Pregnancy is a special condition of a woman. And pregnancy with twins is doubly special. Pregnancy with twins occurs for the reason that in the early stages of bearing a child, the fertilized germ cell is divided into two parts, which later begin to grow independently. It is for this reason that some twins are called identical – such children have the same sex, the same blood group, and outwardly they are often simply indistinguishable.
In the case when several viable eggs form in a woman’s ovary at the same time, and different spermatozoa fertilize them, then, as a result, several embryos are found in the uterus. These twin babies are called fraternal. These twins differ from each other in the same way as brothers and sisters born at different times. They can be of different sexes, different blood types, and different looks. The likelihood of having identical twins is three / four per 1000 births. If identical twins were born, then the chances of pregnancy with twins are once again the same for a woman as for other mothers.
The likelihood of pregnancy with twins is due to the genetic inheritance of both the expectant mother and the future father of the child. If any of the close relatives had multiple pregnancies, then the likelihood of twins or triplets increases several times.
The main reason that predisposes a woman to pregnancy with twins is the increased secretion of a hormone that stimulates the formation and maturation of eggs. The likelihood of pregnancy with twins increases significantly if the expectant mother is between the ages of thirty-five and forty. This trend is due to the fact that before the onset of menopause, a hormonal rise is observed in the female body, in which the hormone that is responsible for the maturation of eggs plays the main role. It has an important effect on pregnancy with twins and the length of daylight hours, which increases the chances of having twin children in spring.
Carrying a twin pregnancy is a difficult task both for the expectant mother herself, and for the organisms of the babies, and for the doctors who will observe the pregnancy. The development of twin pregnancies is different from singleton pregnancies and has its own characteristics. Pregnancy is diagnosed with twins already in the early stages of gestation. With the help of the ultrasound technique, this can be found out as early as 3-4 weeks of pregnancy.
From the moment of detection, you should definitely be under constant medical supervision by a competent specialist, because twins or triplets have their own risks of pregnancy. During pregnancy with twins, the uterus increases much more than during normal gestation, so the risk of premature birth, as well as the rupture of amniotic fluid, increases. The body of the expectant mother is depleted long before childbirth, therefore toxicosis of the second half of pregnancy often develops, namely, gestosis. The twins’ children themselves are in cramped living conditions, so from time to time a woman should go to the hospital for observation and treatment. Sometimes pregnant twins are given months of bed rest.
The birth of twins, as a rule, takes place earlier than planned, sometimes at 36–37 weeks, since the uterus is not able to provide vital activity for several fetuses until the end of the “traditional” pregnancy. However, nature helps newborn babies – they get used to the outside world faster than an only child. At the moment, the safest method for resolving twin pregnancy is considered to be a cesarean section, since during natural birth of twins, serious complications can arise for both mothers and babies.