Pregnancy Signs & Symptoms, Week by Week Pregnancy Guide

In case you are expecting twins, your pregnancy will be a little different from the pregnancies with only one baby.

However you should know that you aren’t the only one in this situation.

The good news is that there is a lot of available information on this topic.

Naturally having twins

The chances of having twins increase with your age. This means that the women in their 30s and 40 are more likely to have twins than the younger women. At this age the menstrual periods aren’t regular anymore. As a result your ovaries could release several eggs at once and this is how you will have twins.

Extra folic acid

If you have a twin pregnancy you will require more folic acid than the other women to prevent the babies from having birth defects. In case of these pregnancies you should have 1 milligram of folic acid, while a singleton pregnancy requires only 0.4 milligrams. This nutritional element reduces the risks of neural tube defects.

Spend more time with your obstetrician

It is just natural that if you have twin babies your doctor will have to monitor your pregnancy more closely. Most probably you will have frequent ultrasounds. You should also know that in this case there are also more risks. You are more likely to have a miscarriage after an amniocentesis.

Morning sickness

When thinking about the women pregnant with twins it is good to know that morning sickness is caused by hCG. The hormone levels are higher in case of twins so it is very likely for morning sickness to be worse with twins. The good news is that the symptom subsides after the 12^th week of pregnancy.

Spotting

In case of the baby twins you should know that if spotting appears during the first trimester it may suggest a miscarriage and miscarriages are more common in case of twins. However, spotting doesn’t always have to be an alarming sign. If the spotting isn’t accompanied by cramping, there is nothing to worry about.

Kicking babies

Although you might think that in case of the women’s twin pregnancy women notice the movements of the babies sooner, remember that women start feeling them starting with the 18^th week of pregnancy. How soon you feel the movements usually depends on whether you’ve been pregnant before or not.

More weight gain

The sad truth about the pregnancies with twins is that women gain more weight during their pregnancy. This is because there are two amniotic sacs, two placentas and women also need more calories. Nonetheless there are no exact guidelines of how much weight women should gain.

Gestational diabetes

If you are pregnant with twins you have higher chances of being affected by gestational diabetes. In this case the babies may be larger than normal and you could end up giving birth by C-section. While the problem itself is more common, the morbidity caused by it isn’t higher.

There is a lot to know about pregnancy twins and nobody says that your pregnancy will be easier.