Monday, January 11, 2010

An OB's Take on Twin Induction

Today I had an OB visit my blog and kindly leave some very nice comments on various articles. He commented the following on my article (about 3 down) in which I had expressed concern about 36 week inductions for twin pregnancies:

"The rate of neonatal death in monozygotic (one placenta) twins starts to increase to a level we consider unacceptable after 36 weeks, which is why most OBs induce at that time. Dizygotic (two placenta twins) are lower risk for intrauterine demise, and usually are delivered at 38 weeks. Pulmonary maturity for twins is accelerated relative to term babies, and these babies tend to not need any special care after delivery. Stillbirth/fetal demise is a heartbreaking outcome that we will do a great deal to prevent."

Many thanks!

I really love getting opposing opinions on this site. That's really one of the main points of this blog - bringing the midwifery and obstetric communities together, rather than trying to widen the divide between them. Civil intercourse between the two camps is a wonderful thing, and I appreciate when we can get together to discuss issues in a non-hostile manner in order to understand each other!

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