In late 2002 I had two boys. Joe, who was nearly eight and Cameron, nearly two and a half who was still breastfeeding at the time. Then I discovered I was pregnant with baby number three.
I had had a lot of interference at the start of my pregnancy with Cameron, which I hadn't been happy about, so I told my community midwife from the start this time that I would prefer not to have any unnecessary tests or ultrasound scans. By 12 weeks I was feeling quite big and mentioned this to my midwife. She said it was because I was on my 3rd pregnancy and wasn't unusual. By 16 weeks I was feeling even bigger. I told the midwife that there were twins in the family and that Cameron had been one of two. She poked around with the Sonicaid and found 2 heartbeats but as they were both the same rate she said they were from the same baby. When I sat in the bath looking at my belly I couldn't quite get used to the idea there was only one little person in there!
Breastfeeding Cameron at this time wasn't comfortable. The first few seconds were the worst then the discomfort settled down a bit. By about half way through the pregnancy he only bothered to feed for a couple of minutes anyway. He wasn't impressed with the change in the milk taste or the dwindling supply. As the months went by he ended up only having a quick suckle before bed. It was a relief for me. I didn't want to stop him if he wasn't ready so I stuck it out. I knew it would be okay again once my (one) baby was born!
When I got to 33 weeks I was measuring equivalent to 38 weeks, so the midwife suggested a scan might be helpful and I agreed. Martin, my Mother and I by this time felt that twins were quite likely, though the midwife never mentioned anything. She said she thought the baby was breech and probably quite big!
Martin and I went to the hospital for the scan. The sonographer's face was a picture, and I knew it was twins the moment he looked at the monitor! Martin and I were delighted and had a good laugh, but the poor sonographer was having a hard time deciding which limb belonged to which baby (It gets quite hard towards the end of the pregnancy apparently), and was not impressed.
When I got home I had two problems. Firstly I was still breastfeeding Cameron. Secondly, where was I going to have the babies, as I was booked for a home birth.
The standard advice about breastfeeding while pregnant said that you should stop breastfeeding immediately if you are expecting twins because of the increased risk of premature labour. I had been happily breastfeeding Cameron thinking I was only expecting one baby and was now practically full term for twins. (Anything over 35 weeks is considered full term when you're having twins.) Suddenly weaning him would be a shock. Weaning him then producing two siblings possibly then next day would be horrendous for him! I had got this far without any problems and the babies were fine. If I carried on breastfeeding it would mean feeding three but it may help Cameron to accept the new babies more easily. I decided to carry on breastfeeding Cameron and see what happened. It would be an adventure!
Once I knew I was expecting twins I thought my home birth was out of the question and accepted the inevitability of a hospital birth. I did still want to labour with the minimum of intervention though, and just have the security of knowing that everything was on hand if I needed it. The twins were both head down and good weights according to the scan. I had already birthed two babies naturally. I'd read up about twin births beforehand and knew how they differed from singleton births. All looked straightforward.
I ended up having 3 appointments with the consultant obstetrician over the following few weeks, to discuss my birth plan, because we couldn't agree. The consultant told me I couldn't have a natural birth because twins were abnormal and natural childbirth was a myth anyway. I was to have their typical managed twin labour; an epidural, the labour augmented with drugs, a room full of people and possibly a Cesarean – for safety reasons. (Something around 50% of twin labours involve a Cesarean apparently!) He didn't seem to believe that mothers could birth their own babies and not need obstetric help! I explained that I was prepared to have intervention if necessary but he seemed to think it was ALWAYS necessary and couldn't seem to understand why I might not want it. It was as if we were on different planets! I asked for his reasons for the intervention he was proposing but I couldn't get a satisfactory response. To me, it looked like their 'management' was responsible for the problems he was so worried about! He also admitted that he didn't like to deviate from the standard plan because he was protecting himself and the hospital from litigation. I tried to get some sort of compromise but the small amount he was prepared to give (over continuous foetal monitoring of twin 1) was only on the condition I signed a form saying I was taking total responsibility for the outcome and they had none. So much for 'Choices in Childbirth'!
I have confidence in my body's ability to do what it is designed to do in labour. I know that if I feel safe and confident in my care givers, then I am relaxed and the labour goes well. I already knew from Cameron's labour that I am very sensitive to my environment and the people in it during labour. Here I was being told that everything I had previously found helpful in labour was forbidden and everything that had previously caused me problems and held up my labours was compulsory! It was a recipe for disaster as far as I was concerned. How could I birth my babies safely in this situation? At one point when I was feeling really low, I thought I would be safer giving birth behind the garden shed than in the hospital!
I was really scared at this point. It felt like I was been swept away and was no longer in control of my own or my babies' situation. The hospital seemed to want total surrender from me and chemical control of my body. I was only a passive participant, just the receptacle the babies were in. I was afraid of being violated.
I started to look for alternatives. I spoke to several independent midwives, my Active Birth teacher, Jayne at Splashdown (who I had rented a birthpool from when I thought I was having a single baby) and AIMS who told me I could put a stop in the door to keep the obstetricians out, and get on with it. But I didn't want to fight people during such a vulnerable time. Eventually I decided that I had to go with what I felt safest with. If I went to hospital I was sure things would go badly.
So we were back with my home waterbirth. I realised that no one on the NHS was going to deliver me so I contacted independent midwife, Chris. She and her colleague Michelle were happy to deliver me however I wanted. They said the main increased risk with twins was one of Post Partum Haemorrhage, due to the larger than normal placental site, which they carry the necessary drugs to deal with. If things didn't go to plan we would just go to the hospital instead and one of them would stay with me and be an advocate for me if needed. Chris put me at ease and I felt I had finally met someone with a sensible attitude to childbirth. What a relief from all the obstetrician's paranoia!
The only downside was that Michelle lives about1 - 1 ½ hours away, and Chris even further. My labour with Cameron had been only 4 ½ hours and so this one was expected to go pretty quickly too. I was willing to go for it though. I'd just have to call Michelle earlier rather than later. By this time I was almost 38 weeks. I saw Michelle for my first antenatal visit with them on Thursday 7th August.
In bed the following morning (8th August 2003) at about 3.30am I awoke to find my waters had broken. When this had happened in Joe's labour contractions followed fairly shortly. I decided to phone Michelle and warn her (and hoped I hadn't woken her for a false alarm.) Half an hour later at about 4am my contractions started, so I rang again to confirm that I was in labour. Michelle said she was on her way. Martin started to fill the pool.
The labour seemed to be moving along really quickly. I phoned my friend Cath at about 5.30am. She was going to be around to help with my boys if or when they woke up. Michelle seemed to take forever to come. I had the TENS machine on high for ages and was beginning to wonder if baby one was going beat her to it! I didn't dare get in the pool, as when I did that with Cameron I had him in my arms 10 minutes later! I knelt on my mat with my bum in the air to slow things down a bit.
Eventually at 5.50am Michelle arrived and I gratefully got in the pool. The warm water was wonderful relief. Chris arrived at 6am.
Erin was born into the water at 6.30am weighing in at 7lb 1oz. She breathed as soon as she came up and was very bright and alert. I breastfed her for ages in the water. She fed like a pro. Martin eventually cut the cord when it had stopped pulsating and had a cuddle for a while, then I fed her again. I stayed kneeling upright in the water and Chris felt the position of the second baby. She was still head down. Contractions started again at 6.50am. I could feel her moving down into my pelvis. (Twin 2 can't engage in the pelvis until twin 1 is out.) The contractions started slowly then gained momentum again. Only the last few contractions were really difficult for me to breath through. I fed Erin right up to the difficult contractions, then gave her to my friend Cath, who had by this time arrived and was looking after Cameron in the living room. This left Martin free to support me. As I'd been in the pool a long time, Martin occasionally added a kettle of hot water to keep up the temperature. The midwives encouraged me to drink regularly (fruit juice) and I had the occasional bite of muesli bar to keep me going.
By about 9.20am the contractions were very intense. I knelt up in the water and rotated my hips a lot in between contractions to help the baby move down, then sank back onto my heels and leaned forwards against the edge of the pool during the contractions. Martin went to wake Joe up, as he was still in bed and he wanted to be around for some of the birth! Both boys came in periodically to see what was happening, then went back to their video. They had a good coo over Erin.
Rosie was born in the water at 9.55am weighing 5lb 8oz. She was a bit slower to breath, so the midwives cut her cord and gave her some oxygen. She then came to me for a feed in the warm water again for a while. Cath and the boys came in to greet Rosie. Eventually Rosie and I left the pool.
I had originally wanted a physiological third stage, if possible. Because Rosie's cord had already been cut though I decided to have Syntometrine after 10 minutes to deliver the placentas. I couldn't believe how much placenta came out! The Syntometrine made me sick! (A fine reward for all my efforts!!) Other than this I had a completely drug free labour and a completely intact perineum too. (Thankyou water.) I laid down for a while after this while everyone was stood around happily having a cup of tea, looking at our daughters. I had to wait until I felt better for my cup. Then the three of us went to bed for a rest. I had a bath later.
I still feel a glow of pride when I think of my wonderful twin home birth. (They are quite rare.) It could have been so different in hospital. I know I did the best I could for my girls and I gave them a great start. My independent midwives were wonderful. It is such a shame you can't get this kind of service on the NHS. (Or the skill sadly.) Martin was great support both at the birth and with my birth choice. (I'm sure most people thought I was mad!)
One funny thing was that the twins were born on my dad's birthday. Funnily enough my dad was born on HIS dad's birthday too!
