Why I Drove Two Hours To Have A Natural Birth
/Sadly, it isn’t. You see, twin pregnancies are often labeled as “high risk.” Considering that twin births are up 78% since 1980, it’s incredibly surprising that every twin mom would need to be treated this way.
I can tell you several reasons why I was an ideal candidate to NOT be considered “high risk:”
1. I was 23 years old
2. my twins were dizygotic/diamniotic
3. I did not have any chronic health conditions
4. I had no previous pregnancies – ergo no previous complications
5. My twins were spontaneous
Here’s the reasons for why I (technically) should have been “high risk:”
1. I was having two kids at once
When choosing obstetrical care – I felt backed into a corner. The current medical establishment has a metric ton of criteria for twins to be born naturally. One of the, perfectly nice, physicians I saw gave me the following stipulations for having a “natural” twin birth at the local hospital:
1. I must give birth in the OR (just in case)
2. I must have an epidural placed even though I didn’t want one (just in case)
3. If twin A is not head first, automatic c-section
4. If twin B is not head first, there’s a possibility for a vaginal/C-section combo (AKA the dreaded “double whammy”)
5. If twin A is smaller than twin B (based off of notoriously unreliable ultrasound measurements) – automatic c-section
6. Basically, if I breathed the wrong way – c-section