When there is more than one baby, the uterus is larger and faster-growing, which can put added pressure on nerves, muscles, and more. Though some aches and pains are to be expected, don't accept any discomfort as a matter of course.
The hardest thing about having twins is...
“Managing the movement of two babies. Carrying them both up and down the stairs, getting them into the car, etc.” —Simeon R. “Often having to make one baby wait!” —Catharine D. “Being outnumbered—the logistics of two on one is definitely the hardest.
Due to elevated levels of hCG, people carrying multiples may experience more nausea and vomiting than those carrying only one baby, explains Dr. Greves. Hyperemesis gravidarum, a condition that's often compared to morning sickness (but is infinitely more severe), is also more likely with a multiple pregnancy.
Women with twin pregnancies are more likely to have pregnancy health problems and complications like gestational diabetes, pre-eclampsia, premature labour and bleeding. Twins who share a placenta might have extra complications.
“Having twins is not twice as hard—it's exponentially more difficult,” says Natalie Diaz, author of What To Do When You're Having Two and CEO of Twiniversity, a global support network for parents of twins.
Multiples are about twice as likely as singleton babies to have birth defects, including neural tube defects (such as spina bifida), cerebral palsy, congenital heart defects and birth defects that affect the digestive system. Growth problems. Multiples are usually smaller than singleton babies.
It's equally unsurprising that a Danish study found that twins are less likely to get married than non-twins. As twins have a partner from birth, the study suggests that they may not have the same desire for marriage as singletons.
With a twin pregnancy, your body makes high levels of pregnancy hormones. So morning sickness may come on earlier and stronger than if you were carrying a single baby. You may also have earlier and more intense symptoms from pregnancy, like swelling, heartburn, leg cramps, bladder discomfort, and sleep problems.
While twinning sometime runs in families, previous studies have shown environmental factors are more important -- factors such as greater health in the mother or childbearing at later ages, which are more likely to produce twins.
One of the reasons multiple pregnancies are considered higher risk is because 50 percent of them deliver prematurely. A premature delivery occurs prior to 37 weeks of gestation, while a normal full-term pregnancy lasts 38 to 42 weeks.
First of all, you get bigger, faster. Ordinarily, at 4-5 months the belly of a mother pregnant with twins, is around the size of a the belly of a woman pregnant with one at 8-9 months.
Everyone has the same chance of having identical twins: about 1 in 250. Identical twins do not run in families. But there are some factors that make having non-identical twins more likely: non-identical twins are more common in some ethnic groups, with the highest rate among Nigerians and the lowest among Japanese.
Major Mood Swings
If you're feeling incredibly moody, you could be expecting twins or multiples. Blame it on all those extra hormones (again!). Intense feelings can be overwhelming for you, but keep in mind that they can go as quickly as they come due to hormonal fluctuations.
Identical twins share a particularly intense bond. They are the result of one fertilized egg splitting into two, giving them identical DNA. (Fraternal twins are the result of two separate, genetically different fertilized eggs.) As a result, identical twins are as close as two people can be.
Rob Atlas, M.D., an ob-gyn at Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore, calls twin pregnancies "double trouble." Moms carrying twins are at higher risk for premature birth, high blood pressure, and—especially in the case of identical twins—fetal abnormalities.
Identical twins are almost always the same sex, although there are some rare exceptions to this rule. Because identical twins occur when a single fertilized egg splits and forms two embryos, each embryo has the same chromosomes (usually, XX for girls or XY for boys).
In fact, one British study tested ESP potential among identical twins and found that they were correct about 25% of the time, the same as any other siblings. There is one particular power though which twins possess, longevity. Fraternal twins live longer than singletons and identical twins longer still.
Identical twins reported similar levels of happiness, while fraternal twins exhibited greater variation in their reported sense of well-being. These results were found in families of twins raised together and extended with twins reared apart.
The results suggest that twin fetuses are aware of their counterparts in the womb, that they prefer to interact with them, and that they respond to them in special ways. Contact between them appeared to be planned—not an accidental outcome of spatial proximity, says study co-author Cristina Becchio of Turin.
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), for example, recommends delivery between 34 and 37 weeks for twins with a shared placenta and at 38 weeks for twins with separate placentas. Some other physician groups recommend delivery closer to 39 weeks with separate placentas.
The survey found: That 4.3% of respondents divorced during the pregnancy or following the birth of multiples (indicating that the divorce rate among this group may not be as high as many have speculated.) Over 95% of the marriages were intact.
As you age, your chance of conceiving twins increases. Researchers have found that women over 35 produce more follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) than younger women, which may cause more than one egg to drop at ovulation.
The rate keeps rising for (naturally) two big reasons. More twins are being born now than ever before. Parents are increasingly using in-vitro fertilization and deciding to have children later in life. The twin rate could continue to go up as more nations push these factors higher.