Pregnant With Twins

A woman is more likely to give birth to twins if it runs in her family, if she's older or if she's using in vitro fertilization. According to the Mayo Clinic website, the most common type of twins are fraternal. Conceiving these kind of twins means two separate eggs were fertilized by two separate sperm. Less common are identical twins. These kind of twins are made by a fertilized egg splitting in half. Identical twins are genetically identical, will look exactly alike, and are likely to share a placenta.

Detecting if a woman is pregnant with twins can be done by blood tests, ultrasounds or just observing the size of her uterus.

Being pregnant with twins means double the babies and double the kind of prenatal care a woman will need. This means increasing the amount of nutrients and vitamins a pregnant woman with only one child would need. It also means women who are carrying twins will gain nearly double the weight someone with only one child would gain. For someone who is of a healthy weight by the time she's pregnant, she should only expect or aim to gain between 35 and 45 pounds. Women pregnant with two children can also expect to be more tired than those who're pregnant with one.

There are a few complications with twin pregnancy that the Mayo Clinic website warns about, such as vanishing twin syndrome means a pregnancy that begins with twins can sometimes lead to only a single-child pregnancy. Women carrying twins are more susceptible to high blood pressure, preterm birth and twin-twin transfusion, which means one twin is receiving an excess of blood circulation while the other is deficient. It's also important to note that C-sections are a more common delivery method for pregnant women.