Besides having your hands twice as full, your recovery from a multiple delivery will be very similar to that of a singleton delivery. You can also expect these postpartum differences: 1. It’ll likely take longer for your belly to return to normal size (it was stretched out more, after all). You’ll likely have more extra [...]
Wondering if your triplets are destined to take the abdominal route out? Cesarean delivery is most often used for triplets—not only because it’s usually safest, but because C-sections are more commonly in high-risk deliveries (a category triplets always fall into) and because they’re more common among older moms (who give birth to the majority of [...]
Here’s what you can expect when delivering your twins: 1. Vaginal delivery. About half of all twins born these days come into the world the old-fashioned way, but that doesn’t mean the birthing experience is the same as it is for singleton moms. Once you’re fully dilated, delivery of Baby A may be a clinch [...]
How will your labor differ from the labor of a mother-of-one? Here are a few ways: It could be shorter. Will you have to endure double the pain to end up cuddling double the pleasure? Nope. In fact, when it comes to labor, you’re likely to catch a really nice break (for once). The first [...]
Extra babies do come with some extra risks, but not as many as you’d think. In fact, not all twins pregnancies are classified as “high risk” (though higher order multiples definitely fall into that category), and most expectant mothers of multiples can expect to have relatively unevenful pregnancies (at least in terms of complications). Plus, entering your [...]
To bed rest or not to bed rest? That is the question many moms-to-be of multiples ask, and many practitioners don’t always have an easy answer. That’s because there really isn’t an easy answer. The obstetrical jury is still out on whether bed rest helps prevent the kinds of complications sometime associated with a multiple [...]
Good news! There’s never been a safer time to conceive, carry, and give birth to more than one baby, and for lots of reassuring reasons. Here’s what you have going for you as a mom-to-be of multiples these days: 1. A heads-up. Since the discovery that you’re carrying multiples almost always comes early on in pregnancy these [...]
Get ready to gain. Most practitioners advise a women expecting twins to gain 35 to 45 pounds and a women expecting triplets to gain an average of 50 pounds (a little less if you were overweight prepregnancy; a little more if you were underweight). Sound like a piece of cake, right? Or maybe two pieces [...]
Belly up to the buffet table, mom-feeding four means it’s always time to chow down. While you won’t literally have to quadruple intake (any more than a woman expecting a single baby born has to a double it), you will need to be some serious eating in the months to come. Moms-to-be of multiples should indulge in [...]
Gone are the days when multiples took their parents by surprise in the delivery room. Today, most parents-to-be of multiples discover the exciting news pretty early on. Here’s how: 1.Ultrasound: The proof is in the picture-the ultrasound picture, that is. If you’re looking for indisputable confirmation that you’re carrying more than one baby, an ultrasound is the best way to get [...]
Twice the babies sometimes spell twice the pregnancy discomforts, but not always. Every multiple pregnancy, like every singleton pregnancy, is different. An expectant mom of one may suffer enough morning sickness for two, while a mom-to-be multiples might sail through her pregnancy without a single queasy day. The same with other symptoms, too. But though you [...]