Twin homebirth midwife recommendation

[Anonymous]

I worked with Birthcare for my first child, but am now expecting twins. Birthcare does not handle multiple births. Can anyone recommend a midwife who will deliver twins at home in the DC metro area?

[Anonymous]

are they both head down?

[Anonymous]

Are you kidding?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I worked with Birthcare for my first child, but am now expecting twins. Birthcare does not handle multiple births. Can anyone recommend a midwife who will deliver twins at home in the DC metro area?

I'm sure there's a good reason for that.

[Anonymous]

why people have to be so judgmental?

[Anonymous]

I am all for midwives and can understand the appeal of home births. But giving birth to twins is a complicated situation and there is a lot that can go wrong very quickly. Even if both twins start out head down, the second twins can change direction after the first has been delivered. That is part of why most (or maybe all) hospitals have you give birth to twins in an OR. it pains me to write this because I too had my heart set on natural childbirth with a midwife. But once I found out I was having twins, I had to throw those plans out the window.

[Anonymous]

I AM a midwife and have twins and was not willing risk have them out of the hospital. Too many potential complications. As it happened, I had a stat c/s when twin B failed to descend due to a short cord and had deep and prolonged decels.
My first (prior) birth was a singleton at an out-of-hospital birth center. I hate needless intervention more than just about anyone but I hate dead or disabled babies more.

[Anonymous]

Dr. Tchabo delivered my twins at VHC, drug free birth. Done in an OR, just in case he needed to Csection the 2nd who was breech. Tchabo was not happy when I refused the epidural, but he let the delivery go forward after giving me a "you'll need a general anesthia for the 2nd if I have to do a csection" lecture. I think it would have been easier (e.g., no lecture from Tchabo) if the 2nd was also vertex.

[Anonymous]

Peggy Franklin and team at Birth By Design have had several successful twin deliveries in the last few months. You should interview them.

Good luck!

Here is an article from the OBYGN society of Canada no longer recommending automatic c/s for breech. Though I'm not a provider, I would think that with twins the argument to try for vaginal breech would be even stronger since one baby has already made it through the cervix.

http://www.sogc.org/media/advisories-20090617a_e.asp

[Anonymous]

I'm also expecting twins and switched from a midwife to a hospital (GW) when I found out. I feel much more comfortable with this, though I understand that some women feel strongly about having a midwife (I would hope that it's not your first birth).

My doctor strongly prefers that you have an epidural, so that if the second needs to be rotated (internal version I think it's called), you're not in great pain/discomfort, or if you need to have a c-section, you don't have to go under general anaesthesia.

Given this (the likely situation of having at least an epidural, and 50% chance of c-section), I'm not sure whether to get a doula or not. What do others think? (Sorry to highjack the thread)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am all for midwives and can understand the appeal of home births. But giving birth to twins is a complicated situation and there is a lot that can go wrong very quickly. Even if both twins start out head down, the second twins can change direction after the first has been delivered. That is part of why most (or maybe all) hospitals have you give birth to twins in an OR. it pains me to write this because I too had my heart set on natural childbirth with a midwife. But once I found out I was having twins, I had to throw those plans out the window.

There are many women both in the DC Metro area and throughout the country who have safe, healthy, twin homebirths. It is a safe choice for some women.

[Anonymous]

I wonder how many people have actually interviewed a midwife who handles twin homebirth? How can you presume to know what actually qualifies as a complication if you have not had that conversation with the midwife who provides the service? How can you be sure that it is so unsafe? Just because certain situations are "complications" in hospitals, does not mean that those same things need to be complications at home. Homebirth midwives have different ways of handling certain situations.

OP, twin homebirth is a perfectly reasonable choice for some women and for some twin pregnancies. There is a wonderful, skilled midwife who has (safely) attended many twins at home in the DC Metro area. Unfortunately because CPM's are illegal in MD and DC, I'm not going to provide you her name on this public forum. If you are interested, you will have to start asking around - you could try some of the ladies at Birth Options Alliance, or perhaps your local LLL leaders. Actually, Birthcare should be able to provide you with the names of local CPMs who attend twin homebirth.

Best of luck to you with your pregnancy and birth!

[Anonymous]

The twin mother who delivered with Tchabo back. I had a fabulous doula and credit her with much of the success of having a minmally invasive twin birth in a hospital. I highly recommend a doula to everyone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am all for midwives and can understand the appeal of home births. But giving birth to twins is a complicated situation and there is a lot that can go wrong very quickly. Even if both twins start out head down, the second twins can change direction after the first has been delivered. That is part of why most (or maybe all) hospitals have you give birth to twins in an OR. it pains me to write this because I too had my heart set on natural childbirth with a midwife. But once I found out I was having twins, I had to throw those plans out the window.

There are many women both in the DC Metro area and throughout the country who have safe, healthy, twin homebirths. It is a safe choice for some women.

The point is that you will never know in advance whether it is safe for you. Sure you can say that about any birth, but with twins the likelihood that intervention will be needed for mom or one or both babies is so much higher that I can't understand risking it.
Signed, mother of two (singletons) born after drug free natural labors

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am all for midwives and can understand the appeal of home births. But giving birth to twins is a complicated situation and there is a lot that can go wrong very quickly. Even if both twins start out head down, the second twins can change direction after the first has been delivered. That is part of why most (or maybe all) hospitals have you give birth to twins in an OR. it pains me to write this because I too had my heart set on natural childbirth with a midwife. But once I found out I was having twins, I had to throw those plans out the window.

There are many women both in the DC Metro area and throughout the country who have safe, healthy, twin homebirths. It is a safe choice for some women.

The point is that you will never know in advance whether it is safe for you. Sure you can say that about any birth, but with twins the likelihood that intervention will be needed for mom or one or both babies is so much higher that I can't understand risking it.
Signed, mother of two (singletons) born after drug free natural labors

Yes, but how do you know that this is true? Have you talked to a midwife who delivers twins at home? My guess is that you are basing your information on the experience that some people who know have had during hospital deliveries of twins. Things can be very different at homebirth - oftentimes easier and less interventive, even for twins.