Twins

Twin Pregnancy Week By Week

If you have twin pregnancy, you should monitor your progress week by week. First twelve weeks pass without any obvious differences between the twin and the singleton pregnancy.

The period from week 12 to week 16 is the time when a woman carrying twins may start wearing looser clothes, because her abdomen may be bigger than that of a woman carrying only one baby. Headaches may occur, but morning sickness is going away. As the week 20 approaches, woman may start to feel first kicks. The period from week 20 to 24 is the time when stretch marks appear because the uterus is stretching in order to accommodate two babies.

Some women may develop chloasma, a slight change of face color towards brown especially on the  forehead, lips and cheeks. Anemia is also common at this period, so ask your doctor about some iron supplement.

During the period from week 24 to 28 as the uterus stretches more and more, all the unpleasant feelings are present. Frequent urination, swollen extremities, fatigue and if you were so lucky to make it without any hemorrhoids, it is very likely that they will appear at this period. After week 28, the pregnancy will become quite uncomfortable.

It is very hard to find a good position to sit or sleep, back pain is getting worse because woman has to carry double weight when compared with normal pregnancy. Don’t do any intense work. Shortness of breath  is common during this period.

Be very careful, because in this period, the chance of premature labor is increasing, so you have to pay close attention to what is your body telling you.

After the 32nd week, Braxton-Hicks contractions will very likely increase. If they are persistent or painful, contact your doctor as this may be a sign of preterm labor. Heartburn is also common, because there is an increased pressure on the stomach and there is no enough digestive space. 50 percent of all mothers carrying twins will start their labor in week 37.

Signs of labor will appear at this period: a feeling of pressure on pelvis, amniotic fluid, slight bleeding. You might want to speak to your doctor about “C” section.

How to Get Pregnant With Twins

Many parents wonder how to get pregnant with twins. There are many rather silly “instructions” how to get twins based on folklore and inaccurate traditional beliefs.

You should ask around your family to see if there were any previous cases of twins or triplets, etc. Twining is something you inherit either from your father’s side, if you are a male or your mother’s side if you are a female. It is more probable to get twins from your father’s side. These are dizygotic twins.

Considering the heritage from your mother’s side you may inherit a gene that is responsible for hyper-ovulation – an increased rate of egg production in females. So based on this knowledge, if you don’t have any twins in your family history it would certainly raise the odds if you choose a twin for your partner.

It also might help if a woman waits until she is a little bit older when she has her first pregnancy. Older females are more likely to get twins than younger ones. Researches have shown that women over 35 have greater chances to bear twins.

However, the same researches have told us that the older the woman is the greater are the chances to have difficulties during pregnancy. Try having a big family. Research has shown that the more kids you have, the greater are the odds for getting lucky with twins. Don’t believe in traditional fairy-tales.

The smartest thing you can do about getting twins is have a talk with your doctor who will probably advise you to go see a fertility expert. The truth is that although your friends and family may wish you well, unless they are fertility experts them selves – they probably don’t know too much about mechanisms in human body responsible for getting twins.