Twin Antenatal Care

During a twin pregnancy you will be checked out more carefully than in a single pregnancy to be sure that any complications are detected and treated as soon as possible.

A good diet and extra rest are important.  You will be given iron and vitamins to stop anaemia developing.

Regular antenatal visits will allow the growth of your womb to be checked.  To make sure that both babies are growing several ultrasound scans will be performed throughout the pregnancy.  When twins share either a sac or placenta you will be offered particularly careful ultrasound scans between 18 and 24 weeks, as a fast build up of fluid can occur at this time.  If the twins share a placenta but are in different sacs, a build up of fluid is usually due to one twin getter a better blood supply than the other.  This is called twin-to twin transfusion syndrome.  This condition must be treated.  There is a website called www.twin2twin.org which will answer any of your questions relating to this condition.

Twin Antenatal care is still likely to differ and will depend largely upon which type of twins you are expecting.  There are more risks involved with identical twins (monochorionic) so monitoring will be more intense than with fraternal twins (diochorionic).  The reason for this is diochorionic twins (fraternal) have their own placentas but monochorionic twins share a placenta and in some cases even share an amniotic sac.

You are likely to see a consultant on a regular basis opposed to a regular midwife visit and it is likely that your babies will be delivered in hospital and if early a stay in a Special Care Baby Unit may even be necessary.

Twin Antenatal Care Routine Testing

Disclaimer: The information on this website does not constitute medical advice, it is for your reference only from my personal experience of delivering twins twice. Always seek professional and current advice from a registered medical practitioner.