Multiple pregnancy in frequency of cases, of course, lags behind pregnancy with one child. According to statistics, out of a hundred pregnancies, only one leads to the birth of twins.
Conditions for the development of multiple pregnancy
A multiple pregnancy develops under those conditions when not a single egg is released from the ovary, ready for fertilization, but two or more, each of which was fertilized by its own sperm. In such a situation, the twins who were born will have the resemblance of ordinary brothers and sisters to each other. Such multiple pregnancies occur in three-quarters of all pregnancies with multiple children.
If, however, an already fertilized egg during development is divided into two parts, then two embryos are formed and begin to develop separately – in this case, we should talk about identical twins, which are like two drops of water. Accordingly, such pregnancies account for 25% of all multiple pregnancies.
Feature of multiple pregnancy
It consists in the fact that it often occurs when there have been cases of pregnancy with several children in the family, that is, the factor of hereditary predisposition influences. Important in relation to the characteristics of multiple pregnancy and the age of the woman. If the expectant mother is over thirty-five years old, then the chance of giving birth to twins or triplets is almost doubled.
In most cases, multiple pregnancy develops as a result of a positive infertility treatment, since a number of certain drugs create conditions for the maturation of not one, but several eggs.
The peculiarity of multiple pregnancy also lies in the characteristics of the babies. So, each twin has less weight than a child developing in utero alone. However, the combined weight of two twin children is, of course, greater. Height and body weight may vary from child to child. It happens that one child eats more actively, which allows him to overtake his brother or sister in body weight and height.
fruit location
As a rule, two children are located in the uterus with their heads down, such an intrauterine position of the child is called head presentation . In some cases, children are located inside the mother “jack”.
Rarely noted breech presentation , when children are located with their butts down.
An obstetrician or gynecologist may find that the pregnancy is multiple if, already in the early stages, the size of the uterus is larger than it should be on average at this time. A reliable statement about the expectation of twins is made according to the results of ultrasound diagnostics. In the last stages of a multiple pregnancy, an experienced specialist can manually identify two children.
Management of multiple pregnancies
The peculiarity of a multiple pregnancy lies in the nature of its management, since the management of a singleton pregnancy is much simpler and more traditional. Pregnancy with multiple children requires:
- special attention;
- caution;
- accuracy.
Expectant mothers pregnant with several babies often suffer from high blood pressure and anemia, which can lead to premature birth.
Premature delivery is often explained by the large pressure on the cervix exerted by two children.
A woman carrying a multiple pregnancy can be hospitalized even with minor complaints of well-being, since it is much harder for the female body to carry a multiple pregnancy.
Another feature of multiple pregnancy is a longer delivery. Between the birth of two crumbs usually takes from ten to fifteen minutes.