Twin Pregnancy Symptoms & Causes

A twin pregnancy is a pretty demanding task, especially if it is your first pregnancy. There are many factors that can lead to twins and if you feel like you might be carrying more than just one baby, the proper way to confirm this is to visit your doctor.

Causes

During the first two weeks of pregnancy, eggs are produced by the mother and fertilized by the sperm. If one egg is produced and one sperm fertilizes it, it will result in one baby. But there are instances in which the egg splits in two. This results in an identical twins. There is another case in which your body produces more than one egg. When two eggs are produced and successfully fertilized, non-identical twins or fraternal twins are conceived. Fraternal twins are the most common kind of twins.

The main causes for a twin pregnancy nowadays are fertility treatments. If you are on any fertility drugs, you have a higher chance of having twins – either identical or non-identical or fraternal. This is because the fertility drugs give your body a boost and this may result in producing more than one egg or an existing egg to split in two.

In vitro fertilization or IVF is another common cause. Used as a treatment for infertility, this method consists of fertilizing egg cells with sperm outside the body (in vitro). Then the eggs are planted into the uterus. In order to have greater chances, more than one egg is usually fertilized and planted. This can lead to higher chances that two of them will start to develop into a twin pregnancy.

Also, you could be genetically predisposed to having twins. If there is a history of fraternal twins in your family, then chances are reasonably higher for you to have twins as well.

Symptoms and diagnosis

It is clear that by having twins, your body will have to put in double the effort than with a single baby. The weight problem is probably the most important and hard to deal with. As the twins grow, they will take more and more space in the uterus. But it will not be just them – two placentas will be there and double the amount of amniotic fluid. This can lead to your organs being pushed even farther than they would have with a single pregnancy. The need to go to the bathroom will occur more often, you will feel more tired and you will need to eat more in order to supply both of the babies with nutrients.

Hypertension is one common symptom for all pregnancies. But with a twin pregnancy, this could become a problem as the two babies will press on the arteries even more.

Diagnosis is fairly simple when it comes to twins. Blood tests can show multiple pregnancies. Later on, if you suspect you have twins, an ultrasound is the most common method of successfully diagnosing a multiple pregnancy.

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