Most twins are born healthy. A twin pregnancy can mean a higher chance of health complications so you'll need extra check-ups. Twins that share a placenta or inner sac need to be checked more closely. It's good to know whether twins are fraternal or identical for health reasons later in life.
Multiples are about twice as likely as singleton babies to have birth defects, including neural tube defects (such as spina bifida), cerebral palsy, congenital heart defects and birth defects that affect the digestive system. Growth problems. Multiples are usually smaller than singleton babies.
While most mother give birth to healthy babies, there may be problems that lead to improper development of one or both the fetuses. This increases the chance of twins being born with birth defects by 50%.
Healthy multiples have the same needs as other newborns. But you might need more rest and support than you imagined, especially if your babies are born prematurely or need special medical care after birth. You're also at higher risk of postpartum depression.
“Twin studies of major depressive disorder have showed that if one twin has the illness, a fraternal twin has an increased likelihood of developing the disorder and an identical twin's likelihood is even higher,” says Dr. Avari.
It is estimated that 1 in 250 natural pregnancies will naturally result in twins. While twin pregnancies can happen by chance, there are some factors that may increase your odds of having two babies at the same time. Let's learn about twins!
Some say that twins are always hard (yet amazing), while others say they truly didn't find them to be difficult. A few said that the first two months with twins are easy (being in the rose-colored glasses phase), then reality hits from months 3-6 (when the sleep deprivation catches up), then it can get easier again.
Enjoying the fun of choosing two baby names that fit together perfectly. 3. Being able to hold one baby in each arm while feeling a huge rush of love and pride.
Monochorionic-monoamniotic twins are identical twins that share both a placenta and an amniotic sac. This is the rarest and highest risk form of twin pregnancies.
A review of twin studies of language disability reported concordance (the likelihood that one twin will be affected if the other twin is affected) of 75% for monozygotic (MZ, identical) twins and 43% for dizygotic (DZ, fraternal) twins (Stromswold, 2001).
Barring pregnancies that result from assisted reproductive technology, dizygotic twins are far more common than monozygotic twins and account for 70 percent of all twin gestations.
Preeclampsia. Any pregnant woman can develop preeclampsia, but you're at a higher risk when you carry twins. Preeclampsia a blood pressure condition that often begins by your 20th week of pregnancy and can also occur after you give birth. The condition tends to be more serious if you're carrying more than one fetus.
You Can Only Control the Things Within Your Control. “Having twins is not twice as hard—it's exponentially more difficult,” says Natalie Diaz, author of What To Do When You're Having Two and CEO of Twiniversity, a global support network for parents of twins.
While there are risks associated with all twin pregnancies, dizygotic (fraternal) twin pregnancies usually bring about the least amount of complications, carrying the lowest risk of all types of twins.
Age. According to the Office on Women's Health , women who are aged 30 years or older are more likely to conceive twins. The reason for this is that women of this age are more likely than younger women to release more than one egg during their reproductive cycle.
The longest interval between the birth of twins is 90 days, in the case of Molly and Benjamin West, dizygotic (fraternal) twins born in Baltimore, Maryland, USA to parents Lesa and David West (all USA) on 1 January and 30 March 1996.
As a parent of twins, I'm pretty sure that you know the answer to the question “which twin is older?” It is, of course, the child that was born first.
In Australia, twins happen in 1 in every 80 births. This means that 1 in 40 Australians is a twin. The birth rate of identical twins is the same around the world and doesn't vary with the mother's age.
Potential health complications in a twin pregnancy
Women with twin pregnancies are more likely to have pregnancy health problems and complications like gestational diabetes, pre-eclampsia, premature labour and bleeding. Twins who share a placenta might have extra complications.
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That's not all, Monga says. Women pregnant with twins complain of more back pain, sleeping difficulties, and heartburn than those who are carrying one child. Being pregnant with twins also carries a higher rate of maternal anemia and a higher rate of postpartum hemorrhage (bleeding) after delivery.
If one identical twin has autism spectrum disorder (ASD), the other twin has a 76 percent chance of also being diagnosed with it. The numbers are lower for fraternal twins. The percentage of fraternal twins who each share an ASD diagnosis is 34 percent for same-sex twins and 18 percent for boy-girl pairs, Dr.
The mean correlation of IQ scores between monozygotic twins was 0.86, between siblings 0.47, between half-siblings 0.31, and between cousins 0.15.
The mean absolute difference between twins is 6.60 (SD = 5.20), the largest difference being 24 IQ points. The frequency of large twin differences is no more than would be expected from the normal probability curve.