New study says most twins don’t need to be delivered via C-section

Mothers expecting twins may have no need to rush and schedule a cesarean section. In fact, most moms are capable of safely giving birth to twins without the need for surgery, a new study finds.

The study, paid for by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and appearing in Thursday’s edition of the New England Journal of Medicine, examined 2,800 women pregnant with twins across 25 countries. Half were scheduled to have a C-section and the other half were due to give birth vaginally. In the end, 2 percent of newborns were born with a serious problem or died, yet the study claims that the method of the birth made no difference in the outcome.

Cesarean sections are performed in one-third of all births in the United States and three-fourths of all twin births.

We previously published a story about the hazards of “scheduled births” and relations to infant mortality.