Every woman who finds out about her pregnancy wants to be aware of who and when she will be born. And if there are usually no special problems with determining the gestational age, then gender can only be determined by ultrasound, and even then it is not always right. But what to do when a woman expects not one, but several children. How can you suspect that you have a multiple pregnancy? Signs exist, but they differ among different girls and are not always reliable, but still try to describe them.
Multiple pregnancy: signs
Most often, women with two or more children report very fast fatigue. This is understandable, because the body is under heavy stress, and therefore fatigue occurs much faster. Moreover, it happens that a woman does not pay attention to this, since she believes that she has become older and has more responsibilities than during the first pregnancy. Some do not notice this sign at all.
What else can indicate a multiple pregnancy? Toxicosis manifests itself much earlier and more severely: it makes you sick more, you have more ailments, and more often there may be vomiting. If you are very worried about toxicosis, you must complain to your doctor.
A quick weight gain, especially in the first trimester, may indicate that a woman is expecting more than one child. This is due to the rapid increase in the uterus and the amount of blood. True, sometimes with a one-year pregnancy, women quickly gain weight, especially when taking hormonal drugs.
Another difference that a pregnant woman can tell is that she will have not one baby, but two or three - a large belly size. At the same time, you need to know that during the second pregnancy, the stomach grows faster compared to the first and may not always indicate multiple pregnancy.
It should also be said that women begin to feel the movement of fruits in the abdomen earlier if they carry twins. Although it is very individual.
How to determine a multiple pregnancy
During the examination by a gynecologist, he can determine a multiple pregnancy due to a mismatch of the size of the uterus with the expected term - it will be larger. But the doctor will not be able to say for sure, since the same picture is observed with uterine fibroids , cystic drift or polyhydramnios.
Be sure to interview the expectant mother in a antenatal clinic, and if she or her husband have twins in the family, this may indicate the development of a multiple pregnancy. Also, information about in vitro fertilization or stimulation of ovulation can be a hint.
An increased level of hormones also indicates a multiple pregnancy: placental lactogen, ά-fetoprotein and chorionic gonadotropin.
The most accurate way to confirm that you have a multiple pregnancy is an ultrasound diagnosis. This method allows the early determination of the number of embryos with an accuracy of 99.3%.
In the second half, multiple pregnancy signs are more clear and easier to determine its presence. The size of the uterus significantly exceeds the time limit, the abdominal circumference can be more than 110 cm.
The uterus can have a specific shape - saddle-shaped, since its corners protrude due to the position of the fetus. On the front wall there is a horizontal or longitudinal groove, depending on the position of the fruit, respectively transverse or longitudinal.
A clear definition of the three parts of the fetus during palpation: two heads and a pelvis, or two basins and a head.
When listening, the presence of two points of the heartbeat is detected, there should be a difference of 10 beats / minute.
It turns out that a multiple pregnancy has signs, and can be determined at different times with varying degrees of confidence.