be more than happy to help out.
Danielle

I have 4 children (ages 8, 4, 4 & 2), and the middle 2 are twins. My first child was a vaginal birth and my last child was an emergency C-section (cord was wrapped around my son's neck). The best delievery was my twins...I gave birth to my girl/boy twins vaginally and had no problems, even though I was high-risk throughout the entire pregnancy and on blood-thinner. They actually came so fast, there was no time for pain meds. My daughter was born first at 4 lb. 9.5 oz. followed by by son 8 minutes later at 4 lb. 11 oz. I felt wonderful afterwards too...recovery time was much better than when I delivered vaginally with an epidural or when I delivered by C-section. I did deliver in the O.R. just in case they needed to intervene and deliver either one by C-section, but thankfully it went very smoothly and there was no need for high-tech medical intervention. If you and your doctor feel it would be fine to try a vaginal birth for your twin girls, then I'd highly recommend it, as long as it's in an operating room where they could intervene quickly if need be. Good luck and I wish you all the best with your latest additions to your family!

I had two c-sections and they were not fun. There is a LOT of recovery to it and your body will never be the same again. If you don't have to have a c-section, don't is my advice.

I am a yoga teacher and recently had a woman expecting twins in my prenatal class. Her doctor was giving her the c-section prep speeches pretty early on in her third trimester, but she wanted a vaginal birth as she had had with her first. There was concern about the girls being breech and then one turned and right before she was scheduled for the c-section the second one turned and she went into labor on her own and had her vaginal birth.

My advice as a mother who has had two c-sections and a yoga teacher who is around a lot of pregnant women and new moms, make your goal the vaginal birth. An emergency c-section isn't the worst thing in the world if they need to for the second baby. With my daughter we tried for 17 hours after my water broke to have a vaginal birth. She went into distress and they had to get her out. It all moved smoothly, but if I could have had a vaginal birth, I would have.

Keep in mind the recovery time is six weeks minimum. No lifting items heavier than your newborn. You already have two kids at home and probably lift a lot of things, do a lot of cleaning, etc. You will have to quell your activity substantially if you have a c-section. If it were my choice, I'd at least try for the vaginal birth for your twins.

Good luck!

Hi W.
How are things going?
What are your doctors recommending?
Hey I have had 3 C-sections. All 3 emergencies, but the last 2 were scheduled however not for the days that I had them on. So scheduled only means a convenience for the OB. Next, when will the OB schedule them for? The OB scheduled the 2nd C-section for Mar 4, I was due Mar 1st and he was born Mar. 2nd. The twins were scheduled for June 25th, they were due July 9, and born June 16th weighing in at 5'11" and 6'8". So if you think scheduling will help you plan etc forget that.
I would go by what the OB was recommending not what he was allowing because you were skeptical about C-sections. I don't know if that is your situation, but many people are. I have 4 healthy children because OBs did C-sections.
Of course vaginal delivery is more normal and certainly the recovery is easier, but the C-section for my twins was never in question. OB was glad he did not have "to talk me into it", which makes me believe sometimes he did. Having been on complete bed rest for 19 weeks before the twins were born I simply wanted live babies, not complications from previous C-section scars, they were breech & I didn't dialate for either previous pregnancy. No details necessary, but water broke for first at about 9PM, and I was induced at 7AM, still nothing when they began loosing heart beat, He was born c-section at 2:40 PM.
If you trust your OB to be truthful, etc simply ask. OB doesn't want to do an unnecessary C-section. Tell OB your fears and see what the odds are for them to happen to you.
In the meantime pray, seek wisdom, and ask for wise counsel, but believe me live, healthy babies are wonderful whether they are born C-section or vaginally, natural, or with lots of meds.
Although my husband was not allowed into the operating room for our first --37 years ago, he was the very first husband the OB had allowed into the operating room for C-section and that was 32 years ago. So you see I am old enough to be your mom, isn't that weird. When the twins were born, he was there again. They turned 18 in June. Our first grandbaby is due Aug 1st.
God bless you with a perfect delivery, and bless your family with joy, peace, and health.
K.-- married 38 years SAHM -- homeschooled twins who are heading to college this fall.

I guess I am late to answer this post, which appeared yesterday, which was my older daughter's birthday. I have three month old boy/girl twins. I delivered them both vaginally. I actually got to the hospital too late to have an epidural (I was already 8 centimeters!) and so I had them more naturally than I intended to. Everything went fine, though I remember asking the nurse, "What will you do if I end up needing a C-section?" because I remember reading that mother's with twins are greatly encouraged to have an epidural because then they will be ready for a C-section if necessary. The nurse said (and I wish I remembered her name because she was a really awesome nurse - she works at Mercy Hospital in Rockville Centre), "Don't even think about it. It won't be a problem."

I too struggled with not being sure about how I wanted to deliver. I had a vaginal delivery (with epidural) for my 3 year old daughter. For weeks and weeks, sonograms showed that Baby A (my son) was head down, but Baby B (my daughter) was head up. My practitioners were a midwife/OB team and the midwife (who delivered my older daughter) told me that for the second twin, it was very possible to deliver a breach baby. This scared me because I was concerned about having a good birth for my son, but risking possible birth trauma for my daughter if she got stuck and her oxygen supply cut off. Predictably, my OB said, "If you want the most stable, controlled situation, you should schedule a C-section."

I was stuck between a strong desire not to have voluntary surgery and fear of having a traumatic birth for my second child. I also was not interested in having one vaginal birth and one emergency C-section, which sounded like the worse of all possible postpartum recoveries.

What happened that helped me make my decision is that my daughter somehow turned head down in the last couple of weeks. Suddenly without the breach baby to worry about, I knew I wanted to try to have them naturally. I decided I was willing to risk the possibility of an emergency C-section rather than to schedule myself surgery just out of fear.

As it was, I will say that the second twin was harder to deliver than the first. I joke that she pushed him out and then decided that she was so comfortable with all that extra space that she wanted to stay awhile. The doctor, midwife, and nurses had to do a lot of pressing to get her low enough for delivery. There was one hour and 9 minutes between the birth of my two twins (not all that time was pushing - but there was a lot more pushing to get her out - and luckily there was no concerns about her heart rate decelerating or anything else).

Based on the reaction I got, I don't think the hospital had seem many vaginal twin births. It is not very common, but I have to say that I whole-heartedly recommend it for a situation like mine where the mother has given birth vaginally before, both babies are head down, and there are no apparent complications.

I wish you all the best! Enjoy your babies. Make sure that you have lots of help set up for the early weeks when they are home, because having two little ones is altogether different than just one! Oh, and if you breastfed your older children and want to breastfeed your twins, don't let anyone tell you that you can't do that either. My only goal was to give it a real try during the first month and it worked so well that I have never needed to supplement with formula.

Good luck to you!

W., this is just from personal experience. i have twin girls, 4 years old. one was breech for a long time so we were told c section would be advisable. i went for it. didn't think twice and for me that was the best decision. no pains afterwards, just big feet for 24 hrs. i was up and about the very next day. that helped get rid of fluid from my body. i was able to breastfeed from the get go. i have heard women say c section requires a long time to recover. that was not the case for me. maybe i should have milked it with hubby. . .
also, the place where they made the cut is below bikini area. mine healed and you can't even tell i have ever had any cut in there. and didn't use any creams or anything. thats aid, it's still your choice. but wanted to give you some positive energy based on experience

Hi,
My mom-in-law delivered her twin boys vaginally. My sis-in-law delivered her twin boys by c-sec.

I'm an advocate for natural childbirth and if you want to do it vaginally - go for it. You CAN deliver twins! You can't worry about the what-ifs now - you never know unless you try.

Best of luck!

Hi W.,
New mom here, but I just wanted to let you know what I've heard and read. Actually if you have no problems with delivering vaginally, I would go for it. In most cases with twins, labor is shorter and faster than delivering only one. Their "room" has run out and they are both eager to come into the world. With the added pressure of having twins, I've heard that it actually will expedite the labor process. I have twins in my family and my hubby's family.

If you do decide to have the caesarean though, you will avoid the labor pains, so that's a consideration too. The healing takes longer with a C-section, but there's no worries about your labor not progressing. Yes, usually it's scheduled in advance, so you will be able to have the date picked out. Good luck with whatever you decide!

My thoughts would be to concentrate on the health of the children. My granddaughter turned inside my daughter and would not drop down. she had the umbiblical cord wrapped around her. she was head first, but after long gruling hours of hard labor, they discovered the issue and she had an emergency "c" The baby had gone into distress and the heartbeat was failing. We thank God for a good and fast RN and Dr. We now have a beautiful about to be 6 years old grandaughter and my daughter has since had a boy -- she opted "c" this time, and he recently turned 4. I would go for the natural, and if there are complications, don't feel like a failure, be greatful for healthy twins. The doctor's have a lot of information about these deliveries and know what they are doing. With you they are able to be prepaired ahead of time. T.

Hi W.,
check out www.ican-online.org
They are a cesarean organization. If you go to their yahoo group you can hear a lot of testimonials.
best wishes!
-H.

It is such a personal decision, you need to do what works for you. that being said, it sounds like your girls share a placenta? Mine did and my doctor told me it was VERY risky to try a vaginal birth when they share a placenta so I went with the C section.

I personally have not had twins but my younger sisters are twins and another sister has twins. My mother gave birth naturally (they were the 6th and seventh children) and my sister had a v-back c-section because the cords were entangled and the babies were in distress. Natural delivery is quicker to recover from and since most twins come early the babies may need extra care so you will need your strength. My sister swears she got no sleep for six months because 1 of her twins was colicky. I also think natural birth is better for the babies. I have never heard of having 1 twin natural and 1 by c-section, but if it were me I would try for natural but be prepared just in case.

I don't have twins but I have had three c-sections and after reading all of the negative posts you have gotten about them, I wanted to jump in and tell you that all three of mine went beautifully. If you listen to your body, you are not completely bedridden for 6 weeks.

With my last, my bleeding stopped after 2 weeks and the only time I had serious pain was when I started to overdo it. My husband helped but I still had two other children to take care of and no family around to help.

With all of my boys, I was up and about in no time. I just didn't push it and took it easy but it doesn't have to be as horrible as so many people are telling you.

I wish you the best and like you, I'd be afraid of needing both!!

Hugs,
L.

I never delivered twins before but all of my children were delivered via c-section. My last two were in the NICU and the doctor's there had said that most of the problem was that they were not pushed through the birth canal so the fluid was never squeezed from their lungs. The one would have required a NICU stay but it would have been shorter and the other would have been fine if she had been delivered vaginally. If I had been given the option I would have tried for a VBAC with both but that was not allowed due to the fact I had already had two c-sections before. I hope this helps with your decision.

After having 3 kids vaginally, my mother went on to have twins vaginally - and without an epidural for medical reasons. The twins were only 4 min apart. Best of luck!

Hi W.,
I am a Mother of Twin girls (non-identical) this July 20th! 27 years went fast. I started my delivery at home with my friend and pediatrician and his wife! They were prepared with O2 and everything for an emergency too. I had convinced the DR, my friend that I was healthy and did not want to go to the hospital for a "normal" event! He agreed because I was so healthy and his wife and my husband was there too with my best friend.
We had some complications and my fist daughter would not come out! After 6 hours of "pushing" the labor part-she still would not budge-up and down that birth canal but would not leave!
Getting totally exhausted, my Dr recommended the best "forcepts" Dr in NH at the Concord Hospital. I had to agree there was no other way to do this!
We went and after waiting for 1/2 hour for the Main guy (the Hospital was 1/2 hour away) he gave me glucose intraveinously as he was explaining the "spinal block" needle to me! I freaked and said -what if I can push now? See my energy came back and now I had the stirups to push down on whereas at home I had people who were not strong for my resistant pushing....
God was there, Kara came out in about 5 mins of pushing and then she was blue-O2 for her and she was fine! Then, 13 min after her, my gal Catherine-Mira shows up easily as can be. She floats out!! Blue too, but she gets O2 and is A OK! I must say my daughters IQ are both 125 and have been the healthiest children in our schools! SO go for the natural-have lots of Faith and what is meant to be, will be! I would not plan or focus at all on a C-section. The hospital is there-just in case! An operation is the worst case senario so keep it that way! I hope this helps. I have loved my girls and still do. I would die for them. They make me proud every day of my life and even though I am divorced now-my X is a criminal, we are closer than ever and stick together through thick and thin!

Good luck and God Bless you and those Twins. Also love to all your children as well! Enjoy and protect them always...then let them live their own lives. You will then be very happy!
M. G

Almost 4 years ago, I gave birth to beautiful identical twin girls via a scheduled c-section. Baby "B" was breach and my doctor thought she may go through too much stress during the birth of Baby "A" to turn herself around...so we scheduled a c-section for 10/22 and they didn't want to wait...they arrived 10/16...and weighed in at 6lb6oz and 6lbs3oz. I had no problems from the c-section at all. My stitches were removed the day I left the hospital. I only took pain killers in the hospital because they made me. At home, I was limited with stair time (once in the am and once in the pm) but next to a little discomfort when using stomach muscles...I had a wonderful experience!!

People don't think of it this way, but a c-section is major abdominal surgery. And the recovery is that of a someone who had surgery. So if given the choice (and both my kids were born by section. My son after 16 hrs of labor and 4 1/2 hrs of pushing...my daughter turned breech 4 wks before delivery)I would try to do the vaginal delivery. There is no reason to think that you will have to have an emergency section. Let labor progress as it should. There is nothing set in stone and you can always change your mind and go with the section if things aren't going well. I wanted to have a vbac with my daughter but because of problems I was having and my size (I measured 47cm and the amniotic fluid was above the 100th percentile) I decided not t to try the aversion to flip her and had the repeat section. I don't regret it at all, but the recovery from a section is not always easy. You can not do anything for 2 weeks but hold the babies. No stairs, no driving, no cleaning, NOTHING. You are in pain and can not use your stomach muscles to do anything. Try getting out of bed without using them. So it is not going to be easier with a c-section, by any means. I was so sore after both my surgeries that my husband had to help me get dressed and shower, I couldn't bend down to wash my own feet or put on underwear. Not that my sections were difficult, they weren't and they were uneventful. Actually, they went very well. But if given the choice between the 2 options, I would try the vaginal birth.

Unless your doctor thinks there is a problem, I'd say skip the surgery and have them naturally.

I tend to think it's always best to talk this over with your delivery doctor who knows you and your condition before actually deciding....

Everyone is different and there's no telling what your situation will be until you are there to experience it...

I tend to think I would ask for a C-Section appointment...that way I would know where I stand, giving me plenty of time to arrange for any sort of help I would need for the twins and the other two children before, during and after....especially after during the time I would need for healing and resting.

What ever you do decide, good luck and keep us posted...

my sister in law gave birth to twins vaginally without any issues. I had my twins via c-section (my son had to come out ASAP). i was very scared but it went pretty well. they had a problem getting my son out so then ended up putting me out completely for a bit and then had to give me a larger incision. i overdid it after the surgery and i did have some complications (my wound did not heal right) and i had to have a visiting nurse. i can't tell you if that is common or not. my twins were in a NICU about a hour away from me, so it added stress (mind and body) to my situation. it was not the birth that i wanted or intended, but the end reslult was 2 beautiful healthy-ish babies. good luck. A.

Hi W.,
Why do you think you'll deliver one vaginally and have an emergency C with the other? Has your doctor indicated that it would be an issue? My opinion is to go vaginally if you are able. C-section is major abdominal surgery. It's so common now that people forget that it is fairly serious surgery. Personally, recovering from my c-section and trying to look after one VERY fussy (major reflux) newborn was hard enough. So, my two cents, have them vaginally if you can!

I can't speak to delivery of twins, but I did have a c-section after 30 hours of labor. Recovery from a c is no picnic, I feel doctors tend to push them mainly because they are convenient for the dr, and also because then the dr is in control of the delivery. If you had difficult recovery from your previous vaginal deliveries, you may want to consider the C (just so you don't have multiple recovery zones), but if you've had little to no problems with your previous deliveries, I would keep the vaginal birth plan. It's quick and fairly easy for the dr to wheel you in and do the c if necessary.

I successfully delivered mine vaginally! The doctors are pretty good about prepping you just in case of an emergency. What hospital are you delivering out of?? I had mine at childrens due to being high risk as well, but with twins you deliver in a c-section room!! Good luck my twins turn 1 on the 31st.

Wow, you're lucky. I always wanted twins. Get the pregnancies over with at once! C-sections should only be done if there's an emergency. They seem to be given as an option these days. You will need your energy and mobility and surgery of any kind will curtail your activities and you will need help in the home 24-7 for several weeks. Do you have that option?

Have you considered working with a midwife? It's a bit late now but I would consider it since it will be a lot better birth experience for you and she will help you in a hospital setting.

If you're not familiar with LaLeche League they have some wonderful books about breastfeeding twins. They may also be a good source of a midwife.

All the best and please send one of those messages after your delivery!

S. Hoehner
www.sharethecause.com/detoxqueen

I just discovered this website today so I am very late in responding. I am a mom of Boy/Girls twins. They are a little over a year now. Other than my mid-wife every doctor and nurse that I met tried to convince me to have a C-Section. They told me the same thing. That there was a chance that 1 could be vaginal while the other may be C-Section. As another mom said Giving birth was one of the easiest things. I was determined to have a natural birth. I am very glad that I stood my ground and didn't give in to all the medical hype. If vaginal is what you want all you need to do is mentally prepare and be strong. Only give in if absolutely necessary. Your birth will be perfect. Good luck W..

Hi W.,
I had a C-section with my twins (14 yrs ago) and it was a blessing that I did. I had a Perfect pregnancy, but at the C-section because one of the babies wasn't turned in the right direction and her feet were underneath her brothers head, so he couldn't come out.
As it turned out, my son's sac was filled with blood and he wasn't breathing - had he gone through a vaginal birth, it could have been disastrous!
He was in the NICU for one week, and did great and is a perfectly normal healthy young man. The CSection was the right way to go - not worth taking a chance.
Best of luck to you all,