Caesar or Natural?

My OB has given me the option of either a c-section or a natural birth. I am 28.3 weeks and both bubs are now head down. Twin B has a velamentous cord insertion.....but this is up high in the uterus and not near the cervix. Originally he said definately a c-section due to the VCI.....but now he has told me due to the cords position he feels it would be safe to go natural.
Now....I was preferring a c-section TBH. I lost ID twins last year due to cord entanglement at 21 weeks and I am terrified of losing these babies too, altho it is a different situation this time. The fact that a caesar is "quick" is appealing to me. I know it is big surgery and alot for me to recover from, but that is all outweighed by having my babies born fast. I am terrifed they will go into distress with a natural birth and the consequences of this.
Also, if I go natural I HAVE to go to the public hospital as the private has no on-site anaesthatist (spelling??? lol) so if an emeergency c-section is required I need to be in public hospital just in case. Now my OB even agrees the public hospital has "terrible" post-natal care and the private is much better from this aspect.
I just feel like I dont know what to do. I want to do right by my babies, but I am overwhelmed with fear. I feel like at least if I HAD to have a c-section and something went wrong that at least I had no choice. Now I DO have a choice and what if I choose the wrong one??

Thanks, any advice would be so apprecaited. ANGEL

 

I requested a c-section. There is no reason to be ashamed of having a c-section, especially if you are given the option and have fears (and the VCI with your prior cord issues is a legitimate fear) of natural delivery. I'm sure that other people on here are going to tell you that since they're both head down to try a natural delivery, and that would be fine too. The important thing is not the method of delivery, it's that they're here safe.

If you are given the option and prefer a c-section, go for it. FWIW I personally didn't have any complications from the surgery, I was walking around my neighborhood when they were a week old. I healed very nicely and have no regrets.

 

I wanted a vaginal delivery but ended up with a section. By the time delivery rolled around, they told me that I still had the option of doing a vaginal, but the risks were much higher due to late decels. My only thought at that point was to deliver two healthy babies and in my situation there were lower risks with the section (they did push for it, but still gave me the option). I have always been comfortable with my decision to have them sectioned. My recuperation went well, too, and quite honestly, it was easier than my vaginal with DS years before (DD was another story--hers was cake).

 

I think it boils down to the fact that you need to do your research, know your statistics and make the choice that YOU are comfortable with. I've known horror stories on both sides of the issue. C-section is not without risks...I've had two friends who had very serious complications after a c-section...one with a pulmenary embolism and the other with a condition causing severely elevated blood pressure and heart pounding to the point where she wound up on the cardiac wing instead of the maternity wing. So you never know. I've had a vaginal delivery with such a bad tear that my c/section recovery seemed like a cake walk compared to it... and I've had 2 v-bacs in which the recovery was a dream compared to either of my two other deliveries.

With your losses and your baby's current condition I could definitely see the temptation to opt for c/s. But you need to also evaluate the c/s risk combined with whether or not you want any more children, and whether or not you would like to attempt a vaginal delivery at some point. It's such a personal decision, and once you've had some trauma it definitely influences your choices. To illustrate...my first vbac was a very long, traumatic delivery (easy recovery though), but I did it all natural. The labor was so traumatizing for me though, that I had almost panic attacks thinking about going through labor again with my second vbac. I didn't realize it until I was in labor with my second vbac, but I really needed to get an epidural for the sake of my mental sanity. I was hyperventilating just thinking about doing the whole natural labor thing all over again. So even though statistically speaking it's much better to go natural for vbac, my personal mental status just needed to override that.

So consider the statistics, and then consider where you are at emotionally and mentally and go with that decision. Ask your doctor, medically what he/she recommends...not just what your options are. Find out what your doctor will do if the second baby happens to flip after the first comes out... if this is an immediate c/s then I would lean in favor of doing it from the get-go. (But personally I don't think doctors should be attempting to deliver twins vaginally unless they are trained to do breach extraction.)

Hope you can come to a decision you feel at peace about.

 

Susanna said it beautifully. Both have pros and cons. I had a vaginal birth with DS and it took a while to recover (had an episiotomy and quite a few stitches). Then had a c/s with the girls and while I had an easy recovery I hated having to have a catheter and not being able to walk for a while after delivery (I couldn't go to the NICU until the next day since they wouldn't let me get up for a while). But otherwise it was a really easy delivery and no problems with recovery.

With the boys I knew I wanted a VBAC if possible and it was the easiest birth. No epidural or drugs and I was up walking around immediately. Just a tiny tear from Griffin (since he came so fast) and that's it. I felt absolutely wonderful and still do. That said, if B was breech we would have had a c/s (and he was breech up until I went into labor) and mentally I was prepared for it. Really, both can be wonderful birth experiences if you are mentally prepared for them. I would never look down on someone who had a c/s at all. Make a list of what's most important to you. Educate yourself about both delivery experiences. It will all work out in the end no matter which you choose.