When you are carrying twins there are lots of considerations when planning the care and kind of birth you want.
Most twins are born fantastically well when left alone but there are are some extra risks to a singleton and they are greater if the babies are monozygotic. These are putting into context well in an Article by Justine Caines who says “The risk of spontaneous abortion after amniocentesis is 1-2%. This test is routinely offered to women over 35 without any of the trappings of death and injury”
When discussing the care that a woman carrying twin would like, it’s important to consider that hospital care often includes many interventions and a conclusion that term is earlier than with a singleton so induction is a necessity and control often comes in the form of a necessary epidural, jelco insertion and continuous monitoring. In my experience Dizygotic twins tend to carry to term where as monozygotic are more likely to birth early.
Throughout pregnancy, input and information is essential so that birth happens where the woman feels most safe and able to prepare.
If she is planning a homebirth 2 midwives always seem to me to be the best thing. This may come from my own UK background of training. Usually I work alone with the woman, but for 2 babies and a mother it seems to me another midwife is the right thing. I appreciate however than most babies singletons or twins will birth just fine and there are freebirths of twins that work out well. I can only work in the midwifery style I feel to be the gold standard of care for women and their babies.
Homebirth.org.uk has some interesting stories of both hospital and home and a set of guidelines written by Mary Cronk as an indication of how midwives may practice.
I work with the woman to keep her healthy and well, so she feels fit to make great well informed decisions surrounding her birth. At the end of her pregnancy we measured her girth rather than looking at her fundus. This may or may not be significant but a growing girth indicates good health and well being in the baby especially if the twins are monozygotic.
Women can chose to have scans as the babies grow if that’s what they want, mainly these are thought to monitor growth and show position. My clients are free to take up as much or as little interaction with the system that they want during their pregnancy, it’s just my job to inform them of all the pro’s and con’s and then support them in whatever choice they feel is right for themselves.
This video is a twin birth. The woman has a lotus placenta, neither cords were cut and the placenta was born. The babies remained with their placenta (which was fused) until it came away on day 5. There is no reason to interfere in the third stage of a twin birth more than any other. The colour is not great because it was dark in the room. She had also suffered a nasty labial tear previously (with a water birth at a birth centre) so she was anxious for that not to happen this time, we had discussed it prior to the birth, hence me catching the babies.
The second baby was auscultated when the first baby was being born, and I also did palpate after a while to check the second baby was in a longitudinal lie (straight up and down). The second baby is born in the caul and has a cord wrapped around a number of times.
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Thank you to this fantastic family for letting me show this (these twins are now 2 years old). They are moving to Canada for a few years and I send all my love. xxx
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Wow. Amazing stupendous mama! Amazing stupendous babies. What an honor to see this. Thanks to the family and you Lisa.
Love
Brenda
Oh I’m still crying! How amazing!! Thanks to her and to you for sharing that one!
Very neat! Thank you (and the family) for sharing!
Just out of curiousity- do you guys not use gloves for waterbirths? I haven’t looked into that much yet.
Thank you so much for posting that. It is especially good for me to see that neither of the cords were clamped, since that is something that is so pervasive, even among homebirth midwives. You totally rock, Lisa!!
Love
Lennon
WOW WOW WOW!So beautiful. and such gorgeous grown up children now. Thankyou to the family for sharing their journey.
busybusymomma. I don’t use gloves at any birth. I don’t put my hands in a woman’s vagina and why would you want latex or equivalent to be the first thing on a baby’s skin.
Radical midwife. Lotus birth or not, cutting the cord before the birth of the placenta is interferring in the natural process and should never be done in a physiological third stage. Until the placenta is out how can we really tell what processes are happening. Our theory that the cord has stopped pulsing is just that A THEORY. We are not meant to do anything until the birth process is finished.
Wow wow wow! Amazing! thank you to this wonderful mom for sharing her birth!
I have never seen a baby born in the caul before, even after working in the birth field for over 7 years.
I don’t use gloves at any birth. I don’t put my hands in a woman’s vagina and why would you want latex or equivalent to be the first thing on a baby’s skin.
Radical midwife. Lotus birth or not, cutting the cord before the birth of the placenta is interferring in the natural process and should never be done in a physiological third stage. Until the placenta is out how can we really tell what processes are happening. Our theory that the cord has stopped pulsing is just that A THEORY. We are not meant to do anything until the birth process is finished.
Why oh why do you have to be so far away?
Chère Lisa, ces images sont incroyables ! Merci de nous les avoir fait partager
C’est toujours un plaisir et une réelle source d’information de te lire 
Merci encore !
This is the magic in the work that midwives and women do.
What a powerful woman – you can do anything – I bet you hear that from time to time – time to start belieiving!
As for the midwives….full love power and magic to you!!!!
Heartfelt thanks for sharing your amazing births and strenghts with us all.
This restores my faith in being with woman.
xo
You little ripper! That was bloody awesome Lisa!!
Fantastic to watch something so amazing… just *WOW*!!
x B
Thank you so much for sharing that!
When doing twins, what is the usual amount of time in between the births?
umm, all of the above! That was inspiring. Makes me want to birth again
we are lucky to have you here.
That’s so beautiful. I wish we saw the placenta birth and the lotus transition but I’ll just have to imagine it. Every woman who shares her birth like this does other women such a service in this birth-hating world.
Thanks to the family!
Janet
Doesn’t get much better than that!:)
Thank you so much for sharing!
XxL.
Unfortunately the film maker who was standing in the bath chose that moment to switch off the camera and get out of the water. It wasn’t my bad editing we just don’t have the footage. Elsewhere on the blog in the lotus birth section there are pictures of the placenta with babies attached after a few days.
Thank you so much for posting this video! That was so amazing, what an experience as a mother!
Thanks for sharing these videos. They are inspiring and help people see how normal birth is!
Wow. Thankyou for showing that. I didnt end up having a homebirth but not for want of trying, so seeing this was like I sort of experienced it a bit. Even means more to me to see with both my boys (3.5 and 1.5 yr olds, ie. not twins, both E c/section – the second a planned H/B)hanging off me and watching it too! So calm, and the way the babies nuzzled in, and Mum gently holding them. And seeing L & R in action. I cant even explain how I felt, so cant imagine how you both felt. Well done.
Oh, God, so beautiful birht!
I’m from Brazil, I want a water birth a lot…
Congratulations!
Sorry!Thank you for such a wonderful moment!So quiet,so patient!Any suggestions for VBAC with twins.One of our client(well informed client)wants TOL at the hospital,no EFM,no epidural (due to restricted mobility)Since all of us(12 midwives) have different level of experience and comfort there are many different opinions.Would be interested to hear yours.Regards,Tanya
Well She is right to want no epidural and to remain mobile. intermittant monitoring is effective in checking the babies. For midwives feeling uncomfortable maybe they could be backed by the more experienced midwives. Success in birth is created by confidence of the mother and confidence of the care provider. If there is a hospital birth I negotiate with the local labour ward so that everyone is aware of the woman and her requirements. Plan with the head of labour ward how to get the best scenario for everyone. It can be done. She could labour at home and go to the hospital in advance labour if she so wished. That would remove lots of the stress about epidural and the like.Where are you?
Lisa Barrett
Aww thats a beautiful birth. Was just wondering, do you check for cord around the babies neck? As with the first baby theres a break in the footage and with the second still being in the caul. I’ve only been present at one waterbirth in which the cord was round the neck.
The only break in the footage is after the first baby and it’s only a few mins as there were just 6 mins between babies. I don’t check for cord. I wouldn’t clamp and cut at any time so there is no point. A cord around the neck happens in up to 40% of births.
Fantastic to see such a wonderful waterbirth of twins as I’m now 37 weeks and planning the same myself here in the UK. Thanks to you and the family for sharing this birth and giving me all the more courage!
Aby
Wow … what a truly heartwarming video … BEAUTIFUL !!
Thank you so very much for sharing xx
Hi! My independant midwife sent me the link to your blog and this wonderful video after I drew a blank looking for live footage of twin home births. I’m pregnant with twins and my twin recently had twins in hospital after a planned home birth, which I attended. But there’s nothing to match the sheer power of watching the awesome calm of a truly natural birth and to be able to visualise a twin birth in this environment is really helpful. My 5 year old son who has asked to be present at the birth also really enjoyed watching this and it stimulated lots of useful conversation between us.
Thank you to your work and to the family in allowing you to put this out there to empower and inspire women.
This would have to be one of the most amazing things I have ever see.
Words escape me!
Wow , that was truly beautiful . I just loved how the mother seemed to be able to do what she needed to do with no interference. In fact it just looked like everyone was just in tune with what was happening.After having two emergency caesarians( both induced) and experiencing two beautiful moments that were so altered by the `medical` procedures, I am so full of hope I may yet experience something as amazing as this. Thankyou to the family who shared this with us. And can I please please have midwives like you next time!?
Lots of love
Nyree
PERTH WA
Just amazing and inspiring both as a birthing woman and as a midwife. Women rock !
Hi Lisa,
I am very nearly 40 weeks pregnant with dyzigotic twins. My first pregnancy was a planned homebirth but resulted in a caesarian due to failure to progress (She was posterier and acyclitic).
This time I have chosen shared care between the same homebirthing midwife I for my first pregnancy and the local public hospital. I plan to labour as long as I can at home and deliver in hospital.
My question is about being overdue. The doctors did not expect me to go this far. CTG last week was normal. I am due to have another CTG this week and feel like they may start talking about another caesarian. What is you opinion about going overdue with twins and VBAC. My first pregnancy was 42 wks and 2 days. I would be very grateful for your opinion
Lucy enjoyed watching this – it kept her interested for 4 minutes! That’s a record. Thank you so much to the woman for sharing it – what an amazing birth.
What a beautiful birth. My own twins are 13 months old, and how I would have loved to have a midwife such as yourself attend to us.Thank you for sharing!
So beautiful! Thank you!
Wow, that’s absolutely gorgeous! I’m hoping for a home waterbirth with this pregnancy (I’m also convinced I’m having twins – let’s wait til the first ultrasound, hey?) and I’d love for it to be as easy as this one seemed. What fantastic work you do…
This is the second video in as many days that I’ve seen with the baby born in the caul – it looks so mystical, doesn’t it?
Thank you for posting this amazing woman’s birth. As a U.S. hospital midwife, it is so refreshing to see a birth of twins as a peaceful, beautiful and reverent event (as all births should be) rather than emergency chaos in the OR. Thank you to the family for sharing this very private experience. Lisa, you are an inspiration to midwives across the globe. Thank you for your blog and for just being you.