Pregnancy twins - the news is always unexpected, causing a lot of conflicting feelings. On the one hand, this is double joy, on the other - double responsibility.
The course of multiple pregnancy is different from the usual one. In more than half of cases, childbirth occurs prematurely, but at the same time the children are born quite mature, and perfectly adapt to life outside the womb. Despite the fact that nature created a woman to bear one child, today in the world there are from 70 to 80 million pairs of twins.
Why are twins born? As a rule, a woman's ovaries work unevenly. First, the egg matures in one of them, then it rests and the other carries a large load. Sometimes the eggs mature in both ovaries at once, and ovulation occurs simultaneously in them. If fertilization has taken place, heterogeneous twins are born, they are also called “twins”. Two eggs and two spermatozoa took part in the conception of dizygotic twins. The embryo can also separate after fertilization with one sperm already in the fallopian tube. In this case, very similar children are born, “identical twins” with the same genetic code.
Pregnancy twins - the main features of its course
What is the difference between multiple pregnancy? Obvious signs of pregnancy are determined after a period of menstruation. The period of conception is calculated from the moment of ovulation, or from the first day of the last menstruation. If you look at the pregnancy calendar with twins, you can see that it is almost no different from the calendar for bearing one baby. Children develop almost identically, but much more complications can occur. The most common problems are:
- Iron deficiency anemia, based on the dual needs of babies in iron. Mothers need to take additional drugs from the first weeks of pregnancy, so as not to risk it. Anemia can also provoke the rapid and active development of the placenta for two babies, as well as the volume of blood in their vessels, which reduces the level of hemoglobin.
- Gestosis, or late toxicosis, occurring in the third trimester of pregnancy. This leads to increased pressure, an increase in the amount of protein in the urine and other problems.
- Presentation of the placenta and placental insufficiency. The placenta can block the entrance to the uterus, as well as provoke poor circulation, thus, children receive less nutrients.
- Presentation of the fetus (pelvic, transverse).
- Delayed intrauterine development or uneven development of the fetus - one child develops normally, the other lags behind.
You should not tune in to a bad outcome, although the risk of intrauterine malformations is great. These problems are completely solvable - treatment initiated on time will help rectify the situation, and nothing will threaten the health of the kids. Preterm labor can be triggered by stretching the muscle fibers of the uterus. Although multiple pregnancies can lead to early childbirth, twin babies adapt more easily. This is because the lungs of twins develop faster.
Twins Pregnancy: Threat of Abortion
The risk of terminating a multiple pregnancy is higher, especially in the second and third trimester. In about 75 cases, you will have to pay special attention to this. Doctors try to exclude this phenomenon by prescribing special drugs that relax the uterus during the entire period of gestation. At later dates, the observation is carried out especially carefully, and if there are not enough drugs, the woman will be hospitalized until delivery.
Mommy may have disturbances in the cardiovascular system, since at this time the load on her increases at least twice (with multiple pregnancy even more).
This can have negative consequences for the development of pregnancy and the future health of the mother, therefore, at the first symptoms and ailments, it is better to consult doctors, otherwise the consequences can be unpredictable. Doctors advise women with multiple pregnancies to consult a consultation twice as often.
Twins Pregnancy - Diagnosis
What are the signs of a twin pregnancy? It is believed that giving birth to twins is much more likely when such phenomena have already occurred in the family. But contrary to the desire to quickly find out who is inside, it is unlikely to satisfy curiosity in the early stages. But pregnancy itself is much easier to determine. Two mature eggs secrete more pregnancy hormone, which is easily detected in urinalysis.
Therefore, already on the first day of the delay, the test is likely to show two bright stripes. The size of the uterus increases as in the conception of one child. It is possible to reliably determine the pregnancy of twins only in the second trimester, when on the ultrasound one can clearly see several fetal eggs. There can be no other symptoms in the early stages. Sometimes the opposite happens - at first two fetal eggs are visible, then as a result of the death of one, only one baby develops.
Rare, but probable cases, when one fetal egg closes the second, and it is simply not visible on the examination. Some believe that if you conduct special blood tests (test for alpha-fetoprotein, estirol and chorionic gonadotropin), along with the presence of malformations or their absence, you can detect the number of children. But this can only be in very rare cases. Most often, you have to wait until the babies can no longer "hide" in the womb.
Pregnancy twins - what is the weight of newborns and how much should a mother add?
With normal gestation, a woman should attend a consultation once every 10 days at first, and once a week in the third trimester. Many fear that prematurely born twins may be small in weight. These are vain fears. Of course, babies differ in weight, but not more than 400 grams from other children. Overweight mothers can complicate the course of pregnancy with twins. Weight gain for one newborn can be about 10-12 kg, in the case of twins - 15 kg.
Pregnancy twins - how are births
If the children are dizygotic, then they are born with an interval of 20-30 minutes. Monozygous babies are born even faster - after 10 minutes. Of course, this is all very approximate, and depends on the specific situation. To determine the tactics of childbirth, many factors are taken into account - the course of pregnancy, heredity, fetal presentation and the health status of children and mother.
Particular attention is paid to the location of the baby, who should be born first. Muscle fibers during such a pregnancy are stretched, the amount of water is much larger, so doctors are trying to ease the course of labor as best as possible. For this, even with a small opening of the uterus, doctors open the fetal bladder. Also, women in labor are given anesthesia so that, if necessary, a cesarean section can be performed immediately.
With a different arrangement of children, a cesarean section is prescribed so that the kids do not clutch their heads. A catheter is placed on the woman to be able to administer drugs quickly and unhindered. Often used drugs that correct labor, slowing it down or enhancing as necessary. The interval between the birth of children is reduced by opening the second fetal bladder in order to reduce the signs of possible hypoxia and take action in time.
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