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Multiple Birth: What to Expect and Where to Find the Best Obstetrician near Kew

If you're expecting twins or more, you probably have some questions about what to expect during your labour and delivery. The truth is that, just as with single babies, no two multiple births are alike. Factors such as fetal position and your health play a role in how your labour and delivery will turn out. Multiple births often bring surprises but remember: the ultimate goal is your well-being and that of your babies.

Labour

In many ways, your labour will be just like any other, beginning either with your water breaking or with contractions and progressing through the same three stages. However, you’ll most likely be monitored more by your healthcare team. You’ll probably be attached to a fetal heart-rate monitor for each baby, so your practitioner can be sure that your babies are responding well to the contractions. Another difference is that while singletons may often choose drug-free delivery, mums of multiples are more likely to be encouraged to (or, in some cases, required to) receive an epidural for labour in case an emergency caesarean section or other intervention becomes necessary.

Delivery

There are several possible scenarios for your actual delivery. You may very well end up delivering vaginally – about half of all twins are born this way. The major difference, of course, is that instead of delivering one baby, you’ll be delivering two. The second baby is usually born within 20 minutes of the first, although in some cases, some help from your obstetrician near Kew may be necessary; this often depends on the position of the babies.

Because of the likelihood of complications, however, women with multiple pregnancies sometimes opt for or are recommended by t heir obstetrician to have a scheduled caesarean section. Obstetricians may advise this under certain circumstances such as prior caesarean section, placenta previa, or other medical concerns. In other cases, caesarean sections aren’t planned at all but rather they become necessary at the last minute because of an unforeseen complication. Rarely, doctors practising obstetrics near Kew and elsewhere sometimes attend multiple deliveries that end up in a combination of vaginal birth and caesarean section. In these cases, Baby A is delivered vaginally, but a complication necessitates a surgical delivery for Baby B. Having an epidural in labour can reduce the risk of this but not remove the risk completely.

Obstetrics near Kew

Whether you’re pregnant with one baby, two, or more, it’s important to find the best obstetrician near Kew to care for you throughout your pregnancy. Your Kew obstetrician should focus on woman-centred care and be supportive of your choices while at the same time be equipped to provide you with the medical advice you need. He or she should also be able to provide care for even the most complicated pregnancies and deliveries, particularly if you are expecting twins or more.

It’s best to choose an obstetrician with whom you feel comfortable, and one whom you feel has your best interests – and your baby's – in mind at all times. Call Dr Stephen Cole's office to make an appointment on (03) 94162802 or using the online enquiry form.