What Happens in a Multiple Birth?

If you’re expecting twins or triplets then your pregnancy or birth and the following days after will most likely need some extra special care. That’s because twins or multiple births will often come earlier before their due date and so arrive much smaller.

You’ll probably be advised to have your babies born in the hospital rather than at home. Your doctor might recommend that they induce your labour early at about 37,38 weeks, if you haven’t already gone into labour yourself.

Not all babies come early in multiple births and it’s important that you discuss all your options with your doctor but in some cases it’s not safe for the babies to remain inside of their mother longer than 38 weeks.

It is very important that we do extra monitoring while you are in labour, in that we listen to the babies’ heartbeats electronically with a machine that straps onto your tummy so that we can ensure that both babies are happy while you labour.

Sometimes we have to attach a little electrode to the top of baby’s head, which causes them no harm, which means that we can actually pick up the heartbeat. If you have identical twins that share placentas and fluid then the safest option for you may be that you have a caesarean.

If you would like a vaginal birth with your twin babies, the doctors may recommend that you have an epidural for your pain relief during the birth.

Having said that there are many women who wish to labour without the use of pain relief and this is definitely something that you can consider and you need to speak to your midwives and doctors as healthcare professionals to discuss your birthing plan.

Regardless of the way in which you birth your babies, be prepared to maybe spend some time in hospital after the birth where your baby may be in the special care birth unit because they’ve been born slightly premature perhaps a small birth weight and maybe not ready to feed yet.

About video: Midwife Natalie Carter explains what will happen if you are expecting more than one baby. http://www.nhs.uk/video/Pages/how-will-my-twin-or-multiple-birth-be-managed.aspx