19/11/2025
Emma’s TWIN freebirth story.
“Bit of back story, I was pregnant with my 4th/5th child, and have had 1 vaginal birth in hospital, one cesarean, 1st VBAC at home with midwife, then the twins 1 being breech.)
So Contractions started at midnight 37+1, and laboured in bed as long as I could. By morning, I tried in the pool, out of the pool, elevating 1 leg, squatting, birth swing but something didn’t feel normal about the pressure I was feeling. I was concerned that they were fighting for first place and no one was making any progress.
Around the 16hr mark I started to feel really defeated, like I was wasting everyone’s time. I felt like I had nothing to show for all my hard work and for all I knew I was only 3cm. My waters hadn’t broken, no bloody show or anything. That’s when the doubting settled in. What if I did need a c-section because it’s twins? What if my body can’t do this?
Around the 22hr mark I just started to get pi**ed off. I felt little feelings of pushing so I went with that. Not the pushing feeling I’m used to, but I was so pi**ed off these babies were coming out soon whether they liked it or not.
I was so uncomfortable, I kept moving around the pool to find a good spot, but the only position that gave me any relief was on my knees with my pelvis tilted forward in an odd way and my upper body leaning back a little. Eventually I lost it. I felt like these babies were never coming. I felt like God had left me. I remember crying out to my husband “where is He? I feel like he has left me?”
Soon after this melt down I stood up, hopped out of the pool and I remember my husband saying “where are we going babe?” And I said “right here!” As I had another huge contraction that brought me to my knees. The next big contraction I gave a big push as we were squatting face to face together and pop went my waters, all over my husband. The contraction after that I felt a baby enter my birth canal, and asked to get my son who was asleep as he wanted to watch.
I reached down to catch my baby because I knew that with the force I was pushing with, this baby was coming quick. And with the next contraction he came out!
My belly was so big I couldn’t see anything below, so in my mind I was just reaching down to lift up my head down baby, but it wasn’t until after he was born that everyone said that he came out complete breech, and I the first thing I touched I grabbed, which happened to be his foot, and he slid out in one contraction!
In hind sight I think he started transverse and that’s why the pressure felt different to anything I had felt before. I think he had to move up and then come down bum and feet first.
There was no break from contractions and a few minutes later I was back at it. I remember thinking that was good because that meant that baby B wasn’t far away. All the twins stories I read or listened to, most of the time baby B was 10mins or so after baby A. I felt like I could see the end!
It was important to me that baby A get as much blood from the placenta as possible and I really wanted to wait for white and with a short cord we lasted about 45mins before cutting it.
A few hours later and still no baby B, where the heck was he? I was pi**ed off again, uncomfortable and moving around back in the pool. My husband was over on the couch enjoying baby snuggles but I still had another baby to birth. I felt so ripped off.
But luckily not too much longer after that and I gave a big push and pop went my waters in the pool! I said “oh my waters just went!” And everybody jumped off the couch, but the time they made it the few metres to the pool to see baby B was just born! He was breech in pregnancy but was born head first.
I remember thinking to myself “ahhhh it’s done! Oh hang on, I have to birth the placenta!” Haha
It felt like 5mins later and the placenta was out but looking back at the video it was more like 30mins but the easiest part of the whole birth, plus the two placentas had fused together so they came out together!” I FINALLY DID IT!
Looking back 5 weeks later am I glad we birthed them at home? Yes
Was I at the time? No. I was so close to throwing in the towel and driving to the hospital. But a part of me knew I'd ended up having the babies in the car and that felt worse so I stayed at home.
Do I wish the system "allowed" me to make my own choices? Abso-freaking-lutely. It was NOT our first plan to free birth (we had already hired our midwife!). after having a blissful home birth with our third you don't just walk back into an institution to have a healthy baby (or two in our case!). There were no other factors other than the two babies that meant I couldn't have a home birth. I had Di/Di twins so the lower risk of the 3 kinds. I know what they do to twin mums in the hospital and I was simply not doing it. They'd have to take me in kicking and screaming (I'm not even kidding!)
I'm glad our boys got the best start, drug free, straight to me, optimal cord clamping at home birth they did. I'd do the hardest 27hrs of my life all over again for them". -Emma L
Mama: Emma Linder
Photographer: .photography
