VBAC With TwinsI am writing with the hope that my birth story might encourage and inspire other women expecting twins and hoping for a vaginal birth after a cesarean. Our first child, Ellen, was in the breech position throughout my pregnancy with her. During the eighth month I flew from La Paz, Bolivia, where my husband and I had been living for several years, to Austin, Texas, our Stateside home. We planned to deliver Ellen vaginally with midwives there, even though we also knew a cesarean would be our only option if Ellen delivered feet first. Twelve days after her due date, I went into labor, but it stopped when I had dilated only 4 centimeters, and Ellen's feet entered the birth canal. So we gladly delivered her at the hospital by cesarean and were thrilled to finally meet her. Two years later we discovered we were pregnant, and began to plan yet another natural, vaginal birth. However, our first sonogram at four months showed I was carrying a boy and a girl, At 40 years old, I suddenly found myself with a high-risk pregnancy hoping for a VBAC. Jamie, my husband, and I did not give up on our plan to once again work with midwives and have a natural delivery. We found a practice of OB?GYNs and midwives in Washington, DC, where we had relocated and began to assert our wishes upon each doctor and midwife. We felt confident that I could deliver them vaginally with midwives and never let up. We were told the pregnancy would be highly monitored, that I would possibly need to go on bedrest, and that the midwives would defer to the doctors should any strong disagreements arise. Of the five doctors, two were very supportive of our plan. Two were skeptical - one insisted that we induce at 37 weeks and the other guaranteed bedrest at 28 weeks! We stayed away from those two doctors and scheduled all our prenatal visits with the midwives and the supportive doctors. At 40 weeks I went into labor and with the support and encouragement of two midwives, a no-nonsense labor nurse and Jamie, I delivered Chrissa Boone (7 pounds 3 ounces) and Jess Mahan (8 pounds 8 ounces) naturally. I credit vaginal delivery of my babies with our persistent requests for a birth that we knew I was capable of and the support of our midwives and sympathetic doctors. And a final note on expectations and fears. The one doctor in the practice I was certain I did not want at the birth was, of course, the one on call the night I went into labor. He honored all of our wishes -- we kept both babies with us at all times, I stayed in the labor room (rather than move to surgery after the birth of the first baby, in case a c-section was need for the second baby), and delivered with the midwives. He came in as I was pushing Chrissa Boone out and took photos after Jess was born. He couldn't have done a better job of supporting our birth process. Delivering twins vaginally after having had a cesarean, even at the "advanced maternal age" of 40 years old, gave me a sense of accomplishment and pride in myself that is unequalled. Believing in myself and my midwives and my babies and the support of my partner allowed me to find the strength needed to deliver my beautiful babies in a way I had hoped for.
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