Gracia's Twin Birth Experience at Hospital Universitario La Paz

Content Warning - if you prefer to read only positive birth experiences, you may want to skip this one. Here at Madoula I do believe all experiences are valuable and I share all kinds of experiences, but I like to let you know if you're pregnant and avoiding difficult stories, this one may not be for you.

Gracia is originally from Germany and she had twins in 2017 at Hospital Universitario La Paz. She chose La Paz because "They are specialized in twin births and I had twins. Even people from far away come here if they have twins, tripletes, etc".

Gracia's Experience:

I got a pregnancy disease called pre-eclampsia affecting my kidney and therefore they transferred me directly to the hospital for all main check ups. I entered the hospital 2 months prior than planned and didn't know how long I would stay there. They took good care of me and reacted fast/professional when my body couldn't hold more. I gave birth through a c-section in my 32nd week. I was really lucky that they reacted on time, as the placenta of one of my kids was starting to fall off (where the child dies within seconds) which they only saw during the c-section. They woke me up when the kids were born and I could give them a kiss, but afterwards I fell asleep again due to the medication. After 20h of being isolated in the rehabilitation hall (due to my risk condition), I was sent to my room shared with someone.

As I didn't have my children by my side (intensive station), I was later transferred to a single room which was really nice. After several more hours when I gained strength, I could go to see my kids in the intensive care where they were laying in incubators. In a way it was better this way, as I could recover better and I knew the team was taking good care of my kids.

All doctors and nurses were really nice, I only had one bad experience with one of the substitution nurses after my operation who was really impatient and rushed me to move and sit which was really painful. My kids stayed in total 1 month and the other 1 1/2 months in the hospital, but I could visit them daily.

My kids had all the follow up check ups (more than other kids due to being born so early) in the same hospital where they also detected that both of them have spectrum of autism. From there, they sent us to different specialists teams and other necessary check ups are done as well there or in Hospital Ramon y Cajal.

Did you feel supported in your chosen method of feeding your babies?

As I gave birth at 32nd week, my kids were still not able to suck. What I liked a lot is that they have a mother-milk bank in the hospital, so people donate pumped milk for early born babies like mine. They encouraged me to try breastfeeding, but I felt uncomfortable in the intensive station as there were other couples sitting with their babies just in front of us or other family visitors were entering at certain hours.

I was only allowed to try to breastfeed every 3h, by then my kids were so impatient that it never worked out. They borrowed me a milk pump during my stay in the hospital and I could pump calmly in a specified room. At home I kept pumping regularly even though it was not much. After 2 months my kids learned to drink from my breasts with the help of my mother at home who is a gynecologist.

I wished that they could have helped me more in breastfeeding, more time, more patience and in a calm room, but I understand that my case was a bit different as I had to keep my kids in the intensive care station.

Thank you so much Gracia for sharing your experience!

If you'd like to share your birth story in Madrid (hospital or home birth!), please do so here.

---

Giving birth in Madrid or a new mom in Madrid? Looking for support on the wild ride called parenthood?

Look no further - book a free discovery call with me (Madison - doula in Madrid) today and let's chat about how together we can work to make your experience a positive one! And be sure to check out the Madoula homepage.