#388 | Twin Home Birth at 38 Weeks: Leaving High-Risk Care and Choosing a Midwife

Victoria (0:03)

I was asked, hey, do you want to be pregnant, first of all? And then second, do you want to have twins? Because if not, we can dissolve one of them. If you're just not feeling it, if you only want to have one baby, we can do this.

And that was just insane to me. Like someone was asking me this, there was no medical issue, so I don't even know why they asked me this question. I was just, I was speechless.

Cynthia Overgard (0:33)

I'm Cynthia Overgard, birth educator, advocate for informed consent, and postpartum support specialist.

Trisha Ludwig (0:40)

And I'm Trisha Ludwig, certified nurse midwife and international board certified lactation consultant.

Cynthia Overgard (0:46)

And this is the Down to Birth show.

Trisha Ludwig (0:50)

Childbirth is something we're made to do, but how do we have our safest and most satisfying experience in today's medical culture?

Cynthia Overgard (0:56)

Let's dispel the myths and get Down to Birth.

Victoria (1:09)

I'm Victoria, and I had my twin boys at home about a year ago, actually they're 12 months now. And I started working with the high-risk doctors at the beginning of my pregnancy, and ended up switching about halfway in to my pregnancy to a home birth midwife. I was told that I was having Modi twins, which is one placenta and two sacs. I was told I'm high-risk, I'm gonna need a C-section, and I'm gonna need to visit the high-risk doctors every two weeks. So that was just like a lot of information.

All at once, when you're meeting your babies for the first time, like on an ultrasound.

Cynthia Overgard (1:57)

Was this your first pregnancy?

Victoria (1:59)

No, this was my second. I had my first at a private birth center.

Trisha Ludwig (2:04)

How many weeks were you when you found this out?

Victoria (2:06)

I was probably around 10 weeks. Modi twins is like a little bit rare compared to like mono di twins, which you have like two placenas and two sacs.

Cynthia Overgard (2:19)

So you're 10 weeks pregnant. They tell you, you didn't know you had twins until this time, this moment? Okay.

Victoria (2:26)

Yeah, so that was just like a lot of process. We were actually at the birth center where I had given birth, and there's like this third party guy who comes in. And so I knew that we were not going to give birth there because we were moving to Colorado at the time.

We were in Oregon moving to Colorado, but we wanted to see those midwives. And you probably know that birth centers can't really work with twin moms. So I just accepted, okay, we're going to have to go see the high-risk doctors because this is my only option that I have. So the second visit with the high-risk doctors, we were in Oregon, I was asked, hey, do you want to be pregnant, first of all? And then second, do you want to have twins? Because if not, we can dissolve one of them. If you're just not feeling it, if you only want to have one baby, we can do this.

What? And that was just insane to me. Like someone was asking me this, there was no medical issue, so I don't even know why they asked me this question. I was just, I was speechless. Yeah, I didn't understand that this doctor was like an OB, you know, helping people deliver babies, but asking me this question. And so that wasn't like the best care that I got. I was disappointed, I guess, in that.

Cynthia Overgard (3:53)

It's terribly offensive. It's outrageous. And the nerve to use the word dissolve of your own child, it's dystopian. Not to mention probably very risky to your pregnancy.

And I did like this whole, anyway, it's that's very upsetting.

Trisha Ludwig (4:11)

Do you recall what you said in response to him?

Victoria (4:13)

Yeah, it was a woman and she and I had responded, you know, it might be a little overwhelming for me to process that I'm having twins, but I'm not going to, I don't want to have an abortion. I said something like that.

Cynthia Overgard (4:29)

Yeah, let's call it what it is.

Victoria (4:31)

Yeah, let's call it what it is.

Cynthia Overgard (4:34)

Wow.

Victoria (4:35)

So when we had moved to Colorado, I was going to new doctors. I was going to an OB and then also going to the high-risk doctors. And so that's every two weeks and it's very expensive visiting them every two weeks.

And also I was experiencing a lot of fear and anxiety every time I'd go, they would tell me all the risks and it was just this repetitive thing of here are the risks. Maybe you can have a vaginal birth.