
Owning Your Birth Story: Twin Mom Maddie on Natural Birth, C-Section, and Delivering Twins
In this episode of the Twiniversity Podcast, Natalie talks with Maddie Rahlf, a twin mom of three girls, about the "double whammy" delivery - giving birth to one twin vaginally and the other by C-section in the very same hour.
Maddie shares how her twins were a complete surprise - a natural, spontaneous twin conception with no twins in the family, discovered at her 12-week ultrasound - and how reading Nat's book helped her find solid ground once the shock wore off. Because Baby B had a marginal cord insertion and was measuring under the 10th percentile, Maddie's pregnancy included weekly maternal fetal medicine (MFM) monitoring and an induction at 36 weeks.
Natalie and Maddie walk through the delivery almost minute by minute: an easy vaginal birth for Baby A after only a few pushes, Baby B flipping transverse the moment she had the womb to herself, the attempts to turn her, a cervix that closed back up, and the placenta concern that finally made a C-section the safest call. Then comes the twist - it was Baby A, the vaginally delivered twin, who ended up in the NICU on CPAP, while Baby B stayed right with mom.
The conversation also gets into recovering from a vaginal birth and major abdominal surgery at the same time, the empowerment of being given the choice to try for a vaginal delivery, and Nat's "use your BRAIN" framework (Benefits, Risks, Alternatives, Intuition, Nothing) for making decisions in the moment. Maddie's biggest takeaway: if it happens, it happens - you figure it out one day at a time, and you'll have a pretty cool story to tell.
This episode is a reassuring, myth-busting conversation for any twin parent who feels anxious about the possibility of a double whammy delivery.
EPISODE THEMES šĀ
⦿ Finding out it's twins by surprise - a natural twin pregnancy with no family historyĀ
⦿ A twin pregnancy with a marginal cord insertion and weekly MFM monitoringĀ
⦿ Being induced at 36 weeks and choosing to try for a vaginal birth ⦿ The "double whammy" - Baby A vaginally, Baby B by urgent C-section an hour laterĀ
⦿ The surprise twist of which baby actually ends up in the NICUĀ
⦿ Recovering from a vaginal birth and a C-section at the same timeĀ
⦿ Why being given a choice in how you deliver matters so muchĀ
⦿ Using your "BRAIN" (Benefits, Risks, Alternatives, Intuition, Nothing) to make decisionsĀ
⦿ Life now with twins plus a toddler - taking it one day at a time
RELATED EPISODES š§Ā
⦿ Curious what a postpartum doula actually does?Ā
Listen to Your First Night Home with Twins with Postpartum Doula Lauren Oak: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/your-first-night-home-with-twins-postpartum-doula/id1382948352?i=1000501133817Ā
⦿ Wondering whether a doula is right for your twin birth?Ā
Check out Should I Have a Doula with Twins? with Guest Doula Kim Collins:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/should-i-have-a-doula-with-twins-with-guest-doula-kim-collins/id1382948352?i=1000429208724
GIVEAWAYS š°
š YOU'RE INVITED: Need more support, join us each month for our Twiniversity Virtual Meeting. Meet Nat and Lauren and bring them your biggest twin life challenges each month of the year.Ā
For dates and more details visit. www.twiniversity.com/Membership
āļøSubscribe to the Twiniversity Email Newsletter! https://www.twiniversity.com/subscribe/
Expecting twins? Twiniversity has you COVERED with online classes! ā¬ļø
Breastfeeding Twins: https://twiniversity.mykajabi.com/offers/HTaVcGhH/checkout
Twins After Singletons: https://twiniversity.mykajabi.com/offers/hegrd8Ez/checkout
Baby Safety (CPR, First Aid, Car Seat Safety, Childproofing): https://twiniversity.mykajabi.com/offers/AccFMLk8/checkout
CONNECT WITH US šļø
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Twiniversity
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/twiniversity/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Twiniversity/
Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@twiniversity
X: twitter.com/Twiniversity
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/60TDcDJoEtQHwqLzZ8L9rX?si=9734d507f23845e6
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/twiniversity
Email: [email protected]
CHAPTERSĀ
00:00 The "double whammy" delivery
03:00 Choosing your provider and your birth
06:45 Meet Maddie
07:35 A surprise natural twin pregnancy
09:50 Twin pregnancy vs. a singleton pregnancy
10:45 Baby B's marginal cord insertion and weekly MFM visits
13:20 Induced at 36 weeks and choosing to try vaginal
14:45 An easy vaginal birth for Baby A
15:45 Baby B flips transverse: trying to turn her
17:45 The placenta concern and the call for a C-section
20:35 Inside the C-section: the shakes and the epidural
22:30 The surprise: Baby A goes to the NICU
25:00 Recovering from a vaginal birth and a C-section at once
26:35 Advice for moms anxious about the double whammy
27:55 Born an hour apart: every twin story is different
28:35 Delivery day boot camps and the "use your BRAIN" method
34:25 How life is now: twins at nine months
35:20 What we stress about as twin parents
36:45 A house of girls and chasing milestones
38:25 The twin community: making friends with a double stroller
42:00 Wrap-up and where to find Twiniversity
More episodes from "Twiniversity Podcast with Natalie Diaz"



Don't miss an episode of āTwiniversity Podcast with Natalie Diazā and subscribe to it in the GetPodcast app.








