Pregnant With Twins?August 20, 2019

Here Is What You Need To Know

You're pregnant with twins! Are you feeling excited and a little bit tense? Take a deep breath, it’s time to get ready for an extraordinary ride right from pregnancy to birth and after birth to parenting. Carrying twins is considerably totally different from carrying a single baby. There’ll be unbelievable changes happening inside your body and mind by the trimester of dual pregnancy.  To cope with your twin pregnancy you have to take some additional care. So today we will try to cover some basic information about twin pregnancy and the required care for healthy twin pregnancy.

1.       How twins are conceived?

Twins are conceived in two ways which result in either identical or non-identical twins.

Identical:  It is formed when one egg is fertilized by one sperm. The egg then divides into two separate embryos. Identical twins might share a placenta and each has separate amniotic sacs or the twins might share a placenta and an amniotic sac. Genetically, the two babies are identical. They could be two girls or two boys who look alike.

Non-identical: It is formed from two separate eggs, fertilized by two separate sperm.  These duos have their own placenta and their own unique genetic composition. This could result in two girls, two boys or one girl and one boy all of who may not look alike.

Numerous factors can increase the possibility of a woman conceiving twins. These include:

The woman's age: Women who are over age 30, especially women in their late 30s have a higher chance of having twins. This is because they are more likely to release more than one egg during ovulation than younger women.

Having a family history of twins: If twins run in your family, then you have bigger chances of carrying twins. Genetics doubles your chances if it’s on your mother’s side.

Having fertility treatments: The key factor that rises the chance of having twins is the use of fertility treatments. The most common method of fertility treatments increase the number of eggs released by a woman thereby increasing the chances of twins(or multiples even).

2. How to take care of your Twin pregnancy?

The twin pregnancy requires some extra care. It can come with certain unique challenges, which you can handle with proper personal care and the help of your doctor. You will need to be aware of your required diet and exercise. Like other pregnant moms, a lady with twins will have her vitamin supplements. Folic acid is commonly prescribed. Folic acid has been proven to decrease the chances of neural tube defects. If your blood work shows iron or calcium deficiency, the doctor will prescribe these too.  However, keep in mind, always take the advice from your doctor before taking any medicines. Depending your condition, your gynecologist will recommend the level of exercise you can do.

Like with a single baby, you cannot eat for two (or three). Twin pregnancy means a balanced diet with a maximum of 1000 calories a day. Frequent and healthy foods can help you reach your caloric goals each day. Keeping yourself hydrated is important. Also, you may need more frequent checkups to monitor the health of your twins. Feel free to talk to your doctor about what kind of activities are safe for you and always follow their recommendations and tips for a healthy pregnancy.

3. How to Budget for Twins?

 No doubt having twins is more expensive than having one baby. You can purchase and stock up essential items like diapers, wipes, cosmetics and toiletries. Search online for good offers on diapers. However, you can cut on expensive things like two cots or two changing tables. Its cost and space saving to use the same nursery furniture like cots, cribs and changing tables for both twins. Invest in a durable baby bag, because you are going to need it often. Think of how much you will be travelling before purchasing a stroller.

4. How to Care for your Twins?

Managing an infant itself is sort of difficult. Once it's twins, needless to mention, you may be having a very tough time. Both babies will cry at the same time, you may have to feed them each at the same time, constant changing of diapers, babies may sleep at different times of the day giving you no rest, all these are overwhelming. You’ll feel depressed, weak and lose confidence. However if you've got the correct planning, schedule and support you will be able to handle your twins easily.

When it comes up to feed your twins, you have the choice of feeding twins separately or together. It makes sense to feed twins at the same time if you can.  When one baby wakes up for a feed, wake the other too. This will help you to have as much time as possible between feeds to rest or sleep. Once you get the hang of it, it will save you time and, hopefully, let you get more rest. To do this, you might need help at feeding time to position or support the babies. It’s a good idea to seek support from your partner, family members and professionally trained postpartum care organizations like MyWomb, the best postpartum care provider in Kerala. MyWomb offers professionally trained, experienced post-delivery caregivers to take care of the mother and newborn. So enjoy the motherhood of twins with MyWomb, you will get twice the joy and twice the smiles!!!