Most moms associate twin pregnancy with a c-section delivery. It is true that more c-sections happen for twin deliveries, however, that doesn’t rule out vaginal delivery as the first choice.
Twin pregnancy is a double blessing in one package. How amazing it is to watch two pairs of twinkling eyes looking at you from the comfort of your arms.
If you recently got to know that you are pregnant with twins, then the fear of delivering two babies instead of one would have crossed your mind at least once.
Don’t worry—there will be a team of experts to guide you and keep a check on your health. Twin pregnancy could invite complications and to make sure you don’t face any, your gynecologist will keep a track of your and your babies’ health throughout the pregnancy.
As your pregnancy will progress, your health condition will determine your birth plan. Developing conditions like pre-eclampsia and gestational diabetes could put you and your babies at risk, in which case vaginal delivery will be avoided and the pregnancy will be monitored closely.
Often, the position of the baby at the time of labor that largely determines how they will be born. However, now there are two buns in the oven, it adds to the permutations and combinations of the babies’ position and the delivery type.
Both Babies In Breech Position
Yes, this magic does happen when both the babies are in head-down or cephalic presentation. About 40% of times, both babies could be found lying downwards. You can expect a natural labor and vaginal delivery.
Note: Though the baby is perfectly positioned for birth, even single pregnancies sometimes require a c-section, the chances do increase in case of twins.
One Baby In Vertex Position
The head-down position of the baby is also called vertex position. One of the twins could be in vertex position while the other in breech—which is feet or buttocks facing the birth canal.
If the first baby is delivered vaginally, your doctor will first try to rotate baby number 2 into the vertex position. This is done by external cephalic version, which is manually moving the baby from outside the womb.
There is another way wherein the practitioner reaches to the baby by inserting his/her hand through the cervix and turns them in the right position—the procedure is called internal cephalic version.
However, if both the procedures fail, the doctor will pull out the baby feet first. This technique is called breech extraction and is done by a skilled obstetrician.
First Baby In Breech Position
Here the first baby refers to that twin who is closer to the birth canal. If the first or both babies are in breech position, c-section is an obvious choice. Performing a cephalic version could be too risky hence it is avoided for the best.
First Baby In Transverse Position
The transverse position is when the first baby is positioned in such a way that their head is in the mother’s hip but the body is placed diagonally—neither horizontal nor vertical. If the baby doesn’t budge before the due date arrives, your doctor will recommend a c-section to avoid a long and painful labor.
Both Babies In Transverse Position
Transverse positioning is a complex one—if both babies are positioned horizontally in the womb, c-section is the only safe option for delivery.
If you are having multiple pregnancies, there is no questioning about a vaginal birth, the doctors will straight away take you to operation room considering the complications that arise in with multiples.
Combined Birth
There have also been cases when one birth is vaginal and the other baby is born through a c-section. Though this is very rare, it is performed if the condition of the second baby is critical. For instance, when the umbilical cord comes out before the second baby is born and there is no blood supply available to the baby, a c-section is performed immediately.
If either or both babies experiences fetal distress where there is a sudden change in the fetal heart rate, there is meconium in the amniotic fluid or a reduced oxygen supply, the mother would have to undergo an immediate c-section.
Moms who are about to have twins must know that vaginal delivery of twins doesn’t mean double pushing and still more pain. Most of the times, the second baby follows within 10-30 minutes of the first one.
Irrespective of your delivery be assured that your babies will be in your arms sooner than you expected.
