Prenatal Class

Edward and I knew it was essential that we take a prenatal class specially geared towards couples expecting multiples. Luckily, the Ottawa Hospital offers a three day course designed for us; although we skipped the first session because it dealt primarily with pregnancy health and labour & delivery, neither topic being all that relevant at this stage of my pregnancy knowing that I will deliver via c-section.

The second session was this past Sunday. Edward stayed home to look after Sprocket, and I sat in a reeeaaallly hot room for 6 hours with 8 other couples, all of whom were expecting fraternal twins. I was a little surprised that we were roughly all at the same stage (I thought we had left the class kinda late!), and that I was apparently the only person there over 30. I found the class to be very informative, in particular the presentation by the NICU (Neo-natal Intensive Care Unit) nurse. It was definitely sobering to see pictures of 24 week old babies (who apparently often survive, but with complications like Cerebral Palsy), and I think it understandably disturbed some of the couples present. While the risk of preterm labour and labour complications is higher with twins, ending up in the NICU is definitely seen as a worse-case (and reasonably unlikely) scenario. However, when expecting triplets, you know your babies will spend possibly months in the Unit before they are ready to come home, so I was prepared for the idea that this would be our reality.

The nurse was very candid, and obviously very experienced. She told us to expect a tremendous amount of stress, uncertainty and frustration at having a child(ren) in the NICU. She mentioned that the situation often brings out the worst in people, and noted there are social workers and spiritual councilors in the Unit daily. It was a very eye-opening - and for me, strangely reassuring - experience. When trying to cope with an unusual pregnancy, it's difficult to find others in your situation. It can be somewhat isolating and a little scary. I devoured several books on multiple pregnancies, but as twins are far more common than triplets, the books are still very much geared towards the larger demographic. The triplet references seem to be an afterthought, usually prefaced by an asterix. Knowing that the Civic NICU handled 9 triplet pregnancies over the past year makes me feel a lot more confident in their ability to help us, and to tailor their care to our needs.

Tonight, Edward and I will attend the final two hours of the course, which deals with breastfeeding multiples. Again, I was warned that it will be geared towards the twin parents, but I'm still hopeful that we'll pick up a few tricks. Expecting triplets means that I will not have a traditional "birth plan". There will be no soft music and labour tubs for us! I gave up this tiny element of control without a backwards glance. However, I am adamant to try breastfeeding. In fact, the NICU strongly encourages mothers to breastfeed and/or pump because it is obviously in the best interests of preemies to get as much breastmilk as possible - even one drop, according to the NICU nurse, is precious. They have lactation consultants on hand in the NICU to assist you if required, and they have tons of tricks to get the babies to the breast - even those too premature to have a suck reflex. Again, very confidence-inspiring. I'm very much looking forward to tonight's class!