I realize this blog is pretty sparse and random. It serves mainly as a place for me to put my answers to FAQs that expectant twin moms often have. (Not that I'm an expert by any means. ;) But with the longer answers, it keeps me from retyping it every time it gets asked. ;)) One question that comes up pretty regularly is, "How should I deliver if Baby B is breech?" My Baby A was vertex the whole third trimester, but Baby B kept flipping back and forth between vertex and breech. Another twin mom led me to the following resources which helped me make my decision:
Breech extraction versus external cephalic version
Operative Obstetrics
Vaginal Breech Delivery of the Second Twin
Basically, if you have a doctor who is experienced in and comfortable with performing breech extractions (which can be the tricky part! ;)), breech extraction tends to be the safest delivery option for a breech second twin. It is definitely preferable to manual version (trying to turn the baby from the outside). C-section is also a fine option but not always necessary.
My babies were both vertex going into my scheduled induction. However, B flipped to breech before it was his turn to come out! I was very thankful I had transferred to an OB who was comfortable doing a breech extraction, because otherwise I would have had both a vaginal delivery and a C-section to recover from! The breech extraction went well and quickly, and our babies were born with no complications.
Thanks for this post! I'll share my experience with my boys. Baby A was head down and baby B was vertex. Baby A came out and all was good. Baby B didn't want to budge from his vertex position. (My actual OB didn't deliver me. Another OB in the practice did and she was the one who was most comfortable with a breech extraction. Thank goodness she did.) Baby B didn't move and she had to do a breech extraction. Baby B was born 28 min after Baby A was. I was confident in the OB's decision to do an extraction instead of a c-section.
ReplyDeleteThis is great advice. My OB was super knife happy. She told me at 35 weeks that she would not do a breech extraction, if necessary. I was transferred to her from an RE who explained how a breech extraction is done to me. I assumed that since they worked in concert that they both performed the procedure. I was wrong. By the time that I knew better it was too late. I am amazed that your baby B flipped. I heard that it is super rare in full term babies.
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