How to Survive Giving Birth to Triplets

4 min read

This is what it looks like when growing three humans inside your body at the same time. Your internal organs would be under immense pressure, and you could experience painful swelling. And that’s during pregnancy. You still have to deliver these three babies. But don’t worry, we’re here to help. You really beat the odds this time. Triplets occur once in every 10,000 pregnancies. And you might be thinking, the more, the merrier. But in this case, it’s riskier. Growing multiple babies will put you at higher risk of a miscarriage, developing high blood pressure and suffering from heavy blood loss during or after the birth. That’s because the placental area can get quite large, and the uterus would be over-extended. So you could bleed to death. What’s the safest way to deliver triplets? Why should you practice yoga? Which condition can affect you months after giving birth?

Step 1. Go Under the Knife

Creating a brand new life is no easy task, and you made three. But the hardest part is yet to come, so you’d better get prepared. Choose how you want to give birth. Experts say that a planned cesarean might be your best bet. It is safer considering the position of the babies and their placentas. This is also a good idea since a doctor will give you an anesthetic so you won’t feel any pain. And you’d have a team of doctors and nurses in the operating room ready to take care of you and your newborns.

Step 2. Sign up for yoga classes

You might remember the happiest day of your life as your most painful experience. But yoga can help you. Practicing this discipline throughout your pregnancy can help reduce the pain during labor. The movements and breathing routines of yoga will build your endurance and teach you how to use relaxation techniques when you feel discomfort. That would come in handy when you feel the labor pains.

Step 3. Do Drugs

It’s time. The babies are coming now, and you opted for a vaginal birth. So you might want to ask or scream for an epidural. That’s a thin, tube-like catheter that goes in your lower back. It’ll numb you from the waist down. Trust me. You’ll want that. After the first baby is born, it can be tricky to know which baby will come next. The doctor or midwife might need to insert their hands into your womb and maneuver to turn the babies. This will put them in the correct positions so you can push them out. No, it’s not a form of torture. It’s just childbirth.

Step 4. Beware of the blues

Congratulations! You gave birth to three beautiful babies. But you’re not excited about it. You’ve been feeling the blues for months now, and you don’t know why. Unfortunately, mothers of triplets have a 43% greater chance of experiencing postpartum depression. Talk to your doctor if you’re feeling anxious, sad or overwhelmed. You can treat this condition with therapy and medication.

Step 5. Don’t take them home

On average, a pregnancy lasts 40 weeks. But when you’re having triplets, you’ll likely go into labor before the 35th week. That means your babies would be premature. Their organs and bodies will need to develop more, and your babies will need help breathing, eating and staying warm. As much as you love them and want to take them home, you can’t possibly give them what they need right now. Your babies will need to stay in the neonatal intensive care unit and receive special attention. That was a tough one, but you had the care and support of medical professionals.