7. Fatigue – Fatigue is another important sign of pregnancy. You may feel sluggish and tired all through the day. This is not due to work or family related stress. This can be explained due to lack of nutrients for the metabolic activities since the growing fetus would be given priority to be fed promptly.
8. Early Feeling Of The Uterus – Women with twin pregnancy can feel the “bump” of uterus at the end of sixth week onwards. And they have to switchover to masterly clothing even before completing two months of pregnancy.
9. Increase In Blood Pressure – High blood pressure and headaches are common during pregnancy and you can better see your doctor. Some women complain of frequent headaches during the first trimester which can be due to sudden increase in blood pressure. This is a common feature of women with twin pregnancy which can be described as pregnancy induced hypertension.
Risk Factors :
Some factors can increase the chance of twin babies as per the guidelines given by the American Society of Reproductive Medicine. The possibility of having twin pregnancy is high due to the following factors.
Reproductive Medications :
- Women who are undergoing assisted reproductive technology or ART and taking fertility drugs have high chance of getting twin pregnancy.
- Getting pregnancy over 30 years increases the chance of twin pregnancy.
- Women/spouse with family history of non-identical twins is more likely to have multiple babies than others.
- Women with increased BMI value and overweight women are at risk of twin pregnancy.
- Lastly, women who have already had twins have increased chance of delivering set of twins again.
Ultrasound Scan :
You will be asked to go for ultrasound scan during the first trimester. Twin pregnancy can be confirmed and presence of two embryos can be identified on the screen during ultrasound scanning.
Possible Complications :
Not all the women with twin pregnancy are liable to complication. But it is necessary for every woman to keep informed about the physical and mental changes that happen during pregnancy and childbirth. Women with twin pregnancy are at increased risk to give premature birth. They have difficulty in completing the full gestational period of 38 weeks. And the babies born before this period may not have required weight and growth as that of normal baby with full gestational period.
In some cases of twin pregnancy one baby would be larger than the other. It implies more nutrition would be supported to one baby and the other one is deprived of required nutrition. Preeclampsia is a condition which induces high blood pressure in pregnant women and the risk is high in twin pregnancy. In such cases you need to follow the instructions of your doctor in daily diet and take steps to control blood pressure. Conditions like preeclampsia can cause premature birth and placental abruption.