BIRTH OF TWINS
The birth of a baby is happiness. And if the twins – this is even greater joy! But multiple pregnancy requires closer monitoring, because pregnancy with several crumbs is a rarity!
The twins themselves and their parents always attract increased attention: the birth of twins, and even more so triplets, is a rare phenomenon. We cannot plan or predict the birth of twins in vivo, in the process of fertilization, information about the number of fetuses and the development of pregnancy is immediately laid down. However, there are a number of factors that significantly increase the likelihood of becoming a mother of many children.
More often, twins or twins who are similar to each other, like ordinary brothers or sisters, are born. They can be heterosexual, have different blood groups and a chromosome set. The birth of identical twins usually makes up on average 0.3% of all genera, they are always of the same sex and look like each other like two drops of water. Their chromosome set and blood groups coincide, environmental factors both during pregnancy and after it influence their development and it is they that can form some not very significant differences.
Will you have twins?
More often they give birth to twins of a woman older than 35 years, since during this period the amount of the hormone responsible for stimulating egg maturation in the woman’s body increases. As a result, during ovulation, not one, but 2-3 eggs are released from the ovary, which can be fertilized.
The production of the hormone stimulating the ovary, in addition, is strongly influenced by stress and the duration of daylight hours, therefore it is noted: most often the conception of twins occurs in the spring, as well as during periods when women experience shocks or they have problems in life. Several eggs can more often mature in women whose menstrual cycle is short, 21-24 days. In addition, twins are more often born in women with abnormalities in the structure of the uterus – two-horned or having a septum in the cavity. Identical twins often appear in families with a hereditary predisposition. Usually this ability is transmitted through the maternal line. Dads can pass this ability on to their daughters, but they don’t have twin births, but they can become twin grandfathers with high probability.
Recently, there has been an increase in the number of twins. This is due to the active introduction of reproductive technologies in obstetrics – those couples who previously had no opportunity to have babies are given a chance: with the help of hormonal stimulation or the IVF method, it becomes possible to become pregnant and give birth. A “side” effect of stimulation is the birth of not one, but two or even three children. In IVF, to increase the percentage of successful attempts, not one, but 2-3 embryos are planted, and it happens that they all take root and develop.
When will parents learn about twins?
Previously, the birth of twins could be found during childbirth or in the second half of pregnancy, after 22 weeks, when the obstetrician probed two babies in the tummy. Today, with the development of ultrasound technology, you can find out good news from the 5-6th week of pregnancy – when the doctor detects 2 fetuses and two heartbeats in the study.
From about 14 weeks you can already determine whether they are identical or heterogeneous. From 20-22 weeks, twins can again be confirmed by listening to twins’ heart sounds in two different parts of the uterus.
Feature of multiple pregnancy
Up to about 30 weeks, while there is still enough space in the uterus, the growth of the babies corresponds to that of one crumb. In addition, it is important where the placenta is attached – well, if it is located on the bottom, front or back of the uterus. Worse, if the placenta is located close to the neck, there are fewer arteries that feed the placenta, which means that the nutrition of babies is worse. After 30-32 weeks, the growth and weight gain of babies slows down, this is due to the ability of the mother’s body to deliver nutrients and oxygen, as well as the limited space of the uterus. During the development of pregnancy, the uterus increases more in size, its internal volume is greater than with a singleton pregnancy.
Mechanisms for preparing for childbirth are started earlier in order to prevent overstretching of the walls and problems in childbirth. So during pregnancy with two babies 36-38 weeks are considered the normal term for childbirth, and for triplets the term is 34-36 weeks.
What to look for?
When carrying two crumbs on the mother lies a double, and with triple – accordingly, a triple load, special requirements are made to the body. The risk of various complications during pregnancy is higher, so you need to carefully monitor your health. With a multiple pregnancy, a woman gets tired more often, because she has to carry more weight, her blood volume increases. From the second trimester, shortness of breath, heart palpitations may appear. This is due to the intensively growing uterus, diaphragm displacement, increased load on the heart muscle. Pregnant twins are more likely to suffer from high blood pressure, more often there is varicose veins and the risk of thrombosis increases. Therefore, no burdens, prolonged standing or sitting! Allowed light walking, swimming, gymnastics. Rest more often with raised legs – this improves blood flow from the limbs, is the prevention of varicose veins and improves heart function.
Due to the sufficiently large abdomen, wearing a bandage and special tights is recommended. In addition, rapid growth of the abdomen can lead to stretch marks – take care of your skin care in advance with special creams or gels. The uterus presses on the bladder, which makes urination more frequent. Often, due to a very large uterus, constipation and heartburn appear by the end of pregnancy, so you need to eat more often, but in small portions.
Each baby requires in addition to the diet 300 calories and an increase in dietary levels of calcium and iron. Deficiency of iron and folic acid at increased costs for several babies leads to the development of anemia, and this is the risk of oxygen starvation of babies and the mother herself. Therefore, mothers will be required to prescribe iron preparations, multivitamins and minerals, very well if hemoglobin does not drop below 110 g / l.
Complications of a multiple pregnancy
Such mothers are more likely to suffer from toxicosis, since the level of hormones in them is much higher than that of pregnant women with one fetus. In addition, they often experience severe complications such as gestosis (increased pressure, swelling and protein in the urine), preeclampsia (high pressure) and eclampsia (extremely high pressure, damaging the brain and internal organs). Always control pressure and weight.
One of the serious complications is the threat of miscarriage, since a double or triple load on the uterus can lead to an earlier opening of the uterine pharynx. Sometimes a doctor may suggest special devices or suturing on the cervix, which allows you to safely convey a pregnancy up to 36 weeks. So the doctor can offer hospitalization with relaxing uterus and special medical procedures that allow you to bring pregnancy to the right time, do not abandon the hospital – this will help to safely give birth to healthy babies.
Sometimes there is a delay in the development of one of the fetuses due to the fact that the second baby receives food from the common placenta and, as it were, “steals” the first. You will be offered to regularly undergo an ultrasound examination in order to start the prevention of this problem in time. Also learn more about other difficulties during pregnancy.
Multiple Pregnancy Management
Even if your pregnancy is perfect, you still have to visit a doctor more often than with one baby. This is the prevention of complications, and weight and pressure control, and preparation for childbirth. In the first trimester, you will visit the doctor every 3-4 weeks. And from the second trimester, your visits to the consultation will become frequent – once every 10 days, in the third – weekly.
The doctor will carefully monitor your vital signs – pressure, pulse, respiration rate. Weight will require special control – during a multiple pregnancy, its increase should be no more than 15 kg. Here you yourself will have to constantly monitor your diet. Tests will also become frequent, especially blood and urine, you will monitor the blood monthly, urine – at each visit to the doctor. The slightest deviations from the normal course of pregnancy will require hospitalization, since the risks for the twin mother are much higher. Do not refuse! You should not risk the health of children and their own.
You will undergo psychological and physical preparation for childbirth, and hospitalization in the hospital is carried out 2 weeks before the expected date of delivery.
What will be the birth?
Many mothers are worried about how they will give birth to their twins, whether it be a natural birth or a cesarean section. The question is solved individually, in each case, everything will depend on the mass of the children, on their position in the uterus, gestational age and your state of health. Most often, they try to conduct childbirth in a natural way, but a help team will always be ready if something goes wrong and an emergency caesarean section is needed. The doctor will carefully approach your case and tell you about all the nuances – the decision will be joint: both yours and the doctor.
The postpartum period with multiple pregnancy is not much different from that during childbirth by one fetus. Joint stay with babies will allow you to quickly get in shape, restore psychological balance and establish natural feeding.
Of course, multiple pregnancy imposes increased obligations and requires a lot of effort, childbirth will be a little more difficult. However, soon the house will light up with the laughter of two or three kids, and you will get a lot of pleasant experiences and a lot of love!