The Business of Being Born Message Board

I’m the mother of an 8 year old son, born with midwives in a hospital, and 2 year old twin girls, born at home. With my son, I wanted a home birth, but the insurance wouldn’t cover it. With the girls, I started with a midwife, planning on delivering (what I thought was 1 baby) at her birthing center. After our ultrasound, everything changed. Suddenly I was high risk and scared. My midwife encouraged me to seek other options that would make me feel safe. I called the hospital midwives and was told they weren’t allowed to deliver twins. The doctors I saw gave me a list of interventions I would receive. C sections were unavoidable as was a trip to the NICU for the girls. They would be pre-mature, underweight and need lots of special care. The one doctor I found who would attempt a vaginal delivery, proudly pulled out his forceps and assured me that he was quite good with them.

I ran back to the midwife. She was kind and reassuring, offering her birthing center which was 5 minutes from a hospital. At 35 weeks she learned that delivering twins in the center could make her lose her license. I decided to go ahead with a home birth. I went into labor at 39 weeks. 4 hours, one water birth and one breech birth later, I had 2 healthy, full term and large daughters (6lbs 13oz, 5lbs 14oz). No interventions, NICU, or even a visit to the hospital. We bonded so well, that I managed to breastfeed for 18mos. I didn’t know how unusual my situation was, until a friend who is a L&D nurse told me she has never seen a vaginal twin birth.

NEVER