General Discussion ~ Twins & More #4

[**Helen**]

Shell-Although I havent given birth to twins, I have had an epidural. I was one of the people who was completely adamant that I would not have one, but am glad I did. They gave it too me in amongst my strong contractions, so I didnt feel a thing.
Have you thought about asking them to see how the labour is progressing before they put one in and if they do, can you request no drugs be put through until absolutely necessary.

2nd needle was fine, no where near as bad. My hips and pelvis though are loosey goosey and causing havoc.

Take care ladies.

[diva det]

hey there
sounds like we are gonna have some twins born soon
Shell- as far as the epidural goes- you would be hard pressed to find a doc to let you VB twins without an epi. However, you can asked for it to be put in place, but not topped up. That way if they need to turn twin 2 or get them out in a hurry, the epi is allready in place and they just have to give more med.

All the people that i know that have had VB twins have had to agree to this. It is quite common for twin 2 to turn after twin 1 has been born as all of a sudden it has all this room to float in. Manually turing twin without medication on board wouldnt be very pleasant!!

Also i have had friends that have birthed 1 twin VB and then the other twin has had to come out via a ceasar. With the epi in place, they just have to top it , otherwise its a full GA.


I know you will be fine, but unfortunately twin births have soo many variables that can come into play, so the docs like to have all bases covered so that they can take decisive action if needed, quickly and with as less pain for mum as well!

good luck and you should have your babes in your arms very soon!!!

odette

[CathieW]

Hi
Well Ihad a show today rang the hospital and they said come in when I start having contraction or when my water brakes.

Shell - My Ob explained to me that I will need an Epi just incase Twin B turns and it's not much fun for mum when they have to go in and turn the baby. If I have to have one I will.

Cathie

[**Helen**]

oh, you have got me all excited to hear some news Cathie. Hope everything goes smoothly for you.

[hannahfroodoo]

good luck Cathie!!

I was another one in tears everynight at the [rospect of another night of pain and discomfort. it is hard but it's soooo worth it if you can carry your babies to 37+ weeks and avoid scn.
my girls were diamniotic, dichorionic and they are identical. we did a cheek swab dna test to confirm. (for $150 - I don't think they are still recruiting for the tooth emergence study unfortunately)

Shell - I know of a couple of people who had a VB for twins without the epi - and even 1 lady who had to have an internal manipulation of twin 2 and did it without an epi so it is possible.
I was adamant that I wouldn't have an epi. and my OB had reluctantly agreed with my wishes. As it turned out, my babies were born on the weekend so I didn't have my regular OB - the one I did have argued with me over my decision not to have the epi - even said 'it won't be very nice for me if I need to stick my hand into your uterus to get twin 2 out if you haven't had an epi' which made me so angry - WTH?? he's an OB - it's his JOB! I don't care if he doesn't think it's very nice... anyway, I was in tears for a lot of my labour thanks to the whole situation and ended up having the epi in the end because they just wore down my resolve for so long at a very emotionally vulnerable time.
have to say I HATED the epi experience. felt like labour was happening TO me and I had no control. in the end, twin 2 didn't turn and was born all on her own with no complications 8 minutes after her sister. after experiencing an unmedicated birth with my first baby, I would never ever recommend the epi to anyone.
anyway - that was my experience. My point is, if you don't want an epi - hire yourself an independent midwife instead of an ob. or at least hire a doula so you have someone to stick up for you. I wish I had!! it can definitely be done without an epi - regardless of the scare tactics OBs try to employ.

[ATryingTime]

Ohhh Cathie - You are so very close no. You have done a fantastic job baking those babies for so long. I hope you have an amazing birth and are holding your precious babies in no time. Look forward to hearing some great news.

Helen - Hope you are doing well.

Odette - If I have to make a choice between an epi and a GA, I will definately choose the GA. The thought of someone sticking anything anywhere near my spine just FREAKS ME OUT BIG TIME!!!!

Hannah - Thanks so much for your reply. I am so disgusted to hear about the way you were treated during your labour and that someone could make you feel so bad at what should be a wonderful time. I can't believe he had the nerve to say

'it won't be very nice for me if I need to stick my hand into your uterus to get twin 2 out if you haven't had an epi'

OMG! Like it would be any more pleasant for you - besides its your body! - Arggghhhh

It makes me frustrated to think that in this day and age we have less control over the way we want our bodies to birth our babies than we have in the past.
I will be seeing my OB next Wednesday and will be sticking to my guns. I'm not sure what will come of it, but I will just have to wait and see.
There is no way they can give me an epi without my consent, so I guess I have that on my side. I have already warned my husband that there may be pressure put on at the time - his response was "I have to live with you", so I'm guessing he won't cave.

On a brighter note I am officially 34 weeks today

Take care ladies, chat soon

[Kim McManus-Smith]

Hey Cathie, how exciting for you!! Good luck, embrace the moment!
Helen, I was so against an epi. Both twins were head down but I was advised strongly to consider it incase the 2nd twin turned. I was induced and was suffering very strong and very rapid contractions with little dilation happening.Grr. My first 2 bubs were drug free v deliveries but after 12hrs of intense contractions and having my waters broken manually I started to consider it?! I pushed on to 6cm and my ob insisted it best. I did not feel much pain, it was more psycological for me because my contractions were very rapid and severe. At 8cm I caved. Glad I did now because 2nd twin did not move down after 1st twin was born and after much manual assistance she was born a whole 1hr later.