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Twins!: Pregnancy, Birth and the First Year of Life
Twins! is a comprehensive guide for all parents preparing for a multiple birth. It is filled with practical advice from specialists who work with expectant mothers and their twins every day. From the moment the expectant mom knows she's getting more than she expected, Twins! provides complete information on pregnancy, birth, and the postpartum Once the babies are born, Twins! sees the whole family through the exciting and challenging first year, examining such issues New in this second Twins! gives you all the information you need to have a safe and sound twin pregnancy so you can concentrate on the joy of raising happy, healthy children. Congratulations!
- GenresParentingNonfiction
368 pages, Paperback
First published September 19, 1997
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
March 29, 2018
This book provides good guidelines for twin pregnancy, birth, and first year parenting with a few caveats to the reader. There are also roundtable discussions of various twin-related topics featuring parents of twins and the authors.
Twins is divided into two sections: Pregnancy and Birth and the First Year of Life. The pregnancy section is further broken down into: 4 to 8 weeks, 8 to 12 weeks, 12 to 16 weeks, 16 to 20 weeks, 20 to 24 weeks, 24 to 28 weeks, 28 to 32 weeks, and 32 to 36 weeks. There is no section for 36 to 40 weeks even though 50% of twin pregnancies will go past 35 weeks.
Caveat #1:
Twins! presents information to the reader on the assumption that the reader's twin pregnancy was diagnosed almost as soon as the pregnancy. IVF and high risk patients may be given a transvaginal ultrasound between 6 and 10 weeks, and some ob-gyns do first trimester ultrasounds routinely for all pregnant patients, but many doctors do not. Structural ultrasounds are standard between 18 and 22 weeks, so it is likely that a twin pregnancy won't be discovered until midway through the pregnancy. Some clues to a twin pregnancy prior to an ultrasound diagnoses are greater than average weight gain in the first trimester, severe morning sickness, extreme fatigue, elevated levels of hCG, and detection of multiple heartbeats.
Caveat #2:
Although the authors adhere to the modern guidelines that allow laboring women to eat or drink if they so desire, they advise against it because "eating, even in little amounts, is likely to result in vomiting, which is unpleasant at any time and terribly uncomfortable during labor" (pages 166 -- 167). That is horrible advice -- advice intended for the comfort of the hospital staff rather than laboring women. If you feel like eating during labor, then eat. If you do vomit, it is not something any of the labor and delivery staff won't have seen before, and it will not endanger your life if you need general anesthesia. Also, even if you don't eat during labor, you might might throw up if there is anything in your stomach, and if there isn't, you are liable to dry heave. Vomiting is just something likely to occur during labor. Don't worry about it.
Caveat #3:
Dr. Agnew is "a tremendous advocate of the use of epidural anesthesia" (page 167), but she is not a tremendous advocate of informed consent because she fails to mention any of the potential serious side effects such as stalling labor, fetal distress, fever, extending the pushing stage for 1 hour on average, and respiratory distress after birth that epidurals can cause and only gushes about their benefits. Her attitude of why-would-you-want-to-suffer-labor-pain-if-you-don't-have-to is a bit condescending. Of course, this is moot point because nearly every ob-gyn in the United States will insist that a woman wishing to attempt a vaginal birth of twins have the maximum level of epidural anesthesia and give birth in an operating room for fear that something may go wrong and that they will need to instantly begin a c-section.
Caveat #4:
Breech extraction is presented as normal breech birth. While this book is supportive of the vaginal birth of twins (provided Baby A is head down at the onset of labor), what the authors advocate is "total breech extraction" rather than "breech delivery." They go so far as to describe total breech extraction as "an extraordinary obstetrical maneuver that has been in practice since the earliest records of birthing" (page 208), which is true but only for certain emergency situations and not for ordinary breech presentations.
The authors casually describe how the ob-gyn will reach in and drag a breech Baby B out by its feet. Advocating total breech extraction for all breech deliveries is incredibly dangerous to the extent that can be considered malpractice. It is a big red flag demonstrating that the authors are not adequately trained to do breech deliveries. Improperly flexing the breech child's head can cause permanent spinal and brain damage and pulling on the child's body can lead to other injuries.
Breech delivery for a second twin is the easiest and safest kind of breech delivery (due to the fact that the threat of the cervix closing on the baby's head and neck are much less than that of a singleton breech delivery), but this is only true if the birth attendant has been properly trained and is skilled in attending breech deliveries. Medicals Schools in the United States ceased to teach routine breech births in the 1980s, bowing to pressure from insurance companies, so finding an ob-gyn skilled enough to attend you may be next to impossible. If you wish to attempt a vaginal birth of twins, and Baby B is breech at the onset on labor, for the health and safety of your child, you should seriously consider having a cesarean section if your ob-gyn plans on doing a breech extraction rather than allowing you to attempt a breech delivery.
Caveat #5:
If your labor is not progressing, the medical staff will probably insist on administering Pitocin, which is synthetic oxytocin and affects a woman's body differently that the oxytocin produced by her own body. The authors says that you will be given "a hormone called oxytocin" (page 169), which is not true. You will be give synthetic Pitocin. They also fail to adhere to informed consent and do not name any of the harmful side effects of Pitocin.
Caveat #6:
The authors advocate for episiotomies.
Twins is divided into two sections: Pregnancy and Birth and the First Year of Life. The pregnancy section is further broken down into: 4 to 8 weeks, 8 to 12 weeks, 12 to 16 weeks, 16 to 20 weeks, 20 to 24 weeks, 24 to 28 weeks, 28 to 32 weeks, and 32 to 36 weeks. There is no section for 36 to 40 weeks even though 50% of twin pregnancies will go past 35 weeks.
Caveat #1:
Twins! presents information to the reader on the assumption that the reader's twin pregnancy was diagnosed almost as soon as the pregnancy. IVF and high risk patients may be given a transvaginal ultrasound between 6 and 10 weeks, and some ob-gyns do first trimester ultrasounds routinely for all pregnant patients, but many doctors do not. Structural ultrasounds are standard between 18 and 22 weeks, so it is likely that a twin pregnancy won't be discovered until midway through the pregnancy. Some clues to a twin pregnancy prior to an ultrasound diagnoses are greater than average weight gain in the first trimester, severe morning sickness, extreme fatigue, elevated levels of hCG, and detection of multiple heartbeats.
Caveat #2:
Although the authors adhere to the modern guidelines that allow laboring women to eat or drink if they so desire, they advise against it because "eating, even in little amounts, is likely to result in vomiting, which is unpleasant at any time and terribly uncomfortable during labor" (pages 166 -- 167). That is horrible advice -- advice intended for the comfort of the hospital staff rather than laboring women. If you feel like eating during labor, then eat. If you do vomit, it is not something any of the labor and delivery staff won't have seen before, and it will not endanger your life if you need general anesthesia. Also, even if you don't eat during labor, you might might throw up if there is anything in your stomach, and if there isn't, you are liable to dry heave. Vomiting is just something likely to occur during labor. Don't worry about it.
Caveat #3:
Dr. Agnew is "a tremendous advocate of the use of epidural anesthesia" (page 167), but she is not a tremendous advocate of informed consent because she fails to mention any of the potential serious side effects such as stalling labor, fetal distress, fever, extending the pushing stage for 1 hour on average, and respiratory distress after birth that epidurals can cause and only gushes about their benefits. Her attitude of why-would-you-want-to-suffer-labor-pain-if-you-don't-have-to is a bit condescending. Of course, this is moot point because nearly every ob-gyn in the United States will insist that a woman wishing to attempt a vaginal birth of twins have the maximum level of epidural anesthesia and give birth in an operating room for fear that something may go wrong and that they will need to instantly begin a c-section.
Caveat #4:
Breech extraction is presented as normal breech birth. While this book is supportive of the vaginal birth of twins (provided Baby A is head down at the onset of labor), what the authors advocate is "total breech extraction" rather than "breech delivery." They go so far as to describe total breech extraction as "an extraordinary obstetrical maneuver that has been in practice since the earliest records of birthing" (page 208), which is true but only for certain emergency situations and not for ordinary breech presentations.
The authors casually describe how the ob-gyn will reach in and drag a breech Baby B out by its feet. Advocating total breech extraction for all breech deliveries is incredibly dangerous to the extent that can be considered malpractice. It is a big red flag demonstrating that the authors are not adequately trained to do breech deliveries. Improperly flexing the breech child's head can cause permanent spinal and brain damage and pulling on the child's body can lead to other injuries.
Breech delivery for a second twin is the easiest and safest kind of breech delivery (due to the fact that the threat of the cervix closing on the baby's head and neck are much less than that of a singleton breech delivery), but this is only true if the birth attendant has been properly trained and is skilled in attending breech deliveries. Medicals Schools in the United States ceased to teach routine breech births in the 1980s, bowing to pressure from insurance companies, so finding an ob-gyn skilled enough to attend you may be next to impossible. If you wish to attempt a vaginal birth of twins, and Baby B is breech at the onset on labor, for the health and safety of your child, you should seriously consider having a cesarean section if your ob-gyn plans on doing a breech extraction rather than allowing you to attempt a breech delivery.
Caveat #5:
If your labor is not progressing, the medical staff will probably insist on administering Pitocin, which is synthetic oxytocin and affects a woman's body differently that the oxytocin produced by her own body. The authors says that you will be given "a hormone called oxytocin" (page 169), which is not true. You will be give synthetic Pitocin. They also fail to adhere to informed consent and do not name any of the harmful side effects of Pitocin.
Caveat #6:
The authors advocate for episiotomies.
May 19, 2017
Only got through the second trimester of the pregnancy section. Seems like a fairly generic and informative book on multiple pregnancies and things to consider while raising such kiddos.
October 11, 2014
Like some other twins books I read, this was not all that useful for me since I was looking for twin-specific advice, and this book gave advice on all stages from pregnancy to birth, to your first weeks and months at home with them, to toddlerhood. The advice isn't much different in most of those topics for singleton children. So, probably a good all-around book if you're preparing for twins in a first pregnancy, but wasn't that helpful for me (as I have other children already).
April 24, 2013
This is a great book for mothers and fathers of twins. It's a textbook written by 4 doctors who know their stuff, and one of the most interesting parts in the book is when they talk about their own pregnancies and their own twins. It's scientifically-based advice with a lot of medical research behind it, but the authors come off as real people. I am reading it for a 2nd time now.
March 8, 2018
This is a book I should've read while pregnant with my twins. I read it when my twins were 10 months old...but it was nice to go through the book and remember all the symptoms and questions I had. I would recommend this for any mom expecting twins, just make sure to read it before babies come as it is truly helpful.
October 21, 2008
This book was okay. I didn't get so much out of it that I would recommend it to other moms that are about to do the twin thing, but it gives some good foundation and was fun to read as a newly pregnant mom-to-be of twins.
March 8, 2011
This is an okay book as a supplement to other pregnancy guides, but doesn't really hold up on its own. I didn't really read the interviews with twin parents either. Overall, a good book for skimming.
May 21, 2015
Much more information than I needed, but what I read was good. I skipped all of the round table discussions, the descriptions of awful things that could happen (but likely won't, so why worry unnecessarily?), and the many parts of the book that were redundant.
December 8, 2007
The book is ok, not great. In addition to the instruction like material the book contains round table discussions of parents of twins and a doctor about what they are going through.
December 7, 2009
favorite one so far. less opinionated and very user friendly.
December 10, 2010
I liked this one. This book is much more informational about what happens in a twin pregnancy, birth, and after. Much more positive too.
Read
December 24, 2012A lot of stuff I already knew and some outdated bits since it was updated in 2005. But still useful.
July 5, 2013
pretty good book. too vague on some topics moreso than others. didn't really enjoy the roundtable discussions for the most part.
June 7, 2014
We're never going to sleep again.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews