What is your ideal gestation for a twin pregnancy?

Today I am 37 weeks and 1 day pregnant. This may be a moot point, I could go into labor in the next five minutes! But my repeat C-section is scheduled for 38 weeks and 3 days, so unless something happens naturally before then, I still have 9 more days of being pregnant.

At my hospital, you can't schedule a C-section before 38 weeks without an amnio to assess lung functioning. No thanks! So the earliest they could get me in past that point (Sunday) was next Wednesday, making me 38 1/2 weeks along.

I am probably being paranoid, but I'm getting nervous reading about how many women are being induced or having their C-sections before that point. I'm worried something bad will happen in the next week, like placenta deterioration.

Am I being crazy? How long do you think the ideal twin pregnancy would last (for the sake of the babies of course, not my own comfort)?

 

Ditto! I have been wondering the same. My c/s is scheduled for 38+5 weeks and I mam scared that something will happen before that.

 

My boys were mono/di and my dr. did not want me to carry past 36 weeks with a shared placneta. However, if they had been di/di, they would have let me go to 39 weeks. The bigger they are when they are born, the easier it will be for you. Bigger babies are usually better eaters and sleepers, so hopefully you will get great sleepers and eaters.

 

My Dr. won't schedule until 39 weeks! So I am scheduled for 39 weeks, 1 day. But, I have to say, I really hope I get that far. I'm actually not too worried that something bad will happen only because they are monitoring me so closely. Plus, I know several people who have had twins in the 38-39 week period and everything has been fine. It's so much better to have the babes grow and develop as much as possible inside. Just pay close attention to what your body is telling you--I have a feeling that if something went wrong, there would be warning signs. The trick is to not ignore them.

We should all be congratulating ourselves for getting this far!! It's a huge accomplishment--good job, mamas!

 

My Ob & Peri don't want to deliver until 38 weeks, but I insisted that we do an amnio in the 37th to see if they are ready. Right now we have the amnio scheduled at 37w2d and will deliver that day if the lungs are ready.

If I was not a diabetic, I would probably be comfortable waiting the extra week. The diabetes (insulin dependent & I have it when not pregnant too) combined with the twins, combined with my anxiety (we lost a baby boy last June to a cord accident) helped my argument with the Dr's, and they agreed to do the early amnio (neither Dr. wanted to do it).

 

When I was pregnant with the twins my dr told me that she would not let me go past 38/39 weeks. I would not worry about 38 1/2.

 

I had my mono-di boys at 38+5 by choice because a) I REALLY wanted them to have a September birthday for school purposes (silly, I would've held them back had they come early), and b) my second child, also a boy, was born at 39+3 and had HORRIBLE lung problems, which were a complete fluke, but landed him in the NICU for five weeks and I did not want a repeat performance. My OB was most comfortable with 37 weeks, but allowed me to go longer, particularly because of my previous NICU experience - he told me I could choose any date between 38 & 39 weeks, so we did September 1. Mine was a repeat (3rd) c-section as well. No problems other than being miserably freaking huge!!

Congratulations on making it this far - it is quite a feat!

 

my ob said 38wks is ideal before then there can still be issues but going to 40wks is too dangerous. i'd think i'd feel ok up to 39wks as long as i was being closely monitored

 

one of the earliest warning signs that something may be up is a substantial reduction in fetal movement. i would chat with your doc about doing fetal movement counts - it's a way for you to monitor things from home & might help with some of the anxiety your feeling. :hug:

 

It's a little confusing, especially since there is a study out there that says the rate of stillbirth in twins increases after 38 weeks. But I have full faith that this study will be disproved.

Here's a link that suggests absent complications, twin pregnancies should go to 40 weeks (Thanks TeamTurner!):

http://www.uptodate.com/home/content/topic.do?topicKey=labordel/5122

My Pediatrician wished a full 40 weeks for me! And from his perspective he's right. The story is, yes, complications are more common to twin moms. And yes, maybe moms with GD, PIH, mono-di twins, and any number of other issues are better off delivering a little early. But for the lucky twin moms and babes who reach the 38+ week point with no problems, going to 40 weeks can be beneficial. There is more than one study that says so.

I remember worrying too much about the same thing. I went right from worrying about them coming early to worrying that I was putting them at risk by going too late.

The best advice is above. Listen to your body, feel them move although they will be a little less dramatic about their movements since space is cramped. And think positive!

 

Both my midwife and my MFM doc are prefectly comfortable with di/di twins going to 40 weeks. They will increase the # of biophysical profiles and u/s if we go that far, but they're more than willing to wait for the babies to decide.

 

My peri would have delivered somewhere between 37 and 38 weeks. He would not have let me go past 38 weeks. He said the placenta for multiples tends to start breaking down after that point.

 

I had mine at 38 weeks (no nicu, came home with me two days later) but would have been comfortable anywhere 38-39 weeks. (comfortable for them...miserable for me...)

 

Thanks! Good advice--I'll talk to my Dr. this week about that...

 

I wouldn't worry. First of all this is part of the reason why you should be having and likely are having NSTs once or twice a week right now. That is how the check for things like placental deterioration and how the babies are faring in general with the limited space in there!

I delivered by scheduled c/s at 38 weeks 2 days and my babies were huge and healthy. I was chomping at the bit to schedule something earlier, but my OB insisted we wait and see if I'd go into labour on my own until 38 weeks. He said the ideal time was between 38 and 39 weeks. I called the office on the day of 38 weeks to schedule my c/s lol. I was DONE! In a way now I kind of wish that I had had the nerve to wait a little longer to go into labour on my own...but back then I couldn't imagine making it another week!

 

I'm sorry about your loss :hug: I'm diabetic too and the peri wouldn't let me go past 38 weeks - I wound up delivering at 36 due to pre-e...

 

My water broke at 39+1 weeks.
No problems at all. And no meds ( when we got to the hospital i was allready 5cm dialated).
We stayed 1 night in hospital because Keagan needed some help coming out ( he had no intension of leaving hahaha) Otherwise we could have left hospital after 2 hours.
I know ( my Dutch twin-forum) one mom who deliverd at 40 weeks!!

 

There are plenty of great stories of women going 39-40 weeks with twins. I lost a singleton at 37.5 weeks - she weighed 8lbs 9oz when delivered. There was no cause of death - test after test revealed no reason for her death. Now pregnant with twins, my MF specialist is intent on delivering them at 36 weeks. After my loss, I wouldn't go past 36 weeks with a singleton, let alone twins. Now that I am a member of the babylost mama club, I know all sorts of ways babies can die in the womb, and I personally wouldn't chance it past 36 weeks.

 

I was induced at exactly 38 weeks. My Dr. said that they consider that fullterm for twins. Also, the hospital will not do voluntary inductions before 39 weeks considered it fine with twins at 38 weeks. I wouldn't worry as long as they are monitoring you closely. Good Luck and Congrats on making it this far.

 

My boys were mono di, and my OB wouldnt do anything until I was 37 weeks. They were born via C-section at 37 weeks 1 day.

 

My hospital also would not let me go any earlier than 38 weeks unless medically necessary, so I was induced at 38+2 weeks. Research shows that twins born at 38-39 weeks are better of than those earlier, so if you can, try!

http://www.nature.com/jp/journal/v20/n4/abs/7200354a.html

http://aje.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/152/12/1107

http://www.ispub.com/journal/the_internet_journal_of_pediatrics_and_neonatology/volume_5_number_2_27/article_printable/what_is_the_optimal_gestational_age_for_twin_delivery.html

I am forever grateful and proud that I was able to carry them this long without medical issues and they both weighed close to 8lbs a piece.

 

Thaks for all your replies! Luckily I did make it to 38wk3d and the boys were born healthy at 8 lbs and 6 lbs 6 oz. I swear, I get even more nervous at the end of my pregnancies than in those super early weeks.

 

congratulations! :yahoo: what great weights. :good: