Caesarean birth of multiples

Support groups in Australia


For women having more than one baby a Caesarean birth tends to be more possible (or inevitable). Essentially the process of the operation is the same as for women having a single baby except for the amount of people in the operating theatre.

The preference tends to be for an epidural or spinal anaesthetic, to reduce side effects for the babies but a general anaesthetic may be required in an emergency situation. The birth of all the babies may take 10 to 15 minutes rather than the usual 5 minutes for a singleton. Caesarean birth is discussed in depth here.

With the Caesarean birth of a single baby there are already many people in the room. For each extra baby you can expect an additional Paediatrician and/or midwife to receive the baby. If they are triplets or quads you may even find other staff are present for learning purposes as they are a rare occurrence. As a summary there will likely be:

	The anaesthetist who administers the anaesthetic.
	The surgeon (either your obstetrician or the hospital obstetrician or an obstetric registrar) who performs the surgery.
	An assistant for the surgeon, usually another more junior doctor such as a resident or a registrar.
	The midwife who is scrubbed and sterile and sets up all the equipment, passing the instruments to the surgeon.
	A scouting assistant who is not scrubbed and is able to 'go for' anything that is needed, answers phone calls and pagers for the people who are scrubbed to be sterile for the operation.
	Two midwives to receive each baby from the surgeon after the birth.
	Perhaps two paediatricians to attend to each baby soon after the birth
	Your partner or support person.

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