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Amazing birth stories - "My waters broke at 35 weeks!"

I had an uneventful pregnancy with my twins until week 35, when an ultrasound revealed reduced fluid around Twin Two. I was admitted to hospital for observation and my waters broke the very next day. I didn’t even feel it – I just woke up to a wet patch on the bed. When I was examined, the doctor told me I was two centimetres dilated. I was then started on four-hourly intravenous antibiotics.

On Monday, two days after my waters had broken, an ultrasound scan revealed good blood flow and fluid around both babies – this was reassuring as I was continually leaking amniotic fluid. Both babies were head-down and the doctors were keen for me to try for a vaginal birth. What a relief! I was eager for
a natural birth too, as I knew I’d recover quickly and that would be important when looking after two newborns!

On Tuesday night I felt like I was constipated, so I asked the nurse for some laxatives. I was surprised when she sent me down to the labour suite to make sure that what I was feeling wasn’t labour pains. I was examined, attached to a CTG machine and, a couple of hours later, the doctor was happy
I wasn’t in labour, so I was given an enema and sent back to the ward.

No joking matter
At 4pm on Thursday I was taken down to the labour suite to be induced. My fiancé, Antony, stood by my side as the doctor told me I was fully dilated.

The two midwives and second doctor giggled – they thought he was joking! The second doctor had a look and was surprised to confirm that I was indeed ready to push. The midwives were more than a little flustered by the news and had the anaesthetist administer an epidural, just in case I required an emergency caesarean – the concern with delivering twins is that the second twin will become stressed during the first baby’s birth or become breach due to all the room that’s suddenly available to them.

I started pushing at 7pm and Twin One was born 40 minutes later. Ebony weighed 1.89kg and was 49cm. Phoebe came half an hour later at 8:08pm. She was 2.04kg and 46cm. Due to their low birth weights, the girls were taken to the special care unit, but thankfully only needed to stay in the incubator overnight. After three tiring weeks in special care Ebony and Phoebe had finally gained enough weight to come home. It was then we began the next exciting chapter in our lives.

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