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Most twins can be born safely without a C-section: Study

NEW YORK — Expecting twins? You probably do not need to schedule a Caesarean section as most mothers can safely give birth without surgery, according to a study.

Doctors are looking hard at C-sections for twin births, which are on the rise because of infertility treatments. Photo: Reuters

Doctors are looking hard at C-sections for twin births, which are on the rise because of infertility treatments. Photo: Reuters

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NEW YORK — Expecting twins? You probably do not need to schedule a Caesarean section as most mothers can safely give birth without surgery, according to a study.

It is the latest research to question the need for C-sections, which are done in one-third of all births in the United States and three-fourths of those involving twins. It is long believed that women who had a C-section previously would have to deliver their future babies the same way.

Now doctors are looking hard at C-sections for twin births, which are on the rise because of infertility treatments. Twins have more risk for birth complications and some studies suggest C-sections lower that risk, but this has not been put to a rigorous test.

Dr Jon Barrett of the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto led a study in 25 countries of 2,800 women pregnant with twins.

All of the first of the twins to be delivered were in good position for birth, although most doctors still recommend a C-section if the first twin is in feet-first or breech position.

Half of the mothers were scheduled to have C-sections and the rest, vaginal births. About 40 per cent of the latter group wound up having C-sections and 10 per cent of those scheduled to have Caesareans ended up giving birth vaginally.

About 2 per cent of newborns died or had a serious problem, but the manner of birth made no difference. Nor did it affect the rate of complications in the mothers.

The study was paid for by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the results were published yesterday in the New England Journal of Medicine.

“These results do not indicate that all sets of twins should be delivered vaginally,” Dr Michael Greene of Massachusetts General Hospital wrote in a commentary in the journal.

However, planning to do so is a reasonable choice if the doctor is experienced in twin births and knows when a C-section becomes necessary, he wrote. AP

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