Twins, Triplets, Multiple Births

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Basics

• Summary
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• Diagnosis and Tests

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• Related Issues
• Specifics

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Research

• Clinical Trials
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Summary

If you are pregnant with more than one baby, you are far from alone. Multiple births are up in the United States. More women are having babies after age 30 and more are taking fertility drugs. Both boost the chance of carrying more than one baby. A family history of twins also makes multiples more likely.

Years ago, most twins came as a surprise. Now, most women know about a multiple pregnancy early. Women with multiple pregnancies should see their health care providers more often than women who are expecting one baby. Multiple pregnancy babies have a much higher risk of being born prematurely and having a low birth weight. There is also more of a risk of disabilities. Some women have to go on bed rest to delay labor. Finally, they may deliver by C-section, especially if there are three babies or more.

Parenting multiples can be a challenge. Volunteer help and support groups for parents of multiples can help.

Dept. of Health and Human Services Office on Women's Health

Start Here

• Being Pregnant with Twins, Triplets, and Other Multiples (March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation) Also in Spanish
• Challenges of Parenting Multiples (American Society for Reproductive Medicine) - PDF
• Having Twins? How to Stay Healthy (American Academy of Pediatrics) Also in Spanish
• Parenting Multiples (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
• Preparing for Multiple Births (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
• Twins, Triplets, and Other Multiples (Department of Health and Human Services, Office on Women's Health) Also in Spanish

Diagnosis and Tests

• Obstetrical Ultrasound (American College of Radiology, Radiological Society of North America) Also in Spanish

Related Issues

• Breast-Feeding Twins: Making Feedings Manageable (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
• Conjoined Twins (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
• Difference Between Identical and Fraternal Twins (American Academy of Pediatrics) Also in Spanish
• Fertility Drugs and the Risk of Multiple Births (American Society for Reproductive Medicine) - PDF Also in Spanish
• Preparing for Twins (American Academy of Pediatrics) Also in Spanish

Specifics

• Multiple Pregnancy and Multiple Births: Understanding the Risks for Mothers and Babies (American Society for Reproductive Medicine)

Videos and Tutorials

• Twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Pregnancy, Multiple (National Institutes of Health)
• ClinicalTrials.gov: Twins (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: Preterm birth risk in twin pregnancy and the role of prior...
• Article: Risk of preterm birth in a twin pregnancy after an early-term...
• Article: Gestational Weight Gain and Adverse Birth Outcomes in Twin Pregnancies.
• Twins, Triplets, Multiple Births -- see more articles

Find an Expert

• Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (National Institute of Child Health and Human Development) Also in Spanish
• Find a Pediatrician or Pediatric Specialist (American Academy of Pediatrics) Also in Spanish
• KidsHealth (Nemours Foundation)