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.
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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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