Pregnant With Twins? Now What?
Being pregnant with twins is hard. It’s hard on your body and your mind. During my twin pregnancy, I found it to be most difficult mentally (once the puking stopped around week 15 anyway). The medical establishment, and therefore most people, expects a woman pregnant with twins to have an elective cesarean section around week 38. This is not what I wanted, so I spent a lot of time researching my options. I am also a birth doula, so I went into pregnancy with a lot of knowledge.
The first thing to remember with any pregnancy is that you MUST be flexible. I wanted a natural, unmedicated birth. I did not get that. I spent my time finding a doctor who was supportive of the birth that I wanted, but he did lay out some guidelines. [...]
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Taking Back Our Right to Birth
In a recent article on Huffington Post titled, “A Woman’s Nation: Reclaim Your Right To Birth Right,” Christiane Northrup, M.D. encourages women (who now make up half the work force!) to use that power to influence the future of health care in America, beginning with labor and birth. She argues that the media’s portrayal of birth as a medical emergency and the actual medicalization of birth has done us more harm than good. She makes great arguments, loaded with fascinating and unbelievable statistics that should be making headlines. [...]
Natural Birth in Hospitals
Even though it is a radical idea to many mainstream childbirth professionals, it is entirely possible to have a natural birth in a hospital—one without any medical interventions, pain medications or surgical procedures. It is even possible to have a beautiful, satisfying and empowering birth experience in a hospital, provided the parents have chosen the proper health care professionals and received thorough education about natural childbirth methods.
However, pregnant women must take matters into their own hands—your birth is your responsibility! If you believe that natural birth in a hospital setting is the best option for you, finding the right Certified Nurse Midwife (CNM) who will support your vision of natural birth is key to achieving your goal. As well, you should prepare for the experience by taking natural childbirth classes (Lamaze, Bradley Method, HypnoBirthing) and make sure that you have proper labor support. First time mothers giving birth in a hospital can greatly benefit from, and are more likely to achieve a non-medicated birth, with the help of a doula. [...]
