I have my "OB Interview" tomorrow-- any twin specific questions I should ask?

[annettemarie]

I'm not even sure what specific things I need to know!

[Julia'sMom]

Some things...

What positions do they require for a vaginal birth? Many require twin A to be vertex, but some require both to be vertex.

How long will they allow you to carry? Can you go to 42 weeks? What do they consider term for twins?

Is bedrest often prescribed?

What do they recommend for diet and exercise?

Is an epidural required for delivery?

Is delivery in the or required?

You know the answers to a lot of these questions, but it's always good to see if your ob will be easy to work with or if you'll be on an uphill battle during what is usually an exhausting pregnancy anyway. GOod luck!

[aja-belly]

what was the most helpful to me was to ask a bunch of "what if" questions and just get him talking. i got a good idea of what his general philosophies were.

"what if baby a is breech"
"what if baby b is breech"
"what if my blood pressure goes up"

and also, contact the moms of multiples groups in your area and find out who has had similar birth experiences to what you want and what they thought of their dr's.

[annettemarie]

Thanks! The nurse today pretty much knew nothing. I filled out paperwork and answered a lot of questions, but when I asked her questions, she didn't know. She did say she knows they do vaginal twin deliveries which may not seem like a big deal, but in my backwards little town with it's 40%+ c section rate is a good starting point. I'll have better luck when I see a midwife in a month, I think.

I don't think there's a multiples group in my area. I do keep hearing about some mythical mom who nursed twins, but I never met her, and people keep telling me I should contact the LLL leader... that would be me.

[Intertwined]

Ha! I found that humerous to an extreme for some reason! I remember walking into a LLL meeting once and the relief that came over our leaders face. She had a new mom pregnant with twins who wanted to nurse and was SO glad I came so she could ask me questions. This is why you have US my love! We'll help you out as much as we can on the Nets.

[Novella]

I'm still that this thread was started by annettemarie! One of the MDC "ubermothers" takes on a new kind of "uber-mothering!" Congratulations! (in a combination of sincere joy and just a touch of schadenfreude for some inexplicable reason!)

As much as any specific questions you might ask of an OB, I think it's just as important to watch the lingo of the answers. . . "we require", "you need to", "if X happens then I will" (OB referring to his/her decision-making authority.

I think all your LL league experience/knowledge with nursing singletons in less-than-perfect circumstances will stand you in good stead for nursing twins. It's not that it's a re-invention of the wheel or anything.

Did I mention ?

[annettemarie]

Yeah, schadenfreude about covers it. To make it worse, I actually kind of asked for this! (My blog explains)

But trust me, I get it. I was thinking "Huh. Fifth baby, easy peasy. I'll just sneeze, the baby will pop out, latch on, and we'll all make supper." Um... no.

[Intertwined]

Oh yeah, I felt the SAME WAY! I was like "I've done this four times before!" Heck, I'd had a UC with #4 and was at the grocery store like a week later, all four kids in tow. I barely sneezed at adding another. Twins....um, not so much.

I agree that nursing twice before gave me a HUGE leg up. We had zero latch issues. Just learning how to tandem was all. And the sleep deprivation sucked bad, but maybe you'll get sleepers!!!

[AGF]

I don't know how you feel about ultrasounds but, for me, it was important to know if the babies were sharing a placenta/ amniotic sac. If they did share the placenta, how they would plan on monitoring for situations like TTTS?

Good luck!