On episode seven of Double Happiness Multiplied we explore birthing options for multiples.

We’ll be talking to Maternal Fetal Medicine Specialist Associate Professor Craig Pennell about the types of twins that will require a caesarean delivery and those that can be safely delivered vaginally.

Founder of Rockstar Birth Magazine and Rockstar Birth Radio, Shalome Stone explains why a birthing plan is important.

Hypnobirthing Practitioner and Birthing Doula Elysee Jamieson shares her experience of birthing breech fraternal twins.

And, I’ll tell you why my girls were delivered by Caesarean section.

By the end of this episode, you’ll be armed with all the information you’ll need to make educated decisions about the birth of your babies.

Talking About Birth

Birth. The topic can get as heated as bringing up politics, religion, or vaccinations at a dinner party. There are many people who have incredibly strong opinions on the matter, oftentimes formed on the basis of misguided information.

You’ve probably heard people say things along the lines of, ‘women have been giving birth to babies in the open fields for centuries and they always did fine’, well they often didn’t and the mortality rate was exceptionally high.

However, pregnancy and birth have become incredibly medicalised and it’s often difficult to find a middle ground as such.

So, whether you’re someone who holds dear to your plans of a drug-free vaginal delivery or you surrender yourself to an attitude of going-with-flow, it’s important to be educated on the possibility that your ideal birth plans might need to be altered.

Let’s face it, many multiples wouldn’t cope with the journey down the birth canal and without medical intervention those precious babies wouldn’t survive.

On the other hand, if you have an uncomplicated multiple pregnancy, and under the guidance of a team with experience in multiple births, Associate Professor Craig Pennell assures us that in most cases you can achieve a vaginal delivery.

As Associate Professor Pennell explains there are many things that need to be considered in planning the most appropriate form of delivery for a twin pregnancy.

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Type of twins;

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Monochorionic Monoamniotic twins will always be delivered by caesarean section,

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Monochorionic Diamniotic twins have a high rate of caesarean birth due to common complications,

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Dichorionic-Diamniotic – more likely to achieve vaginal births.

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Parity of the mother – delivery of twins is technically more difficult for a first-time mum than a woman who has had one or more vaginal births.

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Complications in the pregnancy.

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Gestation – delivering a set of twins at 24-weeks is very different to delivering twins at 37-weeks.

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Location – smaller hospitals might not be equipped to cater for the vaginal delivery of twins.

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And, the experience of your obstetrician.

“To put all this in perspective, if you are in the public hospital system in Australia or the United Kingdom, and you have an uncomplicated set of Dichorionic Diamniotic twins and the first baby is coming head first then it would be the normal approach to consider a vaginal delivery,”

“Similarly, in Australia and The United Kingdom if there was severe growth discordance, where the first twin was small and the second twin was large and the mother was unwell, in that situation it’s much more likely that you would have a caesarean delivery,” says Associate Professor Pennell.

When Do You Discuss Birthing Options?

Associate Professor Pennell goes on to say that the discussion about the type of birth you’d like should happen early on in the pregnancy, such that your obstetrician can present you the risks and benefits of each option.