First Time Having Twins & Scared of Labor & Delivery

by Teresa
(Texas City, TX )

I am already a mother of a 14, 10, & 1 year old, so I know how it is to have a baby, but this is the first time my husband & I are having twins. I keep getting all of these scary stories from my mother-in-law who had twins but only one survived and she is frighting me with her stories of her experience. I keep telling myself that everyone is different and that I'm going to have a good experience. She keeps telling me that I am going to have them too early. I am already 30 weeks now but I am on bedrest which is hard for me because I have a lot of things to do all the time since my husband works a lot of overtime at his job. How much of a chance do I have of them coming now? My 1 year old came at 35 weeks. Will these twins come around that time or earlier or is there no answer for that? She also keeps telling me that because I am pregnant with twins, I am most definitely going to have a C-Section & there is no way around that. She said there is no way I am going to have a natural delivery. I had natural deliveries with all my children so far & I heard from my doctor that my chances of having another natural delivery is 50/50 because it depends on the position of the babies at the time of delivery. As of right now, baby A is in head down position, while baby B is in breech. I am going for another ultrasound the middle of this month, so she told me at that time we may know better of the babies positions. She told me to stop worrying & stop listening to my mother-in-law. I am really scared of how the labor & delivery is going to be. How different is it from a singleton birth? Will it go by fast because I have had other children before?
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Hi !

30 weeks is a great milestone for having healthy twins. Just keep 'em in there as long as you possibly can and follow your doctors orders regarding bedrest. It's true that if you have delivered early in the past that could repeat itself - but not always. My first child was born at 32 weeks and my twins were born naturally at 39 weeks ! I would stop listening to your mother in law - it is her experience she is speaking from and it has no bearing on yours. While it's true that most twins do come a little early- they also mature a little faster in the womb to make up for it.

Now as far as giving birth - there is no reason why you can't have a natural delivery . Chances are that once they confirm one baby is head down - you are good to go. Unfortunately - a lot depends on the attitude and experience of your doctor or midwife. Some push for C-section deliveries no matter what - others are more willing to let you birth naturally. It's important for you to advocate for what you want to happen in the birth plan. Once the first baby is out, you will feel a ton of relief and the second baby may turn around on it's own, or may be born breech. The birth canal is already wide open because of the first twin being born so it's not a huge problem. The doctor can literally reach up and pull out twin A by the feet if necessary.

Educating yourself on all the possibilities is a great idea just so you have some idea of what might happen. The doctors may have you give birth with all the preparations for a possible C-section - just in case - things like having an epidural in place. Watch the amazing video on my twin pregnancy page of all the twin moms who went full term with their babies. Watch the videos on giving birth to twins and having a c-section. The more knowledge you have the more confidence you will have. You've done this before - and you'll do great - just keep those babies in as long as you can !

Keep us posted and all the best !
Kim
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