Did you know there are three different births a parent of multiples could experience? I was shocked to hear it but there are. Of course the most common are c-section and vaginal delivery. But there is also the chance to experience both during the same labor and delivery. After hearing this a lot of women would opt to just have a c-section and not give vaginal delivery a chance. It is actually very unlikely that this will happen, if I remember right there is only a 4% chance, but sometimes after the first baby is born one of the subsequent babies will have some sort of trouble and have to be delivered via c-section.
I am a big supporter of vaginal delivery, though I am not brave enough to try it without an epidural. I have never agreed with scheduling a delivery that entails cutting open the muscles in a person's stomach. In my case I was able to deliver all three of my children vaginally and got an epidural with both deliveries. The first time the epidural worked perfectly and it was an easy birth. Contractions started naturally and then were encouraged to continue with medication. I was having small contractions at home and my husband was getting no sleep so we headed to the hospital at 4am and he was born at 12:01pm on March 4, 2008. Aiden Douglas was 6lb 15 1/2 ozs. The Dr. did an episiotomy and helped to stretch things out to make delivery easier and the recovery wasn't that bad. With my second delivery the epidural only took on my right side and my left foot and each contraction made me feel like I had to pee really bad, which is much better than contractions with no epidural, but still not great. Once delivery started I was doing fine until I looked up and saw both my mother and my mother-in-law crying to see me in such pain and I was ready to give up instantly, looking at my husband I cried "I can't do it, I just can't." He was a great supporter though and let the nurses know when I was about to contract again, telling me I was doing great and stroking my hair. Even though the delivery was more painful than the first my husband was great and made sure everything went smoothly. All in all I was in labor from about 9am until 12:19pm and 12:22pm on March 10, 2011. Isabella Nicole was 6lb 5ozs Emma Marie was 6lbs 2 1/2 ozs (Yes, I am one of the lucky ones). Recovery was about the same for both deliveries, except I was more exhausted from trying to breastfeed two babies instead of just one.
What kind of delivery did you experience with your children? Did things go as planned? Did you take the pain meds?
I am a big supporter of vaginal delivery, though I am not brave enough to try it without an epidural. I have never agreed with scheduling a delivery that entails cutting open the muscles in a person's stomach. In my case I was able to deliver all three of my children vaginally and got an epidural with both deliveries. The first time the epidural worked perfectly and it was an easy birth. Contractions started naturally and then were encouraged to continue with medication. I was having small contractions at home and my husband was getting no sleep so we headed to the hospital at 4am and he was born at 12:01pm on March 4, 2008. Aiden Douglas was 6lb 15 1/2 ozs. The Dr. did an episiotomy and helped to stretch things out to make delivery easier and the recovery wasn't that bad. With my second delivery the epidural only took on my right side and my left foot and each contraction made me feel like I had to pee really bad, which is much better than contractions with no epidural, but still not great. Once delivery started I was doing fine until I looked up and saw both my mother and my mother-in-law crying to see me in such pain and I was ready to give up instantly, looking at my husband I cried "I can't do it, I just can't." He was a great supporter though and let the nurses know when I was about to contract again, telling me I was doing great and stroking my hair. Even though the delivery was more painful than the first my husband was great and made sure everything went smoothly. All in all I was in labor from about 9am until 12:19pm and 12:22pm on March 10, 2011. Isabella Nicole was 6lb 5ozs Emma Marie was 6lbs 2 1/2 ozs (Yes, I am one of the lucky ones). Recovery was about the same for both deliveries, except I was more exhausted from trying to breastfeed two babies instead of just one.
What kind of delivery did you experience with your children? Did things go as planned? Did you take the pain meds?
I had a vaginal with my first son that was induced due to preeclampsia. It was wonderful and easy and really straight forward.
ReplyDeleteThen my second pregnancy was twins and unfortunately our daughter died in-utero a few days past 24 weeks. Since she was the presenting twin, when we could no longer hold off preterm labor after six weeks of hospital bedrest, I had a c-section. It wasn't as bad as I thought, but definitely inferior to vaginal in my case.
I'm currently pregnant with a surprise second set of twins and when of the most startling parts of the initial part (well, not as much as getting pregnant with twins with a Mirena in place) was the nurse asked me if I wanted to just elect to do a c-section this time. I looked at her puzzled and she said many people do. I asked if people who have done BOTH do and she thought about it and said that actually, they don't. People who have done both are the most likely to want to attempt a VBAC.
I am sorry to hear of your loss with your first set of twins. I got pregnant with twins shortly after having my Mirena IUD removed, even though I had one cycle before getting pregnant. The nurses and doctors swore that wasn't the reason for twins, but they were fraternal and there is no history of twins on either side of our family. So it leaves me to question their expertise on that :). I do have a friend that scheduled the birthdate for both of her singletons and didn't think twice about doing it the second time, I thought she was crazy not to let nature take its course if there were no issues. On the other hand I totally agree with a c-section if there is a medical reason for the health and welfare or either the baby/babies or the mother. Thank you for sharing your story and I will be hoping for the best with your current pregnancy.
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