If you are pregnant with more than one baby, you are far from alone. Multiple births are way up in the United States. Why? More women are having babies after age 30 and more are taking fertility drugs. Both boost the chance of carrying more than one baby. A family history of twins also makes multiples more likely.
A multiple birth occurs when more than one fetus is carried to term in a single pregnancy. Different names for multiple birth are utilized, depending on the number of offspring. Common multiples are two and three, known as twins and triplets respectively. Twins, triplets and other multiple births occur to varying degrees in most animal species, although the term is most applicable to placental species.
Twins pregnancy are the most common type of multiple pregnancy. But worldwide, the incidence of multiple pregnancies of all types - twins, triplets, quadruplets, quinteplets, sextets, and more - is increasing as advanced types of infertility treatment become more common.
You just might be having twins, as there are a number of other factors which affect the ability to have twins, such as your age, your race, and whether you have had any form of assistance to get pregnant. If you have non-identical (fraternal) twins in the family you have an increased chance of having non-identical twins yourself but many people have had twins without anyone in the family having twins before them.
While multiples account for only a small percentage of all births (about 3 percent), the multiple birth rate is rising. According to the National Center for Health Statistics, the twin birth rate has risen 59 percent since 1980, and is currently 30.1 per 1,000 live births. The birth rate for triplets and other higher order multiples has also risen a staggering 423 percent. However, since 1998, the birth rate for triplets and higher has slowed.
Being pregnant with multiples is not necessarily a high risk situation, except when dealing with higher order multiples or specific problems. Someone on the bulletin board phrased it as being "high need." I really think that this is a positive shift away from the technical side. Find a practitioner who is experienced with multiples births, but one who will not panic at every corner.
Identical twins pregnancy or triplets come from a single egg that has been fertilized by one sperm. For unknown reasons, the fertilized egg splits into two or more embryos during the first stage of development. Some identical twins share the same placenta. But they usually grow within separate amniotic sacs in the uterus. In rare cases, identical twins share one amniotic sac.
An ultrasound scan is the most likely way of discovering you're carrying twins. Even if you haven't had a scan, few women reach labour without knowing they're carrying two babies. You're normally a lot bigger and routine antenatal care means the midwife is likely to hear two heartbeats.
Women pregnant with multiples will have the same symptoms as women expecting a single baby, including morning sickness, nausea and food cravings, but these symptoms may be more pronounced.
