Get pregnant with twins
Everything you need to know about twin pregnancy
A twin pregnancy means that you are pregnant with twins! Like other multiple pregnancies, it will need to be monitored more closely. Are they monozygotic or dizygotic twins? How will the delivery take place? Here are the answers to all your questions
What are the chances of having twins?
Twin pregnancies have increased sharply over the past fifty years. According to the National Institute of Demographic Studies , worldwide, twin births represented 0.91% of births in 1980, compared to 1.2% in 2020.
The increase in twin pregnancies can be explained by several factors:
- Medically assisted procreation (MAP): since the 1980s, MAP techniques have developed, and more and more parents are resorting to them, also following the modification of laws, such as PMA for all. To increase the chances of future parents, doctors implant several embryos in the mother's uterus, which sometimes results in the birth of fraternal twins . Treatments to stimulate ovulation also promote multiple pregnancies.
- Late pregnancies: Over the years, the average age of the first child continues to decline, as does the number of late pregnancies (i.e. around 40 years old). As we approach our forties, ovulation is naturally more chaotic and it is not uncommon for several eggs to be fertilized at the same time.
Other factors also increase your chance of having a multiple pregnancy, including heredity. If there are twins in your family, or that of the second parent, you have a 95% increased chance of having a twin pregnancy . This rate is also higher if you already have other children.
How does twin pregnancy work?
You are expecting twins, congratulations! The announcement of a twin pregnancy is sometimes a shock for future parents. Magicmamans have also testified on this subject. But what is the difference exactly, expecting one or more babies?
You should know that a twin pregnancy requires more regular medical monitoring than a single pregnancy. A woman pregnant with twins risks having more complications, such as gestational diabetes or pre-eclampsia. Pregnancy ailments, such as nausea or back pain, are also more common. In addition, almost half of twins are born prematurely. Delivery, however, is not necessarily by cesarean section. It all depends on the position of the babies in the womb, and the time between the two births.
Twin pregnancy: real or fraternal twins?
This is a question that often comes up when you announce that you are pregnant with twins . If the two fetuses develop in the same egg, then they are monozygotic twins . This means that they were fertilized by one egg and one sperm, and that the egg separated into two embryos. They will then necessarily be the same sex.
Otherwise, we speak of polyovulation, which means that two eggs are fertilized by two sperm, which will give rise to two eggs, therefore two embryos. Dizygotic twins are therefore not necessarily the same sex, and do not necessarily look more alike than other brothers and sisters.
