When you are expecting Twins, Triplets or Quads
An ultrasound scan is the only sure whether you have twins, triplets, or quads. Women with twin pregnancies are more likely to have pregnancy health problems and complications, so more check-ups are recommended. Specialist antenatal care and hospital birth are usually recommended for twin pregnancies. In the past four decades, the number of twins born yearly in the United States has more than doubled, from 59,122 infants in 1972 to 135,336 infants in 2014.
The frequency of twins has risen from approximately 1 percent of all births to just over 3 percent. When women get the news about having twins or more the first thing they do is to find a book about twins, triplets or quads, so they can have more information. Because a twin pregnancy can be more complicated than a single pregnancy, health professionals usually recommend specialist antenatal care, rather than shared care or midwife-only care. If you have any complications, specialist checks can pick them up early, which means they can be treated early. Also, health professionals will usually recommend that you give birth in a hospital, rather than in a birth center or at home. Hospitals have the facilities needed to manage any complications of a twin pregnancy, like premature birth. Dr. Luke said in the book, their goal has always been to improve pregnancy outcomes, in other words, to help women have the healthiest pregnancies and the healthiest babies.
When a mom goes to the first prenatal appointment, the mom needs to be sure to specify a multiple pregnancy. The mom needs to be seen promptly. When it comes to a pregnancy or more, the mom needs to be sure the hospital has all the requirements to care more for one baby. In light of the fact newborn multiples are at risk for needing special medical care, the best way to guarantee that the mom and their babies remain in the same hospital after delivery. Most of these moms live far away from their mom or sisters to be able to help them breastfeed, but in many cases, these mothers and sisters themselves may not have had the experience of nursing their children and therefore are not the best breast-feeding advocates and teachers for expectant and new mothers, particularly those facing the challenges of nursing multiples.
That’s why one of the best ways to prepare for successful breastfeeding is to meet with a lactation consultant while the mom is still pregnant. Needing nutrition, how much weight to gain, and when to gain it in order to maximize the babies’ growth, the next step is to learn when and what to eat. It can be very difficult to find practical advice that can transform dietary guidelines. During pregnancy, many women develop a temporary form of diabetes known as gestational diabetes. For that reason, they give a glucose tolerance test in the second trimester or early in the third trimester of pregnancy to screen women for gestational diabetes and to prescribe a diabetes diet if the test result is positive. How to lower the risk of taking precautions, reporting symptoms early, and receiving appropriate care. Signs to watch in the pregnancy are early vaginal bleeding. Some women experience slight bleeding within the first week to 10 days after conception. More serious is bleeding later in pregnancy, which may signal a miscarriage. There is also the possibility that one or more babies may be lost, while the remaining baby or
babies continue to grow and develop normally, it is called vanishing twin syndrome. What the mom can do is let the obstetrician of any vaginal bleeding, the risk associated with the condition can be minimized by careful monitoring of the pregnancy and by abstaining from strenuous activities. How do multiple pregnancies happen? There are two main ways that a multiple pregnancy can happen:
- One fertilized egg (ovum) splits before it implants in the uterine lining.
- Two or more separate eggs are fertilized by different sperm at the same time.
The emotional ups and downs of pregnancy of multiples can be good, and overwhelming because some women are expecting one, but when they have the news about is more of one it can be something not expecting. So it’s no wonder that these months before their multiples are born may prove to be one of the most emotionally charged periods of their life. When the mom understands the typical psychological partners of their time, they will help them to cope in ways they are both emotionally and physically healthy. One of the many stages of getting the news of having multiple babies is the stage of shock. Even when couples have been trying to conceive, a positive pregnancy test can come as a shock. Is more intense, when the news is the mother is carrying twins.
The other stage is denial, which is the stage of adjusting to a crisis involving temporarily blocking out reality. Even moms who readily embrace the news of impending multiple births can still experience denial as the pregnancy progresses, in that they may ignore any information that seems too alarming. Denial can also involve an automatic assumption that all the babies will be born big and healthy.
Another stage is anxiety/anger/depression an expectant mother of multiples often finds themselves flooded with emotion, especially anxiety. Any pregnant woman may feel, only more so, because their pregnancy involves additional risk and their concern about several children rather than just one. In a pregnancy with triplets or more, your babies could be all identical, all fraternal, or a mixture of both. This can happen if your body releases multiple eggs and more than one is fertilized. In a case where you have both identical and fraternal multiples, more than one egg was fertilized, and then at least one of those eggs also split after fertilization.
One of many question a mom have is Are identical twins or triplets always the same sex? Because identical twins or triplets share genetic material, they are always the same sex. The sex of a baby is determined by the particular sperm cell that fertilizes the egg at conception. There are two kinds of sperm cells that carry an X chromosome or Y chromosome. The mother’s egg carries an X chromosome. If a sperm cell carrying an X chromosome fertilizes the egg, it will make a XX combination (female). If the sperm cell is carrying a Y chromosome, you end up with an XY pairing (male). Identical multiples start as one egg and then split, so whatever chromosome combination is present at fertilization is the sex of all multiples. Sometimes some women feel they will have a C-section because they have multiple babies.
Am I more likely to have a C-section delivery if I’m carrying multiples?
A cesarean section is a procedure used to deliver a baby through an incision (cut) in the abdomen. This type of delivery might be used for a variety of reasons, but it’s fairly common in multiple births. Your chance of having a C-section for a multiple birth is higher than if you were pregnant for only one baby. However, even in single births, a C-section can sometimes be the safest option for delivery.
Often, the babies aren’t in the right position for birth head down. A C-section can also happen if you have a complication during pregnancy which means a vaginal birth isn’t the safest option for you or your babies. Your healthcare provider will monitor you leading up to your due date and talk to you about the best option for delivery. The first days, weeks, and months are often the most difficult for parents of multiples, as everyone gets used to the frequent feedings, lack of sleep, and lack of personal time. It can help to join a support group for parents of multiples. Hearing what has worked well for others can help you find solutions to problems you come across. Enlist whatever help you can from neighbors, family members, and friends — for household chores and daily tasks. Having extra hands around not only makes feedings easier and helps you rest and recover from delivery, it will also gives you the precious time you need to get to know your babies.
