Mamas- I have a sis in law that found out she is having twins. She had a stillbirth for her first preg. and this is her third. She had a cesarean for her sec. birth because they just "didn't want to take any chances" after several hours of labor and an epidural, etc., you know it's all down hill from there. Anyway, now she is being told by her absurd physicians that she may have to be on bedrest for the remainder of her pregnancy (from 24 weeks on).

Now, I don't know what it is like to lose a child. We were with she and her husband and held her son, my first nephew on my husband's side, as his dead body lay stiff in the blanket and we all tearfully said our goodbyes to the boy we'd never know. So, I can see how they could be ultra-conservative. But, I have known so many natural mamas who have made different choices than what her physicians are recommending- I even had a cousin who went the full physician monitoring and hospital delivery route who at least refused to be induced and just let the babies come when they may and they came out at nine months just beautifully- each more than six pounds.

What are your favorite books- maybe one on pregnancy, and one on nursing multiples, that I might send her to help her make good choices. She is very bright and so open to reading stuff. I think this could make a real difference for her. Thanks, Shrinkmama

jmo, but i don't think there are many good books about multiples.

mothering multiples was okay but most are just lame.

good luck to her.

The only one I kind of liked was Joy of Twins. It has a section on bf'ing. It also has a scary section on everything that can go wrong, but I guess you need to be informed. Of course I didn't think anything would go wrong so I skimmed that part. Both of my twin pg's ended in emergency c-sections because of pre-eclampsia.

Most doctors are pretty conservative about bedrest.

Good luck!
D.

She could try reading posts on mothering.com in their mothering multiples board. There are more twin moms there. I"m with Danica - I don't remember any really good books. I ended up on bedrest from 20 weeks due to complications. PTL and IUGR of twin B. Emergency C-section due to fetal distress of twin B at 32 weeks.

First here are a couple of e-groups that I found VERY helpful when I found out I was pregnant with twins (# 5 & #6 babies) at 4.5 months gestation.

BFandAP_Twins2@yahoogroups.com

Breastfeeding and Attachment Parenting Twins group. It is not real busy though.

apmultiples@yahoogroups.com

This is a great group & is the one that I got the MOST info & support from over the months. It is "run" by Karen Kerkhoff Gromada a LLL Leader & IBCLC who had a set of twins herself. She also has a website too. See below.

The book that I suggest are Mothering Multiples by Karen Kerkhoff Gromada and
When You're Expecting Twins, Triplets or Quads by Dr. Barbara Luke and Tamara Eberlein.


Here are a couple of multiples sites.

The first is Karen Kerhoff Gromada's. It is still "in construction". But some info is there. Also there is a birth plan there.
She has great breastfeeding photos. My twins & I are in a few :).

http://www.karengromada.com

This next website isn't very busy, but it does have some good links, pictures & stories.

http://breastfeedingtwins.tripod.com/MainPages/index.html

I also developed a set of questions to ask your caregiver when pregnant with twins. The questions are specific in regards to the differences of twin pregnancy/labour/delivery.

I also have a twin birth plan as well and my twin story.

My twins were born full term at 38 weeks & 2 days at 5lbs 13oz and 7 lbs 15oz after a natural, unmedicated birth in a regular birthing room at the hospital. Twin "A" was head down but Twin "B" arrived footling breech & looking up. We all went home the same day of their birth. They nursed well at the breast for around 6 mos, till they showed an interest in solids. They were mono-chorionic, di-amniotic...identical twins. They did have mild TTTS (Twin To Twin Transfusion Syndrome) and there was a "communication" between the blood vessels of the placenta, but they seem to have had no ill effects. One is still 1/2 inch shorter and one pound less than her sister. I am only 5ft 4 inches tall & weighed about 103. I gained almost half my body weight (50 lbs) during the pregnancy. I had NO problems with blood pressure. I was more tired & I was huge out front. At 7 mos preg. I was making strangers nervous that I was going to have that baby any minute..ha I still had 8 weeks to go!! I did have hemoraging after the birth & things got a bit "dicey" in the room. Had to do some intervention. I had watched an ER episode only days before & there was talk of the twin mom having to have a hysterectomy to stop the bleeding. I only got as far as needing Oxytocin x 2 with 3 bags of saline then Ergometrine (sp?) in the butt (OW!) and I had the clots being removed by the resident scooping them out (that was NOT pleasant). I didn't want a transfusion unless totally necessary & DH was going to be the donor as he is O+ & I am A+ so compatible blood types. But we didn't need to do that. The OB did tell me after the blood splashed up the front of his outfit that if the other stuff didn't work they would have to remove my uterus to save my life. Luckily the mid-wives were able to keep my kids distracted with their new siblings so they didn't have to hear all of that. It is certainly an increased risk with twins as twice as much of the uterine wall is bleeding after the placenta detaches. I will always wonder if they had left it alone & not tugged on the cord if the uterus would have done its job more efficiently. Also I think the placenta had pulled away, but was inside the uterus for a litttle while, preventing the uterus from contracting and stopping the bleeding. When the resident finally said a while later, after ealier pulling on the cord, better do the placenta, I told her it was already right there I just needed to push. When I pushed the placenta came out & then the gush of blood. The overly stretched uterus was having trouble contracting. The nurse was squeezing it while the resident was scooping. Sorry...kind of graphic.

Anyways...I think the best thing is to be informed and therefore prepared for whatever may happen!! So I would highly recommend the above books & the apmultiples list!!

If your sis-in-law is interested I could e-mail a copy of my questionairre, birth plan & birth story. Just let me know


Kerri, mom to Amanda(14), Emma(12), B(11, foster dd), Maddison(10), J(9, foster dd), Jonah(7), Saige & Claire (4, ID twin dds) & baby boy Teagan (10 mos)

Mamas, you are really a blessing. So knowledgeable and experienced. I copied all the info and e-mailed it to sis-in-law. I know she'll really appreciate it. Fondly, Shrinkmama