Pregnancy with Multiples

When a woman becomes pregnant, it is most unlikely that she will expect to be having a pregnancy with multiples. In some cases where pregnancy is a result of IVF, a pregnancy with multiples is not uncommon, but it is still a big adjustment when you get the news that you are carrying two, three or more babies in one pregnancy.
Pregnancy with multiples is an event that happens for a number of reasons, not all of which are fully understood. Naturally, a pregnancy with multiples takes a bigger toll on a woman as she has two or more developing fetuses growing inside her. This means that her body is nourishing more than one baby and her own body will be taxed with the added weight and the added drain that results.

It is not to say that a woman experiencing a pregnancy with multiples cannot enjoy her pregnancy. It just means that she will be growing larger, sooner than if she were pregnant with just one baby. And if there are more than two babies, she will have to slow down earlier in the pregnancy and perhaps even be restricted to bed rest at some point to encourage her babies to remain in the womb for as long as possible. Because one of the risks with a pregnancy with multiples is pre-term labor. And with a pregnancy with multiples, it is very likely that the babies will be smaller than they would if they were just one baby being nourished by its mother. the miscarriage rate in pregnancy with multiples is three times greater than a pregnancy with one fetus.

Pregnancy with multiples involves a lot of planning for the care of two or more babies after delivery. There is added expense involved because there are double, triple or even four and five times the number of car seats, beds, diapers, clothing, medical costs and other related expenses that having more than one baby at a time would demand. A family that is expecting to grow in number by one, certainly has some adjusting to do when they hear that mom is having a pregnancy with multiples.

There is a fascination around a pregnancy with multiples because it is not a regular occurrence. In fact, naturally occurring pregnancy with multiples happens in about three percent of all pregnancies. And most of these are pregnancies with twins. So it is normal to be curious and about these pregnancies and about the resulting children. There are theories now that up to twenty one percent of pregnancies actually start out with twins, but due to vanishing twin syndrome, only one baby develops. Very early on in the pregnancy, even before twins can be detected, on is absorbed by the mother's body and therefore these pregnancies are not counted as a pregnancy with multiples.

Often pregnancy with multiples result in surgical births. It is possible for a woman to have a natural vaginal birth at the end of her pregnancy with multiples, but it has become more and more common for the babies of a pregnancy with multiples to be delivered by C-Section. Often if the woman is in the care of a midwife, a natural birth is attempted and only if there are complications will a surgical birth result. Midwives tend to be willing to allow more time for labor and delivery and not refer to an OB for C-Section if it can be avoided. Of course, a midwife would not risk mother or babies to make a natural birth attempt.

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