The Causes of Multiple Pregnancy

When the uterus contains more than one fetus, it is called a multiple pregnancy. Twins may be identical (formed from a single egg and sharing the same placenta) or fraternal (formed from two different eggs, each with its own placenta). Twins occur naturally about once in every 90 births. Triplets occur once in every 9,000 births. Black women are more likely to have multiple pregnancies than white women, whereas Oriental women are less likely. Some families are more likely than others to have fraternal twins. This is because a gene that causes the ovary to release more than one egg is passed down from mother to daughter.

Multiple pregnancies occur more often with the use of fertility drugs. These drugs are taken under close medical supervision to help ovulation occur, and they can cause more than one egg to be released from the ovaries at once.

Most multiple pregnancies are detected before delivery. Your doctor may suspect you have a multiple pregnancy if you have a family history of twins, if you gain weight more rapidly than usual, it your uterus is larger than it should be, if ,ore than one heartbeat can be heard, or if you have taken fertility drugs. Multiple pregnancy can be confirmed by ultrasound, usually very early in pregnancy.

Multiple pregnancy increase normal discomforts of pregnancy because the uterus becomes much larger. The mother is more apt to develop high blood pressure and anaemia and to have pre term lobar.

If twins share the same placenta, a relatively rare complication called twin-twin transfusion syndrome can occur. In essence, one twin passes its blood to the other twin, leaving itself anemic . In its most extreme form, this syndrome can cause the twins to die.

During labor, one or both of the twins may not be in the proper position and may need to be delivered by caesarean birth. If they are both in a head-first position, it is more likely that they will be delivered vaginally. Because the uterus is so stretched out, labor may be sluggish and may not progress well. The heart rates of both twins will be monitored throughout labor, and a doctor who specialises in the care of newborns should be available when the condition indicate.