Unexpected News: You’re Having Twins!

The first impression to outsiders is that love and happiness will be doubled. But actually it is: learning that they are going to be twins is unexpected news.

Advice for assimilating the news

I think the first piece of advice is to cultivate patience. You will need it twice as much.  The second is to get help so that you can take care of the house and the children. The third is to get informed and learn a few things for what is to come.

Pregnancies with twins are less and less rare, according to the experience of Drs. Ana Llorente de la Fuente and Carmen Rosa Pallás Alonso, who work in the department of Pediatrics at Hospital Doze de Outubro in Madrid.

Upon receiving the news, it is natural for you to feel happiness, but also fear and worry. Don’t feel bad about this mixture of feelings. It’s normal, because for sure your projects and plans have changed drastically.

You will get over this feeling as you learn about the experience of having twins.

Over time, according to experts, new questions will arise: Will it be an economic problem? Will our relationship as a couple change? Will I be able to continue giving my other children the attention they need?

Therefore, it is important to take advantage of the months of pregnancy to prepare the necessary preparations for when the twins are born.

Symptoms during twin pregnancy

Ana Llorente de la Fuente and Carmen Rosa Pallás Alonso wrote a manual in which they explain that some symptoms and signs are more expressive in twin pregnancies.

One of them is called hyper-emesis gravidarum, that is, the classic morning vomiting of pregnant women. In the case of twins, they can be more frequent, numerous and prolonged.

This is because the hormone that makes the placenta, doing double work, can cause stronger symptoms.

Another problem that occurs more frequently, explain both experts, is pre-eclampsia, a disease produced by pregnancy itself.

During pre-eclampsia, somehow, the fetus interferes with the mother’s blood pressure, causing the pressure to reach limits that can endanger the lives of both.

Pre-eclampsia is often controlled with medical treatment. But in a few cases there is a need to terminate the pregnancy prematurely.

Anomalous positions of the fetus can also happen, that is, the fetuses are not vertical and “upside down”, but transverse (crossed), longitudinal or buttocks. All of these positions can make it difficult for babies to be expelled and can force you to change the way the birth is done.

In addition, childbirth is usually more difficult for the second twin because the process is longer for him.

All of these reasons can sometimes make obstetricians have to choose to perform a C-section. Therefore, cesarean sections are performed more frequently in twin pregnancies than in simple pregnancies.

But, without a doubt, the fact that most worries the parents is the threat of premature birth, as they must have already heard of a case where this happened.

A pregnancy comes to an end when delivery takes place between the 37th and 41st weeks. Any birth, therefore, that takes place before the 37th week is premature.

Even though these symptoms are described by experts, that doesn’t necessarily mean they will happen to you. However, it never hurts to know.

feed the twins

Breast milk is the best food for a baby. It is the most complete, the most hygienic and the cheapest.

It is perfect for the full development of the baby. In addition, it provides defenses that he is not yet able to produce and that protect him from some infections.

You are likely to worry that you have enough milk for both of you. Generally, the problem with breast milk feeding is the timing and not the amount of milk produced by the mother.

If you are in good health you will produce enough milk for both of you. Write down this information: The better the suction, the greater the milk production.

To save time it is better to learn to breastfeed both at once. In the beginning you can put them apart until they start to nurse properly. So try to sit with the babies propped up on some knee or lap pads and place each one on one chest.

There are several positions in which you can breastfeed both babies. You will need to find the most comfortable one. With patience and trying different options you will succeed.