How to Have a Safe and Healthy Twin Pregnancy
While it has been said that twins are twice the blessing and twice the fun, they can also mean twice the anxiety and concern during a twin pregnancy. When you are carrying twins, there is a higher risk of many different types of complications that require high quality prenatal care to monitor you and your babies for the proper growth and development. The good news is that there are a number of things that you can do to prepare for a happy and healthy nine months of your twin pregnancy.
Gaining Weight
A general rule of thumb is that most women who are pregnant with a single baby will usually gain anywhere from 25 to 35 pounds during that nine month term. For a twin pregnancy, the weight gain increases to 35 to 45 pounds. While you can expect to gain more weight during a twin pregnancy, this does not give you free license to eat whatever and whenever you like. To ensure a healthy twin pregnancy, you should go for the healthiest calories possible that will feed you and your babies and contribute to the highest quality of growth and development. This will mean a diet that is rich in all of the basic food groups, with limits on sugar and fat intake.
Possible Complications
There are many potential complications that can occur during a twin pregnancy, but having the best prenatal care possible right from the beginning will go far in ensuring that your nine months are as smooth and problem free as possible. Your twin pregnancy will probably be treated as a high risk situation, meaning that you will undoubtedly see your doctor more often, and you may require more tests and evaluations of your health and your babies’ health than you would if you were only carrying one. Keep in mind that these frequent checks will help your doctor to monitor your twin pregnancy most effectively, by detecting possible problems early enough to be able to treat them.
Early Delivery
If you are carrying twins, you can pretty much count on the fact that your twin pregnancy will not make it for the full forty weeks of a normal pregnancy term. It is best to be prepared for the inevitability of an early delivery, and to talk to your doctor about the best facility for you to go to. This will probably mean a hospital that is designed for a high risk delivery, so that you can rest assured that they will be well equipped for any possible situation that might arise. It is also good to have a neonatal intensive care unit available at the hospital that you deliver your twin pregnancy, since twins are often on the smaller side at birth and may require special care.
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