Stay Healthy With Multiple Births

With a growing number of women turning to assisted reproductive technologies and in vitro fertilization, the number of twin pregnancies has gone up 63 percent and pregnancies with more than two has gone up 367 percent.

This brings with it a unique set of complications and demands. Unfortunately, few women are aware of the different steps they need to take to improve the chance of a healthy delivery.

When Michelle Flynn looks at her boys, she counts her blessings.

"Joseph is laid back. He's a character. He's a clown," she said. "Ryan is very contemplative and as you talk to him, he studies you."

When Michelle was pregnant with the two twin boys, she said she "just didn't understand how important it was to gain that weight and how hard I needed to work."

In fact, she thought her pregnancy would be no big deal.

Maternal fetal medicine specialist Christian Chisholm said unfortunately too many women with multiples wrongly think this way.

"Women are overall in the United States at about a 10 percent risk of delivering babies pre-term, and multiple pregnancy represents one of the strongest risk factors for delivering babies prematurely," said Chisholm, of the University of Virginia in Charlottesville.

That means women pregnant with multiples have unique adjustments to make.

"The overall goal for weight gain is 40 to 50 pounds as compared to 25 to 35 pounds for a singleton pregnancy," Chisholm said. "It's often recommended that women follow a higher protein diet during a multiple pregnancy."

Finally, women need to know the subtle signs of pre-term labor.

"A woman may experience an increased sensation of pressure in the pelvis or the vagina. The woman may have very scant vaginal spotting," Chisholm said.

Luckily, Michelle knew what to look for.

"Had I not gone when I did, I probably would have continued in labor and at 25 weeks gestation my babies were not viable and neither of my children would be here today," she said.

Instead, her home is now full of joy and two bouncing baby boys.

Studies show women who are followed in a twin clinic have heavier babies and fewer low birth weight babies. Doctors also advise women pregnant with multiples to stop working 28 weeks into their pregnancy.

If you would like more information, please contact:

Donna Spencer
Executive Secretary
University of Virginia School of Medicine
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology
PO Box 800712
Charlottesville, VA 22908-0058
(434) 924-9700
dsc6d@virginia.edu

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