Waiting for twins is twice as much happiness and worries. How is the pregnancy going, does it have any features other than a large belly? What you need to know about childbirth, how to prepare for it? The mother of twins will try to answer these questions, as well as give advice to those who are expecting twins.
1. You will need to see your doctor more often.
Multiple pregnancy is always a risk, twice as high as usual. Each deviation causes concern for the doctor. Be prepared to have a lot of tests and go to antenatal clinics more often than your girlfriends. Do not neglect your prescribed medications and doctor's advice.
2. Your belly will increase, on average, two weeks ahead of time.
It is not at all necessary that it will be huge, just from the outside it will seem that you have more time than you really have. The load on the spine is significantly greater, especially in the third trimester. However, remember that with multiple pregnancies, there are a number of contraindications for wearing a bandage. One of them is the position of the child across, the bandage, in this case, prevents the child from turning. In addition, it can interfere with proper blood circulation and cause vascular problems or a lack of oxygen in cells. Consult your doctor before putting on a bandage.
3. Don't let stretch marks bother you.
Although you may have a larger belly than others, the skin on your belly may not necessarily be covered with stretch marks. Of course, it depends on the individual characteristics of the organism, but you have no more chances than others. Skin care is your main weapon against stretch marks. Use olive, linseed or almond oil from the beginning of pregnancy (to prepare the skin) to the very birth (after all, stretch marks can appear even the day before childbirth). Pay special attention to the area around the navel.
4. Take vitamins only as directed by your doctor.
Even if you bought the most expensive vitamins from the pharmacy, you should take them only after consulting your doctor. After all, there are vitamins that can be taken only in a certain trimester of pregnancy, and there are also contraindications for taking vitamins (for example, toxicosis).
5. You may not immediately recognize the gender of the children.
It all depends on the position of the fetus. On the ultrasound, you can be told the sex of only one baby, if the second at this time turned away or "hide" behind the first. Also, ultrasound images are not always beautiful and clear, because babies are in motion all the time.
6. You will need to learn to eat little.
Your pregnancy is 9 months of a strict diet. Salt and sugar are your main enemies, as well as anything that retains water in the body. If you feel like you are eating the right thing, only what you can, but the weight is still adding more than necessary, you will need to reduce the serving size by a third or half. That is, even despite the fact that you are expecting twins, you will have to eat even less than pregnant with one baby.
7. You will need to learn how to sleep.
From a certain point in your pregnancy (2-3 trimester), you can only sleep and lie on your side. On the back it is possible, but most often it hurts, since the lumbar nerve is compressed under the weight of the fetus. Think in advance and build yourself a nest in which you will be comfortable from all sides. Perhaps it will be bolsters or pillows that will support you from the lower back and abdomen. You will also need a separate high leg cushion. Look for a position in which the whole body relaxes.
8. Prepare for both natural childbirth and caesarean section.
Twins do not necessarily appear through a caesarean section, although this option is more common. In your situation, you do not have to choose and the method of delivery should not be important for you. But still, at about 36 weeks, discuss all the indicators with your doctor and, if there is a chance of giving birth on your own, choose. If you are taking childbirth preparation courses, do not refuse to listen to lectures on natural childbirth or caesarean section. Let there be two possible scenarios in your head, then you will not panic when “unexpectedly” your doctor in the hospital insists on natural childbirth.
9. Your babies are likely to arrive two weeks earlier.
On average, twins are born at 38 weeks. This time is considered ideal. Your babies are fully formed and ready to be born. If mom is not hard and comfortable in her condition, then you can, after discussing with the doctor, go further and wait for the onset of natural contractions. In other cases, labor can be stimulated at this time.
10. Think less about childbirth, more about what awaits you after.
Many people say that raising twins is very difficult. Perhaps the fact is that they talked too much about childbirth, but did not think about what would happen after them. Good preparation, useful information and the right tools will help you not to find yourself in a "hopeless" situation, when you do not know what to grab and where to run. Just twins are twice as much preparation and a more organized approach.
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