twin home birth in california?

[ladydodson]

hi,

just found out at 6w4d that i am pregnant with twins! wow. i have had two hbacs previously and had planned to home birth with this pregnancy as well...

the midwife from the team i use that i spoke to last night said they arent licensed to do home births for twins...and i wondered if that was the case in california, or just with her (she's a DEM)...

and if any of you are from california/los angeles area and have had/know of a midwife that will attend a twin home birth...

thank you very much! i am suuuuper uneducated on mult. pregnancy...but really really wish to avoid a c section and i have a feeling if my pregnancy isnt PERFECT, that is what my ins. hospital is going to want to do.

[kjoy2]

Hi there!

Congrats on your twin pregnancy! I hope you are doing well so far!

A few thoughts:
1. You'll want to know what type of twin pregnancy it is. That is, are the babies in separate sacs and with separate placentas (di/di) or with separate sacs but a shared placenta (mono/di) or with shared sac & placenta (mono/mono, which is a whole 'nother ballgame which is quite rare but definitely precludes homebirth). In your U/S, they should have been able to tell whether the babies had separate sacs. The placenta issue is trickier to tell but easiest before 12 weeks.
If the babies are mono/di, you'll want to learn about TTTS - twin to twin transfusion syndrome - which can be a risk factor in growth and morbidity.

2. 6w4d is super early, so while it's good to learn and plan, it's worth a mention that vanishing twin syndrome is fairly common.

3. Twin homebirth in CA can happen. I know several women who had them (or, in my case, planned but transferred). In the LA area, I'm sure there are HB MWs if you look persistenly. If you run into a wall, PM me for ideas (though I was in the SF Bay area). I just started calling every MW I could find until one bit. I was also able to find an OB for concurrent care, who supported HB plans and ended up being our needed back-up for transfer to hospital.

4. Dr. Barbara Luke has a book that some folks like about twins, triplets, and more. Your best bet is to follow a super healthy diet - lots of protein (100 grams a day average), leafy greens, fresh veggies & fruits, drink a ton of water, and eliminate any added sugar. And supplement with fish oil, prenatal, calc/mag, and the others I'm sure I'm forgetting! Growing twins is a lot of work for your body!

Welcome to the twin club!

[ladydodson]

Originally Posted by kjoy2

Hi there!

Congrats on your twin pregnancy! I hope you are doing well so far!

A few thoughts:
1. You'll want to know what type of twin pregnancy it is. That is, are the babies in separate sacs and with separate placentas (di/di) or with separate sacs but a shared placenta (mono/di) or with shared sac & placenta (mono/mono, which is a whole 'nother ballgame which is quite rare but definitely precludes homebirth). In your U/S, they should have been able to tell whether the babies had separate sacs. The placenta issue is trickier to tell but easiest before 12 weeks.
If the babies are mono/di, you'll want to learn about TTTS - twin to twin transfusion syndrome - which can be a risk factor in growth and morbidity.

2. 6w4d is super early, so while it's good to learn and plan, it's worth a mention that vanishing twin syndrome is fairly common.

3. Twin homebirth in CA can happen. I know several women who had them (or, in my case, planned but transferred). In the LA area, I'm sure there are HB MWs if you look persistenly. If you run into a wall, PM me for ideas (though I was in the SF Bay area). I just started calling every MW I could find until one bit. I was also able to find an OB for concurrent care, who supported HB plans and ended up being our needed back-up for transfer to hospital.

4. Dr. Barbara Luke has a book that some folks like about twins, triplets, and more. Your best bet is to follow a super healthy diet - lots of protein (100 grams a day average), leafy greens, fresh veggies & fruits, drink a ton of water, and eliminate any added sugar. And supplement with fish oil, prenatal, calc/mag, and the others I'm sure I'm forgetting! Growing twins is a lot of work for your body!

Welcome to the twin club!

thank you for your information...as of now, im totally attached to these little babies and i'd be very sad if one vanished...how common is it and how soon does it happen? i guess i can google that anyways.

when did you discover you had twins?

as for what type of twins they are, my doctor didnt say. he did schedule another ultrasound for 10w to see where the placentas are formed...he couldn't even get a good measurement on one of the babies due to placement...but he did see two heartbeats and both of them appeared to measure the same, both sacs were nice and big and equally sized too.

i cant post pictures, but here is a link to a picture of my scan:

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4123/...95a9a90226.jpg

can you tell from that?

[turnquia]

Oh those are totally di/di twins! The membrane seperating them is soooo thick!

I'm planning a twin homebirth in michignan. It will be quite a production with everyone here but oh well! Vanishing twins usually happens prior to 14 weeks.

LOL IMO don't read all of Dr. Luke's book. her diet recommendations are good... but some of her other info is skewed and seems scary. She is the lady leading the research on twins not being "allowed' to go past 38 weeks or they will die research.

I really like the mothering multiples book but its not geared towards pregnancy

[ladydodson]

Originally Posted by turnquia

Oh those are totally di/di twins! The membrane seperating them is soooo thick!

I'm planning a twin homebirth in michignan. It will be quite a production with everyone here but oh well! Vanishing twins usually happens prior to 14 weeks.

LOL IMO don't read all of Dr. Luke's book. her diet recommendations are good... but some of her other info is skewed and seems scary. She is the lady leading the research on twins not being "allowed' to go past 38 weeks or they will die research.

I really like the mothering multiples book but its not geared towards pregnancy

well thats good to know that they are di/di...but now im just beside myself worrying that one (or both!) of them wont make it...ugh. i wish i hadn't googled vts...geez.

even after seeing a heartbeat, the risk doesn't diminish by much does it?

[~Adorkable~]

welcome to twinland! i was exactly 6w4d when i found out as well and now am 12w6d and doing great!

by al means come check in on the Pregnant with Multiples chat thread, we have been banding together over there, its a great group in all stages.

[poppan]

I don't think twin homebirth is "outlawed" in California, as I was able to find a midwife who was willing to attend a twin homebirth here in Northern California.

However there were many stipulations (particular to her comfort level and for baby & my safety I guess) -- I had to make it to 37 weeks, both babies had to be head down, I had to have zero medical issues throughout the pregnancy, etc. She might have felt differently if it wasn't my first birth/pregnancy. Anyway I didn't make it to 37 weeks so no home birth for me.

Anyway--good luck, I'm pretty sure you can find someone in SoCal too. Was your midwife able to refer you to anyone else? That might be a good place to start, they probably know each other and talk amongst themselves!