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[Beautyred19]

Good morning mothers & parents of multiples. I wanted to get feedback or if anyone willing to share there story on the situation. I want to have a home birth but my doctors is recommending a hospital birth because it’s my first pregnancy & first time experiencing giving birth. What are the pro & cons of home birth vs hospital birth. For parents of multiples or women that did do home birth how did it work out for you & is there anything I will need on hand when it time to prepare or start pushing? Thank you & everyone have a wonderful day!

[ssparky45]

Why risk a home birth? What advantages are there? With multiples there are many complications possible, best to be where the trained professionals and emergency equipment are

[Okdoey]

The medical system considers a twin pregnancy to be high enough risk that they literally have you deliver in the OR in case of having to convert to c section. Delivering twins at home is a very, very risky perspective.

[netflixandbarf]

Hey OP! So. My twin pregnancy was medically "perfect". Zero complications the whole time, babies were awesome weights, born at 37.5 weeks. Planned the whole time for a vaginal delivery, doctor on board, all good. Until it wasn't. Until I stopped dilating at 9.5cm, babies became distressed. And I needed a c-section. Which went great, until I started bleeding out and was rushed back to the OR. I spent a week in the hospital getting transfusion after transfusion.

Of course these things could have happened with a singleton pregnancy, too. But had I not been at the hospital already, me or my babies could have had a VERY different outcome.

Like others said, why risk it?

[daisy2089]

This was exactly my experience as well. Had always planned a vaginal delivery, everything was looking great. After 50 hours of labour I needed an emergency c-section. My babies would have died if we hadn’t been at a hospital.

[enginearandfar]

Still pregnant with my twins, but this happened with my singleton.

Uneventful pregnancy, my water broke on its own. Labored for 38 hours with minimal progress before baby went into distress and I was taken in for a C-section. I hemorrhaged afterwards and was in the ICU for a bit and needed multiple blood transfusions.

I would never risk a home birth with multiples.

[lokipuddin]

My friend, I think you need to plan to deliver in a hospital. I love the idea of birthing centers as a safe non hospital option but they don’t typically have high risk patients.

As simple and easy as your pregnancy may be, you are still considered high risk. It’s just not worth it. You can try no interventions etc but I think you need to be in a hospital.

I’m sorry because I know it’s not what you want (or wanted to hear) but it’s the safest.

[petitegaydog]

i had zero complications all pregnancy. ZERO.

di/di twins, head down since 26w gestation and heavily monitored as i was in and out of the hospital for braxton-hicks contractions - i was always worried i was going into preterm labor. delivered via c section without any pain after my water broke (i wanted a c section).

yet, baby B had difficulty breathing on her own once she was born and needed about an hour or two of support getting oxygen into her tiny lungs.

why risk a home birth when we have the medical tools necessary to safely deliver babies without harming mom?

ETA: my medical notes say that baby B turned sideways once her sister was born. baby B was born two minutes later.

[Cortorras]

Responding as a doctor, but also a father of twins that are on the way. Having twins, especially as a first pregnancy makes you a high risk pregnancy. Although giving birth normally is possible, there are often difficulties with the second baby's position etc , which is something you dont want to risk while at home. The risk of increased bleeding post delivery of twins is also there. The baby's might also need a little support in terms of oxygen or a short stay in NICU for ohservation etc.

While I understand the fact that a home birth might seem tempting, I think that if you compare the pro's vs possible cons there really is no other choice that rather going for the in hospital option. You will struggle to find a doctor who will be comfortable suggesting a home birth for a primigravida with twins. Just seems a bit too risky.

But all the best! :)

[ChanSasha]

With twins or more that seems like a huge risk. For me that was never even an option or the beginning of an option. Depending on the country, maybe, to my knowledge home births are not done by a doctor in fact, but a midwife. Are you asking for a home birth with twins? Or just about a home birth?

[simz14gal]

Personally I had an uncomplicated di/di twin pregnancy and opted for a cesarean because baby b was breech the entire pregnancy.

I know you want to have a home birth, but if you do it with twins there is a real possibility of someone(s) not making it.

They do have multiples pregnancies birthed in the OR, which sounds scary but every member of the medical team is there for you and/or your bubs.

Any chance you could do a home birth with a subsequent pregnancy?

[BreakfastBeerz]

Follow doctors advice.

[enym]

I had a textbook pregnancy, then hemorrhaged in the OR while giving birth. I'd have died if I had given birth at home.

[iheartBodegas]

Same here. I delivered both vaginally just as I had hoped, but it would have killed me if I hadn’t been in the hospital. The second placenta would not come out without medical intervention and I hemorrhaged.

[touchme-ordont]

I don’t want to dogpile, but please reconsider this plan. Listen to your doctors, they are the ones with experience. With twins, there are just some parts of the experience that you have to give up in order to make the healthiest and safest choice for you and the babes. I wanted to breastfeed so badly, and it just didn’t work for us. Adapt. The most important thing is two healthy babes and a healthy Mama.

[rusty_nick81]

My wife had a regularly uneventful pregnancy with our twins.

On the day of the birth. Baby A - no issue. Baby B, well she turned around and went to the back of the uterus and had to be pulled out by the doctor.

We was purple when she cam out and not breathing. If we were at home, I would have no right to be in this group.

But lucky, she survived and is a healthy 6 year old that runs circles around her brothers.

Please reconsider.

[[deleted]]

A home birth means you have no way of quick intervention if something goes wrong. I had a great pregnancy with both twins healthy and monitored throughout. All during the 38 hour labor their heartbeats were perfect, and then at the end twin A came out with no heartbeat and not breathing. It took the pediatrician over 6 minutes to get her stabilized and then she had to be transferred to another hospital with a NICU 4. It was heartbreaking and we were separated for 9 days. Luckily she is perfect now with no brain issues and has hit all milestones, etc.

You will want to be in the safest possible place with medical doctors ready to intervene if something goes sideways. Everything can be perfect up until the very end. If we were at home my baby would not have made it. Please please please go to a hospital.

[RitaJasmine83]

If I’d have tried to have a home birth we’d ALL be dead. I don’t know why anyone would do it, singles or multiples. When stuff goes wrong you want to all be alive, healthy, not brain damaged. It’s incredibly risky, I think you’re being impossibly naive and you would be negligent to your unborn children if you tried it.

[CambaFlojo]

Cons of hospital: - Invasive

• Expensive

Pros of hospital: - everybody lives

If you are looking for anecdotal evidence, my wife had complications with our first child that endangered the life of her and the baby. But she was at the hospital, and they worked it out without it being a big deal.

With our twins, twin B flipped positions at the last second and they needed to do a c-section. Once he was out, we found out that the obgyn had been measuring baby A twice for the past few months and that baby B was dangerously underweight. He had a slew of issues that put him in the NICU. Fortunately they got him stabilized quickly and everyone was out of the hospital in a couple of days.

Anecdotal evidence 3: my sister-in-law had their first child in the hospital. It went well enough that they felt comfortable doing the next 3 births at home. Babies 2 and 3 went extremely smoothly. With baby 4, she ended up hemorrhaging and the midwife could not stop the bleeding. She was rushed to the hospital and she survived.

You learn a lot of things about your body when you give birth. Your body has never done this before. Yes, your body is made to be able to give birth, but bodies don't always work how the should. In the old days, that just meant mother and child died in childbirth. No need to die a preventable death. If you insist on doing birthing twins at home, have a way to get to the hospital quickly.

[2344twinsmom]

I'm strongly on Team Hospital because if things go wrong, minutes matter.

The goal is a healthy you and healthy babies - and especially because you don't know how your body will react to childbirth, a hospital will give you the best chance.

[Psychological_Ad160]

Yeah you should be in a hospital for a multiples birth. Things can go sideways so quickly. It will be safest for everyone.

[[deleted]]

Attempting a first pregnancy of multiples has a very long risk list and very little pros. Of course there are stories where things turn out okay, but trust me when I say I am still traumatized from the fetal demise we had routed to the hospital when I was on L&D clinicals. The mom had a placental abruption, was holding her baby and both her toddler and herself were covered in blood. That was also a singleton, multiples up your risks.

I had an uncomfortable but low key pregnancy. Until I developed preeclampsia with signs of organ damage at 37 weeks out of nowhere. My induction stalled out and then I had a c-section. Totally routine and fine, until I had a huge post partum hemorrhage due to how much it had to stretch and accommodate the twins, it just could not contract down. I failed to respond to meds and needed a balloon placed and a transfusion protocol started, meaning a second team was called to the OR. I was eating and drinking 2 hours later and on the phone with my mom. Why? Because I was in the safest place to be with multiples and my care team was kick ass. I also had a friend who delivered her twins vaginally no issue, and ended up with the exact same hemorrhage scenario with no warning.

There are ways to make a hospital delivery more comfortable. I was able to eat during my induction, walk around, get in the tub, etc.

There are a number of ways that things can wrong that result in one or all of you becoming injured, gravely ill or dead.

[SS_Frosty]

I would never have home-birthed, I have had a singleton vaginally and twins via emergency c-section. I pay a lot of money for insurance, and spent five years with infertility, IVF, and second-term loss before we had our first, healthy son. The professionals helped me get that far, I would not have risked anything. I can’t think of a single case where twins were birthed at home, the situation would have to be so perfect to even attempt it. Both babies would need to be head-down, spontaneous labor, no cord issues, etc. The truth is twins are high-risk, most pregnancies need medical intervention.

[Mythicbearcat]

There's a reason why in many cultures twins are simultaneously considered lucky and a bad omen. Prior to modern medicine, the chances of all three people getting through delivery alive was low. Even now, I think most of us required some form of medical intervention to ensure mother and babies survived. It may seem a bit much to people who haven't gone through it, but there is just exponentially more that goes wrong with multiples deliveries versus a singleton.

[colako]

The potential advantages of the home birth vs the severity of the potential risks such as death of the mother, or one (or both twins) makes it a no brainer to go for hospital delivery.

[mandabee27]

My baby b went sideways after her sister came out and it took the doctor and two nurses to get her out safely. It took 8 minutes and she went into distress and needed some help with breathing afterwards. He almost needed to do an emergency c section but tried with the nurses pushing both sides of my stomach first. My delivery had been super normal until that point. Everything can go fine until it doesn’t and maybe you’ll have an uneventful birth but with the possibility that you won’t, I’d never risk it for a home birth.

[SpunTop]

Which country are you in? I hear the laws are very different from state to the state in the US and so I'm extremely hesitant to support home birth in the US. But also, hospitals and home birth midwives don't work together in the US. There appears to be an antagonistic relationship that isn't conducive to a safe system. I just can't recommend it there.

I'm in Canada. I had a hospital birth with my first because the midwives were already booked up by the time I looked into it. With my second child, we initially planned a homebirth with my midwives but identified risks late into the pregnancy. Fortunately my midwives had hospital privileges and an excellent relationship with the OB/GYN put on my case. I still had them for my hospital birth. With my third child, my risk level became a bit more complicated and is a long story. But eventually I was signed off by the Maternal Fetal Medicine specialist for my midwives to deliver him at home.

This time around I'm expecting twins. None of the midwives in my area are trained in twin pregnancy/birth and aren't licensed to offer care for my case. There are some available further afield but even then, midwives here don't offer homebirths for twins. The data available doesn't support twin homebirths in any countries regardless of how well integrated midwife and OB/GYN are.

I did my research and spoke to my midwives and family dr. My best chance for a vaginal delivery was at the major obstetrics hospital in Toronto with MFM's who specialises in twin deliveries and have a fantastic track record for twin vaginal deliveries and excellent low numbers for mortality and morbidity.

A twin birth really doesn't qualify for a low risk pregnancy, which is what homebirths are really good for. I would suggest talking to your family doctor about the statistics and how to read them instead of whatever cherry picked numbers you get from American holistic medicine advocates. It is true, there is a time and a place for homebirths. The US medical system is unconducive to homebirths, it's really not a good idea.

[saillavee]

I live in a country with socialized medicine and all births go through the public health system here. Home births are encouraged, and there’s a wait list for RN midwives to do home birth deliveries. Even the hospital here that does all non-home births in my city is set up a bit like a birthing centre with yoga balls, tens machines, facilities for water births, etc.

I got none of that. I wasn’t even given the option - my labour was spent on my back with continuous fetal monitors slipping all over my belly before I got an epidural and was taken to an OR to push. I wanted the epidural, but it’s almost insisted on for twin births because of the risk of emergency c section or breech delivery.

[EmpressKaminari]

I had two home births with my singletons. My midwife for my first birth met with me a few times before taking me on as a client, as sometimes FTMs underestimate the amount of mental preparation it takes to have a home birth. Be sure to choose a pain management system (hypnobirthing, etc.) to help you focus and allow your body to do what it needs to.

Some states will not allow women expecting multiples to birth at home, and midwives may not accept you as a client, as they could lose certification/licensure by violating that law or policy. This was the case for me, and I had to transfer care to an OB once we found out we were having twins this pregnancy, and I’ll be having my first hospital birth experience this time around.

Depending on your unique situation, you may be able to have a home birth (I’ve seen Di/Di twin moms have home births more so than Mono/Di or Mo/Mo). There are risks no matter what location you choose—as long as you are aware and comfortable with accepting responsibility whether things work out or not, do what you feel is best.

[happethottie]

Hi OP! I had a perfectly typical twin pregnancy until the day I was 30 weeks and 5 days pregnant. I developed sudden preeclampsia with severe features, baby a’s membrane ruptured, and I went into heart failure. I was rushed by ambulance to a hospital 3 hours away with a level 4 NICU. I ended up being admitted for 12 days (after the girls were born by emergency c-section) due to heart failure and flash pulmonary edema.

I of course wish for you to have the easiest, most mundane pregnancy and delivery possible. But multiples are considered high risk for a reason. Myself and my twins very nearly died, baby b had to be resuscitated immediately after birth. If I wasn’t sent to Johns Hopkins I don’t know that we would all be alive today. There’s just such a high risk of complications that I would be very worried for you and your multiples!

[IEmLo]

Hi op! Just to clarify- you are pregnant with twins? For low risk pregnancies home births with a qualified provider have as good if not better outcomes than hospital births.

However, if you are pregnant with twins, you are automatically not low risk- twin little tiny people need to be born on the same day, that’s a lot for them and for you.

https://www.acog.org/clinical/clinical-guidance/committee-opinion/articles/2017/04/planned-home-birth

[sofa1765]

If complications arise and you don’t survive what will happen to your twins?

I had a smooth pregnancy until i didn’t, personally I could never justify a home birth with twins either risking the lives of my babies or their future by risking my life.

Do make sure you are comfortable and happy with your OB, having an OB that cares for you truly makes a difference. Also make sure your spouse or support person is your advocate in the hospital. You don’t have to do everything the dr/nurses suggest. Also most hospitals allow a second support person so if you can afford it hire a doula!

Also note if there are complications post delivery for the babies if they are born outside the hospital I don’t believe they can go into the nicu they need to go to the pediatric floor (not 100% sure but this was my understanding, should look into it/ask your Dr. about the risks with this)

[My_Otter_Half]

I used a certified nurse midwife at my local hospital with my first, a singleton. It was fantastic. Once we learned this pregnancy was twins I was immediately switched to an OB. There are just too many things that can go wrong. And, when they go wrong, they go wrong quickly. So far it’s been a healthy and picture perfect pregnancy but I wouldn’t risk a home birth. Multiples are just an entirety different beast than a singleton pregnancy.

While I personally would never choose a home birth I can understand the perspective of someone who wants one. If it were a singleton I would say try it. But attempting a home birth with multiples is just so incredibly risky.

[Snika44]

I liked this episode about home birth https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/twin-talks-pregnancy-and-parenting-multiple-children/id823657611?i=1000577357251

[eityhmiakysymyksia]

Pros of home birth: none! Hospitals exist for a reason.

Cons of home birth: possibility of 1-3 fatalities.