Written by Editorial Team
Have you just discovered that you’re pregnant with twins? Congratulations! Getting pregnant with twins is not rare. One in every eighty naturally conceived births is a twin birth. A “twin pregnancy” occurs when a pregnant woman carries two embryos at once. The use of ultrasound technology allows medical professionals to recognize twins early on.
A twin pregnancy needs more frequent prenatal care due to the higher risk of complications for both the mother and the unborn babies. Read on to learn more about twin pregnancies.
In This Article
It is true that conceiving two babies is not as easy as conceiving one. But just imagine yourself at a starting point of an extraordinary and interesting journey, at the end of which you will be gifted with two beautiful babies that will make you forget all those extra efforts you took during your journey.
Obviously, there will be lots of doubts and fears regarding the twin pregnancy, even if you already had a single pregnancy and delivery. In this article, we try to clear those doubts and also go through some facts and knowledge that will help you to proceed with your twin pregnancy safely and soundly.
There are two types of twins:
These are identical twins with absolutely similar DNA. This occurs when a fertilized egg or zygote divides into two parts, each of which develops into a separate baby. Splitting occurs around one to fourteen days after fertilization. Early the zygote splits, the more identical the twins will be. Identical twins are less common. Only 30% of twins are identical twins.
Monozygotic twins often:
Twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome affects 15% of identical twin pregnancies.
Dizygotic twins are formed when the ovary releases two eggs simultaneously and both get fertilized to form two zygotes. Each zygote grows into an individual baby. As they are from two different eggs, the similarity will be like any other pair of siblings. Dizygotic twins are more common. About 70% of twins are dizygotic twins.
Dizygotic twins often:
Conjoined twins are twins with some of the body parts joined or shared. Only identical twins are supposed to be conjoined. This happens when:
Read more on conjoined twins here.
Yes, there are differences in physical conditions and symptoms during twin pregnancy:
You are expected to consume more nutrition when you are pregnant with twins. The rule is to take 300 calories for a baby per day. As you are having a twin pregnancy, it is important for you to take in 600 calories per day for the well-being of both you and your babies.
Slow and gentle exercise can cause no harm even if you are pregnant with twins, provided, you get a green signal from your practitioner. But once you pass the 24th week, you should reduce exercise significantly. If you still have the urge (which rarely occurs) limit it to occasional small walks. Never stand for a long time. Bending over, lifting weights, and squatting down is also strictly prohibited.
As twin pregnancy is associated with various complications, it is very important to understand the warning signals. That will help you to minimize the impact of the complications. Some of the red signals are:
A twin pregnancy is a double blessing, but you also need to be doubly sure as well. You need to be mentally prepared, and physically viable to carry and deliver twins. Take good care of yourself, eat healthily, and have a healthy delivery.
When you have twins, your body produces a lot of pregnancy hormones. As a result, morning sickness may strike sooner and more severely than if you were carrying a single child. You may also have early and more severe pregnancy symptoms such as edema, indigestion, leg cramps, bladder pain, and sleep issues.
When you conceive twins, you may notice your pregnancy weight increase and/or baby bump sooner than if you just had one child. A healthy pregnancy for a woman carrying twins to term is one in which her total weight goes up by 16–20.5 kg.
Many mothers expect to have twins at 37 weeks. When both babies reach this week of pregnancy, the pregnancy is considered to be full-term. This also enhances the likelihood that both kids will be delivered healthy and of a healthy weight.
With a rich experience in pregnancy and parenting, our team of experts create insightful, well-curated, and easy-to-read content for our to-be-parents and parents at all stages of parenting.Read more.
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