THE MONO-MONO TWINS ARE CUTE, BUT MOSTLY THEY’RE RARE—AND FASCINATING

The same internet that brought you "otters holding hands" has delivered new viral gold: newborn twins holding hands. Photos of the infants, born in Ohio last month, and their mother went viral from their sheer adorableness.

But the twins' apparent affection for one another wasn't the only thing that made them unusual. They are also "mono-mono" twins—a very rare occurrence where they share a placenta and amniotic sac throughout the pregnancy.

I’d never heard of a mono-mono birth until I saw those headlines, which I assumed was a reference to some unique birth position that had something to do with monkeys. (“Mono” is monkey in Spanish.) But the term “mono-mono” actually refers to “monoamniotic-monochorionic.” Before we get to what that means, it’s important to know how twins typically come about to understand what makes mono-mono twins so rare.

Typically we hear about twins that are fraternal and identical. Fraternal twins come from two different eggs that were both fertilized and implanted in the mother’s uterine lining at the same time.

They’re as genetically similar as siblings that are born separately, and each is nourished by its own placenta—the organ that connects the growing baby to its mother’s uterine wall and nourishes the fetus—and in its own amniotic sac, where it grows and is contained until its mother’s “water breaks.”

Identical twins come from one egg fertilized by one sperm, forming an embryo that splits into two (or more) embryos as it develops. If the initial embryo splits more than a few days after fertilization, these twins would share a placenta, which means they are monochorionic. If the embryos also share an amniotic sac, which develops in the second week, they are monoamniotic. So mono-mono twins form because the embryo split 8-12 days after fertilization, and the fetuses will be in almost constant contact for their entire development in the womb. If the embryo split any later, the twins would be conjoined.

There are lots of factors that can determine a woman’s likelihood to give birth to twins (such as genetics, age, and fertility treatments), but on average one out of every 30 babies born in the US is a twin. But mono-mono twins are much more rare, reportedly only found in one in every 10,000 pregnancies.

Part of the reason they’re so rare, though, is because there are so many risks and complications that could happen to growing fetuses that are in such close contact.

The placenta could be compressed, limiting the nutrients to one or both of the fetuses. They also run the risk of Twin-to-twin Transfusion Syndrome (TTS), where one twin takes up more of the nutrients than the other, sometimes causing the other’s death. Or the fetuses could simply get tangled in the umbilical cord.

To avoid some of these issues, most twins are delivered prematurely, often by C-section, which can present other challenges.

Ohio’s mono-mono twins are rare because they so infrequently develop, but exceedingly so because they were delivered without any major complications. Knowing that background makes the twins’ post-birth hand-holding even more touching.






source: http://www.popsci.com/blog-network/ladybits/mono-mono-twins-are-cute-mostly-they%E2%80%99re-rare%E2%80%94and-fascinating

Twin Pregnancy Week by Week

Fraternal twins that are not identical are the most common type of twins. They are also known as dizygotic twins. What this means is that each twin forms from an individual fertilized egg.

By the third week of pregnancy, each fertilized egg forms into a ball of hundreds of cells and becomes known as a blastocyst. At this time, the newly formed embryo burrows into the lining of the uterus to be nourished and develop into babies.

Identical twins are a rare form of twin and develop from the same fertilized egg that splits into two babies. They will go on in pregnancy to share the same placenta and look exactly alike after they are born.

Important notes: Every pregnancy is different and this article about "twin pregnancy week by week" is only a rough idea of fetal development.

Twin Pregnancy Week by Week: First Trimester:

Fraternal Twins: Two fertilized eggs (zygotes) burrow in the lining of the uterus. They each have their own placenta and umbilical cord. They can be two males, two females or one of each.

Identical Twins: One egg has split into two babies and they are always either two girls or two boys. They have burrowed into the lining of the uterus and share the same placenta, same amniotic sac, but each has their own umbilical cord.

4 Weeks:

The Nervous System: At this stage of pregnancy, your baby’s neural tube is forming. This will turn into the brain, spinal cord and nervous system.

The Circulatory System: Tiny blood vessels are beginning to form and beginning to circulate nutrients between you and your baby. Their tiny hearts are already beating! All the major organs are beginning to form including the intestines and the tiny buds which will develop into arms and legs. They are about the size of small seeds at this stage and they have tiny depressions where the mouth, nose and ears will soon appear.

8 Weeks:

Organ Development: Twins’ hearts are beating at about 150 beats per minute and have two chambers already developed. The teeth, ears, brains and liver have formed and are continuing to develop into sophisticated organs. On the outside, their skin is very translucent and can be seen through. The tiny toes and fingers are beginning to separate. At this time, their eyelids are forming over the eyes.

12 Weeks:

Organ Development: The livers are beginning to function and their kidneys now produce urine. The babies take in the amniotic fluid by mouth and the kidneys then change it to urine.

This is actually a healthy process that helps with development. Because their brains continue to form and develop, the nervous system can now produce reflexes in the muscles, but you may not feel any kicks yet. The eyes are moving to the front of their faces and the ears are moving to the sides.
Size: Your twins are getting big! They are about 2.1 inches long.

Twin Pregnancy Week by Week: Second Trimester:

16 Weeks:

Size: This is a very rapid period of development. Your twins are almost 4 inches long. As a matter of fact, their bodies are growing faster than their heads and their legs growing faster than their arms. These little ones now only weigh 100 grams or two-tenths of one pound.

Organ Development: Their lungs begin to move in and out as if they are breathing. Female twins begin to produce eggs in their ovaries. At this time the spinal cord becomes covered with the myelin sheath to protect it. The bones are very soft and rubbery (cartilage). They can bend at the joints and the fingernails are forming at this time.

20 Weeks:

The Nervous System: This is a big time for your twin’s nervous system. Nerve fibers are beginning to connect and they are developing their senses of smell, taste, touch, hearing and vision. Your babies will know your smell right at birth.

Size: Your babies are now about 10 inches long each from head to toe. With twins, it starts getting a little crowded because they have grown so much and you may begin to feel lots of pushes and shoves.

Organ Development: During this time, your babies will have a very thick coating to protect their skin called vernix caseosa. This protects them from this long time immersed in the amniotic fluid and can also protect them from infections that can be passed at birth.

24 Weeks:

Organ Development: Even though your babies do not have an eye color yet, their eyes are fully formed now. They even have tiny little eyelids and eyebrows.

The endocrine system is now starting to mature and getting ready to produce hormones that will regulate their body functions. Their lungs are still developing and can move in and out developing the breathing muscles. However, babies born at this age usually cannot breathe on their own.

Twin Pregnancy Week by Week: Third Trimester:

28 Weeks:

Size: Twins at this stage already weight about 2 pounds each and are about 15 inches long. They are beginning to deposit layers of fat and their bones are beginning to harden.

Organ Development: Your twins are developing large amounts of brain tissue during this period. Their hearing is becoming more tuned and they can hear your voice.

They can also see bright lights that shine on your belly and will turn their heads toward the light. Sexual organs develop. Boys testicles descend and girls develop their clitoris.

32 Weeks:

Size: Twins during this time period begin to look more like newborns. They are about 16 inches long and weigh about 3.7 pounds. Twins tend to settle down at this time because there isn’t much room to move around.

Organ Development: Your twins may or may not have hair yet. Their kidneys are producing urine as they take in amniotic fluid and urinate. Their skin is filling out with fat and they are losing their wrinkled appearance. All of the bones in their body continue to become solid, except for their skull bones that remain soft to go through the birth canal.

36 Weeks:

Size: Twins on average tend to be slightly smaller than single full-term infants, but not always. At this stage, twins grow to about 5.5 pounds, but can be up to 8.0 pounds. They are about 20 inches long, more or less at birth.

Organ Development: The skin is beginning to shed the covering (vernix caseosa) and prepares for the outside world. The organs are now mature and ready for the babies to be born, with the exception of the lungs which need this final four weeks to finish maturing. In some cases, twins are born early so doctors have treatments to help the lungs mature faster.






source: http://www.newkidscenter.com/Twin-Pregnancy-Week-By-Week.html

Life with three sets of twins: 'It's like the ark round here'

Fourteen years ago, Karen and Colin Rodger had twin boys. Two years later they had another set. Pregnant again, Karen was sure it wouldn't be twin boys. She was half right …

The first time she was pregnant it didn't enter Karen Rodger's head that she might be having twins. Likewise, the second time. The third time she thought she had miscarried and wasn't having one child, let alone two.

Today, Karen and her husband, Colin, have defied odds of 88,000 to one to produce three sets of non-identical twins. Some mothers, having given birth to even one, let alone two sets of multiples, might have yearned for the relative simplicity of a single baby – but not Karen.

Throughout the afternoon I spend with her at the family home overlooking the river Clyde outside Glasgow, her smile never wanes. The newest arrivals are just a few days old: "I keep waiting for the hormonal dip," she says. "But it never comes. I'm elated."

A third set of twins, it seems, never had a more welcome landing, even though Karen and Colin had given away all their baby equipment, times two, after the middle set of twins, who are now 12. "We'd never have imagined it could happen again," says Karen.

All she did know is that, when she hit 40 a year ago, a little voice inside her whispered that she hadn't quite finished with childbearing. Could it have been because as the mother of four boys – Lewis and Kyle are 14, Finn and Jude are 12 – she was yearning for a daughter? Definitely not, she says.

"I didn't just want a daughter, I wanted another baby. I knew it wasn't very likely to be a daughter – after four of them, I thought we could probably only make boys."

Her most recent pregnancy started badly: no sooner had she discovered that she was expecting than she had what appeared to be a miscarriage.

Her doctor suggested she should go for a scan, but Colin had work commitments. "He felt awful about not being able to come with me, but I said I'd be fine: whatever happened, I'd cope," says Karen.

"There I was, in the middle of this meeting," says Colin, "when I got a text from Karen. I think I'd texted something like: 'Is everything OK?' And she texted back: 'Yes, and it looks like it's twins.'

I said something like 'that's not funny', excused myself from the meeting and went outside to phone her. And she said it was really true, that the scan operator thought that, though it was early days, it was going to be two babies again.

"Then I had to go back into the meeting and sit there, in total shock, without being able to tell anyone. Although part of me was actually laughing inside: because I was thinking to myself, why did we ever think it would be any different?"

Karen and Colin, who were both born and raised near Glasgow, met 20 years ago when she was a dancer (she now lectures in dance) and he was managing a band.

Her maternal great-grandmother had had twins, but they had no inkling of what lay ahead when she got pregnant with Lewis and Kyle in 1998. The discovery that she was carrying twins explained why Karen had been feeling so sick – hyperemesis gravidarum, or extreme morning sickness, is more common in women carrying multiples.

All the same, when she got pregnant again two years later and started to feel terrible, she didn't think for a second that it would be for the same reason. "When I went for my scan, it was the same operator as the first time round, and when she said it was another set I said 'very funny'. But she said it's not a joke. Colin was in complete denial; he just couldn't take it in."

But the third time round really did confound the odds: although the Guinness Book of Records documents an 18th-century Russian woman who gave birth to 16 sets of twins, the chances of a third twin conception are very unlikely. "And, of course, no one even imagined I'd be having another baby at all, let alone twins – the older boys were so big, and people would have assumed childbearing was behind me," says Karen.

The first people they told, once the news was confirmed, were the boys. "They brought us all down to the sitting room and told us to sit down," says Kyle. "And I thought, this is going to be a big row about how untidy the house is. I was sitting there expecting to get shouted at, and suddenly Dad said: 'Mum's pregnant, and it's two.' We all sat there in total silence: none of us knew what to say. And then eventually I said: 'Well, I'm definitely never going to get my own bedroom now.'"

Karen and Colin decided not to find out the sex of the babies she was carrying but she was certain it was another pair of boys, which in turn convinced everyone else. As with the previous sets of twins, the new arrivals were born by caesarean.

"The obstetrician lifted Rowan out and held her up for us to see," says Colin. "And I said: 'There are some bits missing.' And she said, 'No, it's a girl,'" says Colin. "I was absolutely stunned. Then two minutes later they held Isla up and I could see straight away she was another girl. Karen and I were in shock for at least the first 15 minutes. It's a lot to take in after four boys."

Today, the hallway of the Rodgers' home is crammed with football kit and muddy boots, but the sitting room is a sea of pink, the room festooned in flowers, balloons and cards. "I wasn't sure how I was going to cope with all the pink – it's very different after 14 years of boys' stuff.

I'm getting my head round the idea that they'll be borrowing my makeup and sparkly shoes," says Karen. Lewis, meanwhile, is cradling Rowan and can't take his eyes off her. "I'd never held a tiny baby before, but I'm getting used to it," he says.

Not surprisingly, Karen and Colin are taking the arrival of the newest twins in their stride: they are old hands, after all. "We know how exhausting the early weeks are when you've got two babies, but we also know we'll come through it and things will move on," says Colin.

"We've got a huge amount of help – both sets of grandparents are very supportive, and I'd even say that we wouldn't be in this position, with all these children, if it hadn't been for them being right behind us."

As we're talking, Karen's mum is tackling some of the mountain of ironing (they have the biggest box of soap powder I've ever seen – a family with four football-playing boys and two babies would surely be a dream setting for a detergent commercial) and Colin says this is the first day since the babies were born when his mum hasn't been over as well.

But it's the overnight arrangements that are often most difficult for parents of newborn multiples; so how do the Rodgers cope? "Karen tends to go to bed early and I do the 11pm feed with her expressed milk in bottles," says Colin. "Then when the babies wake in the night either Karen will feed both of them or she'll breastfeed one and I'll bottlefeed the other. We change their nappies, Karen expresses some more milk, and then we all go back to sleep for a few hours.

"If I've got an important day at work I might sleep somewhere else. Karen has lots of friends in to help during the day so she tries to catch up on her sleep then." Karen, meanwhile, says that she's realised through her long years of caring for twins that the practical solution isn't always the best one: sometimes, even though it takes longer, she has learned to concentrate on them one at a time. "The temptation is that when one wants to be fed, you wake the other so you can feed them together and save time. But I see feeding time as bonding time, so I treasure the one-on-one experience when there's an opportunity."

One thing that's very obvious in the Rodger household – and both parents feel very strongly about this – is that they're not raising three sets of twins, they're raising six children.

"Our children are all very different," says Colin. "And in fact the boys are more like their brother who isn't their twin than their brother who is: Kyle and his younger brother Jude tend to be similar in that they're more compliant, they don't like to make a fuss, whereas Finn and Lewis are both more hardcore and resilient."

Karen says she has never dressed her twins alike or made assumptions that because one likes something, the other will too. "They've got their own interests, and as they've grown up they've developed their own friendships," she says. And indeed, the house today is full to bursting with a procession of teenage boys. Some of them are even being allowed tentative holds of the newborns, overseen by their protective big brothers.

The Rodger boys are reliving the moments when they found out about the birth. "Dad sent me a picture of these two tiny baby girls on my mobile, but I still didn't twig," says Kyle. "I texted back: 'Why did you send me that picture?' And he said: 'They're your sisters.'" Finn and Jude were called out of class to the staff room so their dad could tell them on the phone. "They were holding the phone between them and Colin said, 'we've got two little girls' and the boys said 'girls!' and the room erupted behind them," says Karen.

But there are some daunting elements to raising six children, not least money. "Having four costs a fortune, so six is going to go through the roof," says Colin. "We've got to get a new car, and it's going to have to be a big one. And we've told the boys we'll  extend the house, because the older two really do want their own bedrooms." Plus they've had to invest in a double pram, two cots and two car seats. As 12-year-old Finn puts it: "It's like the ark round here. Everything is two by two, by two by two – and now it's two by two again."

The odds of having twins:

• Non-identical twins are about twice as common as identical twins. The incidence of non-identicals in the UK is one in 112 births, compared with one in 227 births for identicals.
  
• Identical twins are down to chance: one egg is fertilised, but it then divides. Fraternal twins happen when a woman produces two eggs, and both are fertilised. So with identical twins the DNA makeup is exactly the same in each twin; with fraternal twins, the DNA is no more similar than in any two siblings.
  
• A history of non-identical twins on the mother's side increases her chance of twins; and a woman who already has twins has four times the normal chance of having them again in a subsequent pregnancy.
  
• Increased maternal age makes twins more likely, because older ovaries are more likely to release two eggs in the same month.
  
• The odds of having three sets of non-identical twins is about one in 88,000, but the chance of having three sets of identical twins is one in 11.7m.

source: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2013/jun/15/life-with-three-sets-twins

Pregnant With Twins: How It’s Different From a Single Pregnancy

I’m a proud mother of 4-year-old twins, Matthew and Noelle. My husband and I went through IVF treatment (In Vitro Fertilisation) to conceive in the beginning of 2007 and in July 2008 we became parents for the first time. The children are in primary school now, they grow up so fast!

Throughout my pregnancy and ever since the children were born, I have had so many people ask me if it’s been hard to have twins rather than “just” one.

But as I have no frame of reference, I can’t really say... what I can say is this: Nothing has given me more pleasure in life than my children and I haven’t found it to be hard at all. In fact, if my husband and I could have children naturally, I would happily have twins again... twice! Twins are not double the work, they are just double the joy.

So all I can offer in the form of tips and advice, is just that: Tips and advice... with my own twin pregnancy experiences in mind, and from my own experience with having twin babies, twin toddlers and twin primary school children. In this piece I’d like to share with you my general thoughts on twin pregnancy.

All pregnancies are different, of course, but generally twin pregnancies stand out from single pregnancies on a number of points.

1. First of all, you get bigger, faster. Ordinarily, at 4-5 months the belly of a mother pregnant with twins, is around the size of a the belly of a woman pregnant with one at 8-9 months.

Those who have tried to be pregnant with one, know what hardship it is in the last month, but at that stage of a twin pregnancy, you have 3-4 months left and you will just get bigger and bigger and get more and more uncomfortable.

In the last month of my pregnancy, I was as big as a house and SO uncomfortable! And although I do remember what it was like, I look back at that time with big love goggles because now I know what came from it so now it just doesn’t seem so important.

2. Secondly, when pregnant with twins, you are offered many more tests and examinations with midwives, doctors and obstetricians. You get multiple scans, you get a lot of information, (mainly about the things that can go wrong) and you will probably also be given the choice of a natural, vaginal birth versus caesarean section.

Now, all this information and attention is both good and bad. It’s good because you are well looked after, but it’s also a cause for concern because you will begin to think about what can go wrong rather than just enjoying your pregnancy and the anticipation.

I was very nervous and looking back, I think I could have done with a little less information... but people are different and that’s just me.

3. You need to sit down more! Sit down and relax, take good care of yourself. Twin pregnancy is not a disease and your life doesn’t stop, but you are carrying two babies inside of you and that is a strain on your body from much earlier on than if you were carrying only one.

You need to make sure your body can comfortably make it to the end of the pregnancy so before you start feeling the strain, begin to take good care of yourself.

Twins are normally smaller than single babies, so every day inside the womb counts, and stress and unnecessary strain isn’t worth the risk of early labor.

4. You need to gain more weight when you are pregnant with twins. 20 to 30 pounds is what you are advised to gain when pregnant with one child, 30 to 40 pounds when pregnant with twins.

Do listen to this bit of advice: Don’t take eating for 3 too literally!! When I was pregnant I ate for 3 (grown men, not one woman and two babies) and it’s so hard to lose all that weight after the pregnancy.

5. And finally there are the stories that you don’t need to listen to! Every other person you meet will have a wild twin story and they’ll be dying to tell you because, surely, you’ll want to hear this. It will most likely be their neighbors cousin whose friend had twins and it was a horrible pregnancy and the birth was even worse and “You Poor Thing, having two kids at the same time, what horror”!

Don’t listen... these stories are not only untrue, they are also completely ridiculous and, frankly, people should have more sense than to worry a pregnant woman just because they have a story to tell.

So if you are pregnant with twins: Take good care of yourself and BE EXCITED... you are about to receive the most wonderful gift anyone could ever have!! Enjoy x




source: http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/mette-poynton/pregnant-with-twins_b_2614749.html

First Signs of Pregnancy - Early Symptoms of your First Trimester

Before my first pregnancy, I enjoyed a glass of wine with dinner and an occasional big, juicy chili dog. But even in those very first days after I conceived, the wine tasted flat and the hot dog repulsed me. Fast-forward a few weeks. With a positive pregnancy test in hand,

I realized that my body knew I was pregnant before my mind did. Of course, the earliest symptoms of pregnancy wax and wane and are different for each woman; in fact, some women may experience (or notice) none of them.

But several can crop up well before you even miss a period. If you’re the impatient type, here are the most common early-pregnancy clues to look for.

Clue 1} Breast tenderness Your breasts may be extra tender as early as a week or two after conception. “You’re making so much estrogen and progesterone in early pregnancy that the glands in the breasts start growing,” explains Jasbir Singh, M.D., an OB-GYN at Baylor Medical Center at Waxahachie in Texas. This hormone surge causes breasts to retain more fluids and feel heavy, sore or more sensitive than normal PMS tenderness.

What to do Buy a very supportive bra.

Clue 2} Implantation bleeding When the fertilized egg implants into the plush lining of the uterus about six to 12 days after conception, spotting—light vaginal bleeding—may occur. This is harmless, but if you suspect you’re pregnant, let your doctor know, just in case it’s something else. (If the bleeding occurs as late as 12 days after you conceive, you may think it’s your period.)

“In the first trimester, bleeding should be evaluated for three things in particular—miscarriage, an ectopic pregnancy or certain types of infections,” Singh says. “Implantation bleeding is sort of a diagnosis of exclusion. That means we rule out the bad things before we can determine this is what it is.”

What to do Call your doctor if you notice any bleeding.

Clue 3} Fatigue During the first few weeks, your body is working 24/7 behind the scenes to support the pregnancy, and fatigue is a normal response. The extra progesterone produced after conception causes your basal body temperature to rise, which in turn contributes to a lack of energy, explains Karen Perkins, M.D., an OB-GYN with A Woman’s Choice at Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore. Your heart also pumps faster, as it has to deliver extra oxygen to the uterus; this, too, can make you feel tuckered out.

What to do “Take prenatal vitamins early on, eat a healthful diet, drink plenty of fluids to keep your blood pressure high enough, and rest when you can,” Singh says.

Clue 4} Frequent urination You might think this comes later, when the baby presses on your bladder, but frequent peeing sometimes starts early. Not only can the swelling uterus put pressure on your bladder, but the extra blood flow to the kidneys (which begins right away) also causes them to produce more urine.

What to do Nothing, unless the frequent urination is accompanied by burning, urgency or other signs of infection. (If so, notify your doctor.) Do not cut back on your fluid intake.

Clue 5} Food aversions and nausea This can start as early as two weeks after conception. “Progesterone causes a lot of things to slow down,” Singh says. That includes your digestive processes, sometimes resulting in constipation or indigestion.

Since your stomach doesn’t empty as quickly as it normally does, it thinks there’s too much going on in there and wants to purge in some way—either into the gut or out through the mouth. Nausea also is related to human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG), a hormone that can be detected in the mother’s blood or urine even before a missed period. The higher the HCG level (as with twins), the sicker you may feel.

“Another theory is that nausea and food aversions are a protective effect the body has toward the fetus,” Perkins says. If things like free radicals or nitrates in some foods could hurt a growing baby, you may naturally develop a distaste to steer clear of them.

What to do Many women find ginger and lemons soothing. Ask your doctor about special vitamin B6 supplements that may alleviate nausea. Acupressure wristbands also can help. If you’re vomiting frequently or can’t hold down any liquids, see your OB for possible IV hydration and medication.

Clue 6} Mood swings Find yourself weeping over a “Desperate Housewives” episode or raging because the DSL guy can’t come until Tuesday? “Because of the flux in hormones, you can go from being tearful to angry instantly,” Perkins says. Generally, mood swings in early pregnancy don’t require any medical attention.

What to do Wait it out. “Be aware of your mood shifts and make sure others around you also are aware of the reason and are supportive,” Perkins suggests.

Clue 7} Bloating, cramps and backache Many women mistake these common early signs of pregnancy for PMS symptoms, but actually they’re caused by hormonal changes and the growth of the uterus.

What to do Nothing, unless the pain is severe or symptoms are accompanied by bleeding. Clue 8} Dizziness and fainting

On soaps, the woman always faints before she finds out she’s pregnant. Progesterone can contribute to lightheadedness by making your body “run hotter” and causing blood vessels to dilate, which lowers blood pressure.

In addition, it takes a little longer than normal for blood that’s been diverted to the uterus to make its way back to your brain when you stand up. Dizziness also can stem from low blood sugar. “If you’re not eating properly, you can feel lightheaded,” Perkins says.

What to do Move slowly, and don’t leap out of bed or off the couch abruptly. Keep blood sugar stable by eating every three to four hours, and drink plenty of water to keep your blood pressure steady. Avoid overheating, and if you do feel faint, sit down with your head between your knees.

Clue 9} Headaches Some women have more headaches early in pregnancy. “They’re related to the increased progesterone levels; plus, headaches can result if you don’t drink enough fluids or if you’re anemic,” Perkins says.

The good news: Migraines become less frequent as pregnancy progresses. “Fluctuating hormones tend to make headaches worse, and estrogen levels are more stable during pregnancy,” explains Richard Gersh, M.D., an assistant professor of OB-GYN at Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia.

What to do Drink plenty of fluids, and get your blood work done to check for anemia. If headaches persist, ask your doctor about taking Tylenol.

Loss of a twin in the womb

Miscarriage of a twin in the womb:

Miscarriage in early pregnancy is very common, and sadly, the risk is slightly higher with twin pregnancies. With an identical twin pregnancy, where each baby shares the placenta or sac, there is a further increase of risk.

Early miscarriage of a twin in the womb:

Early miscarriage is almost always down to problems with the embryo not developing as it should, and is therefore not preventable, or caused by anything the mum has done.

Occasionally, mums who have had a very early ultrasound scan will be told they have experienced 'vanishing twin syndrome' further along in their pregnancy.

This occurs when women have been scanned before 12 weeks and two heartbeats have been detected.  At the mum's next scan, most usually the 12 week dating scan, only one baby will be seen, the other having been reabsorbed by mum's body.

As upsetting as this will be for a couple who have been told very early on that they are expecting two babies, it will have no detrimental effect on the rest of the pregnancy, or the surviving baby.

Miscarriage in the second or third trimester:

With the loss of a twin in the second or third trimester, your doctors will have more concerns for possible complications arising with your remaining twin.

If you do lose a twin later in your pregnancy, your medical team will work with you and your partner to decide the best course of action to ensure the safety and well-being of your surviving baby.

Factors such as how many weeks along you are, what caused one of your twins to die, and the health of your other baby will all be taken into account.

One potential problem for identical twins (babies sharing a placenta) is twin to twin transfusion syndrome, where abnormal connecting blood vessels in the placenta leaves one baby with a greater volume of blood than the other. It carries a high risk of miscarriage or stillbirth if left undetected and untreated. You can get help and advice from the Twin 2 Twin organisation.

Support available:

Losing a twin at whatever stage of pregnancy, or for whatever reason, will obviously be a very difficult time for you and your partner, and one where you will need lots of support and information. Organisations such as SANDS and TAMBA (Twins and multiple births association) have helplines you can call and literature you can download from their websites.

You can also talk to other mums for practical and emotional support in the Bounty Community.






source: http://www.bounty.com/pregnancy-and-birth/miscarriage-and-loss/loss-of-a-twin-in-the-womb

Best Fertility Pills for Getting Pregnant Fast

When you want to get pregnant fast, you might want to know which fertility pills out there can help you with that. There are several different options available, including some over the counter options, some fertility blends, and some prescription medications.

Option #1: Fertility Blends:

Fertility blends like Conceive Easy are a great choice for women who want to get pregnant fast. These fertility blends take the best all-natural fertility boosting ingredients in just the right amounts, and combine them into one easy to take, ready to use capsule. Fertility blends like Conceive Easy contain no harsh chemicals, and the ingredients are 100% natural.

Fertility blends like Conceive Easy are also available for purchase online without a doctor’s prescription, which makes them a very good option for women who do not wish to visit a fertility doctor. 

With Conceive Easy, for example, your fertility supplements are delivered to your door so you never have to worry about running out, and you can even get a free trial.

Option #2: Prenatal Vitamins:

For women who want something tried, true and inexpensive, a regular prenatal vitamin is a great place to start. First of all, prenatal vitamins do not require a prescription, and they can be bought very inexpensively at any local drug store or even grocery store.

Prenatal vitamins contain all the important vitamins and minerals that women need to be at their healthiest.


If you have any sort of nutritional shortcoming, a prenatal vitamin can help you to bridge those gaps so you will have a better chance of getting pregnant.

Also, if you do happen to get pregnant, taking a prenatal vitamin can help protect against neural tube defects and other disorders that normally occur in the first few weeks of pregnancy.

Option #3: Clomid:

If you are looking for a prescription medication to help you get pregnant fast, the most popular fertility drug on the market today is Clomid. Clomid is a medication that does not help you to get pregnant, however, it does help to induce ovulation so that it is easier to get pregnant.

It is one of the most effective and longest used fertility drugs on the market today. More than 85% of women who take Clomid will begin ovulating while taking it. It is a really great option for women who have trouble with ovulation, and can make pregnancy happen much faster than it otherwise would by inducing ovulation.




source: http://pregnantpills.com/getting-pregnant/boost-your-chances/best-fertility-pills-for-getting-pregnant-fast/