Having discovered that we were expecting identical twins and that our hopes for a home birth could not be realised my husband and I set about doing everything possible to ensure a calm, natural delivery for our babies. Twin births are highly medicalised and we wanted to be sure that our wishes would be prioritised.
The antenatal visits attended by both Emma and Rachel (they had shared care due to me expecting over Christmas) made a huge difference to my birth experience. They sat down with my husband and I and we worked out every detail of what may happen and what our choices would be. This preparation meant that when the time came I could concentrate on keeping calm, knowing that my husband and Emma would ensure that my wishes would be adhered to as much as possible.
Emma’s presence during my long labour gave my husband the confidence to question the midwives, doctor and anaesthetist and together they encouraged me to keep going when things got tough. This meant that once my first twin, Talia, was born I was allowed a full hour and twenty minutes to try to birth Sienna naturally, when half an hour is the hospital’s policy. I knew that Talia’s first hour spent mainly with Emma, next to me, was calm when Sienna’s birth was complicated. Emma and my husband were still fighting my corner when I decided that I felt ventouse was necessary to delivery Sienna who wasn’t presenting favourably. We were delighted to have two beautiful, healthy girls at the end of a long day and I felt that I had pushed myself as far as I could for the birth we wanted. We will never forget Emma’s part in our special delivery and I am grateful for all the help she and Rachel gave us to allow us to prepare fully for this.