The joy, or in some cases the shock, of becoming a parent may have just subsided when the ultrasound screen shows two little hearts beating instead of one. The question marks about the continued pregnancy and the upcoming parenthood may have suddenly increased, while some questions have just been answered.

Twin pregnancy

First and foremost, becoming a twin parent is amazing and unique. However, from the moment you are told that there are two babies instead of one in the womb, it will be a different pregnancy. The fact that you are expecting twins may explain why you have been feeling very nauseous, extremely tired and that your stomach feels like it has started to pump early. Some people have suspected they are expecting twins, others are shocked and don't understand how it happened. Classic pregnancy symptoms such as tiredness and nausea can become more pronounced when twins are expected due to increased levels of pregnancy hormones.

The difference between a twin and a single pregnancy is that a twin pregnancy is considered a 'risk pregnancy'. This is due to the increased physiological stress on the body when expecting two children. How can a pregnancy that is often associated with joy and expectations of future parenthood be called a risk, and what does this mean in practice?

Twin pregnancies differ from one another, with some being more complicated than others. An ultrasound scan is used to determine the type of twin pregnancy expected, and a plan for the remainder of the pregnancy is then drawn up. This varies from country to country, but often involves more visits to the maternity ward, some weekly and others every other week. It may also be necessary for the pregnancy to be followed up by specialist maternity services, which are often located in connection with hospitals. During these visits, you will meet a midwife, a doctor and the ultrasound unit. Together with the doctor, the forthcoming birth is planned, which is different from a single pregnancy, where planning is only done occasionally if there is only one baby in the womb - whereas it is planned in every case for a twin pregnancy. At several points during the pregnancy, the twins are checked by ultrasound and in a singleton pregnancy, only two ultrasounds are usually offered if there are no abnormalities.
In addition to birth planning and ultrasound, these visits are designed to detect any signs of abnormalities in the pregnancy. The midwife takes blood pressure and urine samples, among other things; these checks are the same for all pregnant women, but are more frequent for those expecting twins.

Twins are more likely to be born prematurely and premature birth means giving birth before week 37+0. The recommendation is to go into labor in week 38, but of course it is up to the woman to decide whether she wants to continue her pregnancy or not. The reason many twins choose to come out earlier is simply because there's not much room when there are two of you in there. So often, through a joint decision that the womb is too tight, they decide to start the journey outside the womb together.

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