Knowing the first signs of twin pregnancy can help you figure out how many babies you should be expecting. While twins used to be rare, fertility treatments have increased their occurrence. A woman has a 1 in 89 chance of having twins without fertility treatments, and that number only increases with fertility help. If twins run in your family, the likelihood that you're pregnant with twins is higher. Also, if you're a twin or your mother had twins, don't assume that means that it will skip a generation - you may have the gene that causes you to release more than one egg at a time. If you're over thirty-five, the chance that you're carrying twins is higher. In fact, your chances of being pregnant with twins if you're over thirty-five is more than double that of a woman less than twenty-five years old.
Extreme Pregnancy Symptoms
You may be suspicious that you are pregnant with twins if you notice that your pregnancy symptoms are extreme. For example, you may have excessive morning sickness. Or perhaps you're gaining weight more quickly than average. While these may be the first signs of twin pregnancy, they are not definite signs. Very tender breasts, urinating frequently, extreme tiredness and being ravenous can also be signs that you've got more than one baby in the belly.
Measuring Large
You know that little tape measure your doctor whips out and lays across your stomach? She's measuring your uterus. If your uterus measures bigger than the doctor expects, she may want you to have an ultrasound to ascertain how many babies you're carrying.
High hCG Levels
Human Chorionic Gonadotrophin (hCG) is the hormone that pregnancy tests measure to determine whether you're pregnant. If your hCG levels increase more rapidly than normal (doubling every two to three days), you may be pregnant with twins.
Two Heartbeats
Your doctor will listen for your baby's heartbeat around twelve weeks. If he hears more than one, that's a pretty good sign that you're carrying with twins.
Early Movement
Doctors haven't yet agreed on whether a woman can feel twins earlier than a single baby, but a lot of mothers of twins say that they knew they were pregnant with twins early on because they could feel them moving.
High AFP Levels
Alphfetoprotein is a protein made by the liver. Your doctor will test your AFP levels, which can clue you in as to whether your baby has abnormalities or you're carrying twins.
Intuition
Don't rule out the power of a woman's intuition. Many pregnant women just "know" that they're carrying a boy, or a girl, or twins.
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