Induction of labour in a twin pregnancy

Your team will check both babies, the placenta or placentas, their positions and your health before recommending a method. They may discuss a membrane sweep, a medicine to soften the cervix or an infusion to strengthen contractions. Hospital birth usually allows close monitoring of both babies and quick access to obstetric, anaesthetic and newborn teams. The recommended birth route can change if one baby is not head-down, monitoring is concerning or labour does not progress. Pre-eclampsia is one condition your team may screen for during pregnancy.

Ask where to go, whether you should eat or drink before arrival and how monitoring will work when contractions become stronger. Discuss the positions of both babies, pain relief, intravenous access and what may happen if a vaginal birth is no longer advised. Pack your maternity notes and plan support for a hospital stay that may involve repeated examinations. Oxytocin may be offered after the cervix is ready; it is given by the maternity team with monitoring.

Call urgently for vaginal bleeding, leaking fluid, regular contractions, severe headache, visual changes, sudden swelling, severe abdominal pain or reduced movement from either baby. If your waters break, tell the unit that you are carrying twins and describe the fluid and any contractions. Do not wait for a planned induction appointment when symptoms are new, persistent or worsening.

Ask which birth route is recommended and why, how each baby will be monitored, whether a membrane sweep is suitable, which induction method comes first and what would lead to caesarean birth. Also ask how pain relief and newborn support are arranged.