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Multiple pregnancy: how to get pregnant with twins? Video
A multiple pregnancy is called a pregnancy when several babies appeared in a woman’s belly at the same time. Most often there are two of them. Triplets are much less common, and pregnancies with more than three fetuses are even more unlikely. Since a singleton is considered a normal pregnancy for a person, multiple pregnancies require special attention, this condition in medicine is regarded as the border of pathology and norm.
Multiple pregnancies: twins and triplets
Types of multiple pregnancies
Possible monozygous and polyzygous pregnancies. They differ in the way they occur. A polyzygous pregnancy is when two or more eggs are fertilized in a woman’s body.
This can happen for various reasons:
- several mature eggs are fertilized at the same time,
- in the presence of pregnancy, another egg from the same cycle is fertilized,
- several eggs from one cycle are fertilized with the sperm of different men.
In polyzygous pregnancies, twins, although developing at the same time, have no more similarities than regular siblings.
A monozygous pregnancy can occur if a multinucleated egg has been fertilized or as a result of the cleavage of a single fertilized egg. In a monozygous pregnancy, two (or more) fetuses develop that are genetically identical. In the usual sense, these are twins, they look the same, often have similar characters.
In 1998, a unique event happened: a woman in Saudi Arabia had seven twins, and they all survived
How to get pregnant with twins: is it possible to do it on purpose?
Despite the fact that multiple pregnancies are being actively studied, the reasons for its occurrence have not yet been precisely clarified. But research has shown that genetic predisposition matters a lot. If twins are not uncommon in your family, then perhaps dreams of how to give birth to twins are not at all unfounded. This may be due to, among other things, the abnormal structure of the uterus – the so-called two-hornedness. In this case, the simultaneous maturation of two eggs occurs much more often than in the normal form of the uterus.
The release of several eggs from the ovaries is called superovulation. It cannot be controlled, but it can be stimulated with medications such as clomiphene, pergonal, and others. The doctor can give advice on how to get pregnant and how to conceive twins, if there are no obvious contraindications for this. It should be understood that the probability of success is far from 100%.
Sometimes the question of how to get pregnant with twins is decided during artificial insemination, where parents can choose how many embryos to plant in the uterus.
It was found that the age of the mother over 35 years can be considered a predisposition to multiple pregnancies. The likelihood increases if a woman has already given birth several times before.
It often happens that women who have not thought about how to conceive twins, but have taken oral contraceptives for a long time (at least six months), get multiple pregnancies.
According to statistics, the number of identical twins worldwide is approximately 0,35%. But fraternal twins are born in different parts of the world with different frequencies. In some African countries, this is about 4,5% of pregnancies, in Asia – about 0,3%.
It is very important to establish in time that the pregnancy is multiple, since in this case a number of additional medical examinations and procedures are required, the course of pregnancy is somewhat different, not to mention the procedure for childbirth.
Signs by which multiple pregnancies can be assumed:
- accelerated increase in the size of the uterus,
- the circumference of the abdomen in the navel area exceeds 100 cm,
- feeling that the fetus is moving at the same time in different places,
- when examining with fingers, the border between the fruits is noticeable,
- the shape of the uterus is saddle-shaped,
- two or more heartbeats are heard when listening.
The most accurate results are obtained by ultrasound, X-ray, electro- or phonocardiography.
The course of multiple pregnancies
In multiple pregnancies, it is especially important to eat more protein foods. In this case, it is necessary to ensure that the increase in body weight does not exceed 50% of the norm during the normal course of pregnancy.
Since a woman’s body has a much greater load, then in case of a risk of premature termination of pregnancy, special medications are prescribed: in the first and second trimesters, these are antispasmodics, and in the third, tocolytics. A woman should be ready for hospitalization at the slightest suspicion, regardless of the gestational age.
With multiple pregnancies, the expectant mother should visit the antenatal clinic once every ten days, and during the last trimester – once a week
Features of childbirth with multiple pregnancies
Multiple pregnancies tend to be more difficult than normal pregnancies. A woman is obligatorily placed in a maternity hospital 2 weeks before the due date of childbirth in order to avoid all sorts of complications and surprises. It often happens that with multiple pregnancies, labor begins earlier than with normal pregnancies. A good period for twins is 37 weeks, and for triplets 35.
A woman should be prepared for a caesarean section, which is even an indication for multiple pregnancies. It is necessary that an experienced qualified doctor takes part in childbirth, since their complexity and the likelihood of complications is significantly increased compared to singleton births. During childbirth, the doctor carefully monitors the condition of the babies and the woman in labor herself. As a rule, multiple twins are born healthier than identical twins.
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