mitrobeFinding out you are pregnant with twins must be a pretty exciting time for most mothers; you aren’t just expecting one child, but two! Along with this excitement can come the usual anxiety that comes with being pregnant, along with uncertainty as to how the twins are fairing in there, especially if you’ve never before carried a twin pregnancy.
Like singleton pregnancies, twin pregnancies come with their own set of unique qualities and features, ones that might surprise you if you didn’t know about them.
Luckily, you don’t have to wait till long to find out these fascinating facts about your growing buns as this article right here presents you with ten of such amazing (and not so amazing facts about twin pregnancy)
Here are
10 Exciting Facts You Should Know about Twin Pregnancies
1) A woman’s chances of having twins are much higher from her 30s
From research, it has been discovered most women will experience a decline in their fertility from 30 years of age, a fact that makes every woman aware of her biological clock. However, aging for women is not all reduced fertility, wrinkles and morbid news as there is some silver lining in this dark cloud.
Same research that announced a drop in fertility also announced an increase in the chances of having twins. As a woman, your chances of a twin pregnancy increases from your 30s and this is welcomed news. This chance happens because your body produces more follicle stimulating hormone (the hormone responsible for the release of mature egg each month) during this time, making it possible for more than one egg to be fertilized.
2) Your twins that to form a strong bond very early
A lot of twins have a strong bond and that special language that is unique only to them and while this might be surprising to others, the reason behind it is actually very simple. This bond is so strong because babies in a twin pregnancy start to interact as early as 14 weeks while in the womb. With such an early start on bonding, it is no wonder this bond grows to be so strong by the time they are a little grown.
3) You most likely notice more intense morning sickness
Bad news for the mom with a twin pregnancy is the fact she might experience a little more intense morning sickness than what is seen in a singleton pregnancy.The reason for this is also not far-fetched as she would likely have a lot more human chorionic gonadotropic (hCG), the pregnancy hormone responsible for the formation of the placenta among other things. With more of this hormone coursing through her system, she is likely to experience more intense morning sickness .
Thankfully, she will start to get relief from the 12th- 13th week of pregnancy as this phase should start to abate.
4) One of the twins can get eaten while still in the womb
Yet another sad fact for a mom with a twin pregnancy is that one of the twin might not survive the whole process and can get eaten. This syndrome is quite common and is referred to as the Vanishing Twin Syndrome or the disappearing twin syndrome.
The vanishing twin syndrome is an occurrence where one of the twins is lost and gets reabsorbed by the other twin or into the mother’s body. It mostly happens early on in the pregnancy, even before the mother is aware she’s carrying twins, but could happen later on. It is quite common as only 1 in 70 twin pregnancies end up actually producing a twin.
5) A twin pregnancy can have different birth dates
Your twins may also get born with very different birth dates, an occurrence that is rare, but still quite possible. Twins who have different birth dates do so because they were born several minutes apart. For instance, one of the twins might get born at midnight and the other at the early hours of the next day.
While most time difference between twins are just a few minutes apart, the longest time between a twin birth recorded has been 87 days. In this case, one of the twins arrived 87 days earlier as a premature while the other was carried to term.
6) Your twins can be one of the three types of twins
Yet more amazing news for the mom pregnant with twins is that your twins might fall into one of the three types of twins. Your twins could be identical ( in which case they are very genetically alike), semi identical or fraternal.
7) The country with the highest rate of twin pregnancy is Benin
China is the country with the least number of twin pregnancies, while Benin holds the record for the highest. There are about 27.9 twin births for every 1,000 births in Benin.
8) Your folic acid need more than doubles with a twin pregnancy
Mothers pregnant with twins would need a lot more folic acid to cater to the growth and development of both babies. While a singleton pregnancy requires a daily intake of 0.4 milligram of folic acid to reduce the risk of birthing defects like spina bifida, a twin pregnancy needs require 1 milligram of folic acid daily to ward off the same birth defect.
9) You are likely to gain more weight
Weight gain is common (expected even) in pregnancies and pregnant women do no fret when it happens. While women carrying a single pregnancy can add up to 25 extra pounds when pregnant, a woman pregnant with twins can add up to 35 extra pounds.
Luckily, this weight gain is easily lost post pregnancy within three months to one year through exercising and the right nutrients. You might need to work with a dietitian on this one to get things right, that way, your baby doesn’t get starved of essential nutrients while you breastfeed.
The good news though, this this quite is very easy to shed afterwards and usually comes off within 3 months to one year post delivery.
10) Miscarriages are a little more common with twin pregnancies
Miscarriages are quite common as nearly 20% of all known pregnancies end in one. Unfortunately, twin pregnancies have a slightly higher risk of miscarriage than singleton pregnancies (up to 9% more risk) and moms pregnant with twins would need a lot more prenatal care to guard against this.
More Interesting Facts about Twin Pregnancies
- As a woman, you have a high chance of birthing twins if you are a fraternal twins yourself or have a fraternal twins on your side of the family.
- If you take in while breastfeeding your chances of a twin pregnancy is nine times higher.
- The average time between two twins is 17 minutes although it could be longer.
- 22% of twins are left-handed.
- You have a high risk pf health complications like gestational diabetes, high blood pressure and preeclampsia.
- Your risk of a preterm birth also increases with a twin pregnancy as most twins arrive between 36 – 37 weeks.
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Mitrobe Staff