Living a healthy lifestyle and receiving quality antenatal care will help you manage your pregnancy and give your twins the best possible start in life.
Do I need to consume twice as many calories while carrying twins?
One widespread myth about twin pregnancies is that you need to consume twice as many calories to provide your kids with the nourishment they require. Yet pregnancy nutrition recommendations don’t just depend on how many babies you’re carrying. Instead, they are based on your BMI at the beginning of your pregnancy.
Depending on your initial weight, your doctor will provide you with personalized suggestions. The average increase in a woman’s calorie needs during a twin pregnancy is thought to be around 40%. Perhaps the most crucial thing is that a lady eats as healthily as she can.
Will I need to visit my doctor more frequently?
While every pregnancy is different, most women carrying twins will have more frequent prenatal visits than women carrying only one baby. If your twins are sharing one ᴘʟᴀᴄᴇɴᴛᴀ, you will automatically have a more frequent monitoring schedule.
If your pregnancy doesn’t have ᴄᴏᴍᴘʟɪᴄᴀᴛɪᴏɴs, your prenatal visits may not differ much from a sɪɴɢʟᴇᴛᴏɴ pregnancy until you get to the end of your second trimester. At that point, you’ll be seen more frequently because there is ᴀ ʜɪɢʜᴇʀ ʀɪsᴋ ᴏғ ᴘʀᴇ-ᴇᴄʟᴀᴍᴘsɪᴀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴘʀᴇᴛᴇʀᴍ ʟᴀʙᴏʀ.
Are all twin pregnancies ᴅᴇʟɪᴠᴇʀᴇᴅ ᴘʀᴇᴛᴇʀᴍ?
A little more than half of twin pregnancies end in ᴘʀᴇᴛᴇʀᴍ ᴅᴇʟɪᴠᴇʀʏ (before 37 weeks). While 40 weeks is the full gestation period of the average pregnancy, most twin pregnancies are delivered at approximately 36 weeks (range 32-38 weeks depending on the type of twin pregnancy).
Unfortunately, ᴘʀᴇᴠᴇɴᴛing ᴘʀᴇᴛᴇʀᴍ labor with multiples is more challenging than with a sɪɴɢʟᴇᴛᴏɴ pregnancy because the interventions used with sɪɴɢʟᴇᴛᴏɴ pregnancies are not as effective with multiples.
Can bed rest reduce the ʀɪsᴋ ᴏғ ᴘʀᴇᴛᴇʀᴍ ᴅᴇʟɪᴠᴇʀʏ?
Scientific data show that bed rest does not ᴘʀᴇᴠᴇɴᴛ ᴘʀᴇᴛᴇʀᴍ ᴅᴇʟɪᴠᴇʀʏ. In fact, bed rest can increase your ʀɪsᴋ of developing ʙʟᴏᴏᴅ clots and have negative financial and social consequences.
Although bed rest is not prescribed as frequently as it once was, your doctor may suggest reducing your activity level if you’re showing signs of early labor at the end of your second trimester or early in your third trimester.
