The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), for example, recommends delivery between 34 and 37 weeks for twins with a shared placenta and at 38 weeks for twins with separate placentas. Some other physician groups recommend delivery closer to 39 weeks with separate placentas.
The average length of pregnancy for twins is 36.4 weeks. Babies who are born between 32 weeks and 37 weeks generally do very well. If your babies are born early, they are likely to be fine, but they may need to spend time at the special care baby unit (SCBU) or the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).
Delivering twins at 36 weeks
Babies born preterm are more likely to have complications and may need to spend time in the NICU, though this isn't always the case. Preterm babies may have problems with breathing, eating, or regulating temperature.
Conclusions: The optimal timing for twin delivery appears to be at 38 weeks of gestation, although individual maternal, foetal, and pregnancy characteristics should be considered when determining the best timing for delivery.
Full-term for twins is the same as full-term for singleton babies, technically: 39 weeks pregnant. But if your twins are born at 37 weeks, that's as close to actual full-term as many twins get. At that point, they have full lung maturity and should be able to leave the hospital within a few days of delivery.
In uncomplicated twin pregnancies, delivery should be considered at 37 weeks of gestation in order to minimize risk of stillbirths and newborn deaths. Where there is only one placenta, delivery should be considered at 36 weeks.
A new study published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics indicates that the optimal time of birth for twins is at 37 completed weeks of pregnancy. Twins are now being born more often because of an increase in the use of assisted reproductive techniques, in which almost a quarter result in twinning.
You may be offered an induction (starting labour artificially) or a caesarean section. Exactly when this will be will depend on your circumstances. But if your pregnancy has been uncomplicated, this may be at: 37-38 weeks if you are carrying twins with their own placentas (dichorionic)
The risk of preterm labor and premature birth are heightened when there is more than one baby in the womb. 1 Other conditions such as preeclampsia, placental dysfunction, and twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome are more prevalent in twin pregnancy and increase the risk of an early delivery.
The goal of labor induction in twins between 36 and 39 weeks is to prevent them from the increased risk of morbidity and intrauterine growth retardation after 39 weeks.
Your babies may weigh much the same as each other, or their weights may be very different. The average weight of twins is 2.49kg (5.5lbs) at 37 weeks, whilst it's 1.80kg (4lb) for triplets.
Tightening or low, dull backache that may be constant or come and go, but changing positions and other comfort measures don't ease it. Menstrual-like cramps or lower abdominal cramping that may feel like gas pains, with or without diarrhea.
Babies born after 35 and up to the 37th week of pregnancy, with no additional complications other than prematurity may need to stay for 10 to 14 days. If your babies are born after 37 weeks of pregnancy and establish feeding well, your babies may be going home after one to five days.
Caesarean section surgery usually takes 30-60 minutes, although the entire process takes a few hours. There'll be many people in the operating theatre with you. You can usually have a support person.
Once you've reached the second trimester, the risk decreases substantially. After 20 weeks gestation, the risk of losing a twin is only about 3 percent, according to Dr.
Some hospitals or practitioners strongly encourage — or even require — an epidural Opens a new window when delivering multiples. The epidural is for a good reason: It makes things easier (and safer) should you need to have an emergency C-section to deliver one or all of your babies.
For some, elective birth at 37 or 38 weeks is ideal for an otherwise uncomplicated twin pregnancy, so your doctor may schedule a delivery a couple of weeks early. Others prefer to wait and see.
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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.
While the average single baby weighs 7 pounds at birth, the average twin weighs 5.5 pounds. Triplets typically weigh 4 pounds each, and quads weigh 3 pounds each. Babies born at under 5.5 pounds are considered to have a low birth weight.
Infants of twin pregnancies born from 34 to 37 weeks had a higher risk of perinatal death compared with twins born closer to normal term, reported Sarah Murray, PhD, of the University of Edinburgh, and colleagues.
Twin pregnancies are at high risk of stillbirths compared to mothers carrying just one baby. This risk increases 13-fold if twins share the placenta, and five-fold when they have their own placenta. Stillbirth risk also increases as the pregnancy advances so mothers are often delivered before their due date.
Multiples are generally born only a few minutes apart. If delivered by cesarian section, the interval between births is usually only a minute, maybe two. The interval is generally longer for vaginal deliveries, ranging from a few minutes to more than an hour.
The process of labour is more or less the same as for 1 baby, but your maternity team will usually advise you to have your babies electronically monitored because of the higher risk of complications. This means attaching belts with sensors (1 for each twin) to your bump.
Vaginal Birth of Twins
The good news is that even though you have two babies, you only have to labor once. Once the cervix is open, each baby will have its own pushing stage. This means you will have to push twice, but the majority of the time the second twin is born much more easily than the first.