By Yana MikheevaGiving birth to twins (and sometimes to triplets) is a dream of many women, regardless of the fact that plural pregnancy proceeds more difficult and requires a special vigilance. But all troubles are overcome due to some certain aureole of heroism and a wish to take all pains at one go. It’s interesting, that for the last 20 years, statistics of giving birth to twins, triplets and more increased significantly. Deliveries of 0,5 – 2% of women finish with birth of twins, triplets, more seldom four and five babies.

Do you have a chance? This depends on several factors:

1. Age of a mother.
   This is one of the reasons of increasing amount of twins’ birth – a worldwide tendency to late deliveries. A probability of birth of two and more babies increases, if a mother is older than 35 years. (By the way, this chance increases even more after 50 years). Unfortunately, if you’re less than 25 years, your chances are half of chances of those who are 35. The matter is that with age, ovulations take place not during each cycle – and this is quite normal. As a result, free hormones, affecting ovulation, accumulate and release during the following cycle, stimulating coming out of several ovules at once.
2. Inheritance.
   If some of your or your husband’s relatives has twins, then your probability of giving birth to several babies at once is extremely high (especially, if you inherited this trait from your mother). And, regardless of common opinion, this does not necessarily take place in one generation – you can inherit a gene, which is responsible for formation of several ovules, suitable for insemination, in your organism.
3. Genesial technologies.
   Often women, who were prescribed hormonal medicines during sterility treatment or while preparation to artificial extracorporal fertilization, get plural pregnancy. Hormonal medicines stimulate ovulation in the midst of a cycle and, if a woman receives overdose of a medicine, then several ovules come out of ovary follicle at once, not just one. As a rule, doctors “remove” excess ovules. Burt sometimes women refuse from it, due to religious or other motives. In USA and Israel there were cases, when women gave birth to 6 or 7 babies at once.

Signs of plural pregnancy
It’s very easy to determine a quantity of babies you’re going to give birth to – you can do it with the help of echography on 5-6th week of pregnancy, but there’re such situations, when you cannot pass through echography. So, it will be good for you to learn some signs of pregnancy with twins. Moreover, unfortunately, doctors not always can give you an exact answer about your pregnancy during the first 10-12 days.

Psychological factor. You should not ignore your intuition. Many women can be assured in the fact that they are pregnant with twins since the moment of conception already. Often mothers of twins admit that they knew about their forth-coming birth on the earliest terms of pregnancy. If you feel, you’re expecting twins, tell your doctor about it for sure.

High biochemical indexes. Women pregnant with twins have increased indexes of some biochemical tests. For example, content of alpha fetoprotein – it produces a growing fetus and come to mother’s blood. Or a high content of a hormone HCG (human chorionic gonadotropin), which supports pregnancy. While placenta is developing, its presence can be determined in blood or urine even before delay of menstruation, and lots of pregnancy tests are based on its indexes.

Intensive morning sickness and/or vomiting. More heightened, in comparison with usual pregnancy, content of hormone HCG (pregnancy hormone) can increase morning sickness. Sickness, sometimes accompanied by vomiting, can already appear a week after conception, i.e. even before your usual menstrual cycle begins. Sickness appear more often in the morning, but it’s also possible in any other time of a day.

Intensification of other pregnancy sings. Many (but not all) women, expecting twins, suffer from other intensified sings of pregnancy – due to a significant increase of hormones, in comparison with usual pregnancy. For example, they feel heightened breast sensibility, more frequent impulses of urination, extreme tiredness and hunger. In the second term a woman may suffer from strong breathlessness, hands and legs spasms, sudden increase in weight and belly sizes, and an intensive stir of fetus. Hemoglobin decrease or anemia – are also usual events for plural pregnancy. And in general, this is not surprising, as during such pregnancy a load on a future mother’s organism increases in several times, depending on the quantity of babies she’s bearing. Unfortunately, this means that complications are much more often met during such pregnancy.

Quick weight increase since the first days of pregnancy. By the way, this is one of the first sings of two babies’ presence in a woman’s uterus. This is absolutely normal: double nutrition plays an important role during the first term of pregnancy. And a quick weight increase is necessary.

High physiological indexes. During the first medical examination doctors will be already able to tell you that your uterus size is little bigger for your assumed term of pregnancy. This tendency will remain for the whole term of pregnancy. Other physiological indexes will be bigger too: circularity of belly through navel, height of uterine fundus standing and others.

Heartbeat of two hearts can be heard. When a doctor begins listening to a baby’s heartbeat, he will hear beating of two hearts, instead of one. Two separate heartbeats can be heard on the 13th week of pregnancy already, by the 28th week a doctor will be able to determine 3-4 large parts of body (head and bum) and many small ones by touch.

About the Author
Yana Mikheeva is the creator of the Baby-Health.Net at http://www.baby-health.net Are you going to get pregnant? Visit our friendly resource and read information on pregnancy and parenting, painless childbirth, growth and development of a baby, baby health, safety, signs of pregnancy. She also has a blog for women at http://www.womanspassions.com/blog/.

By: Susan M. Heim

In speaking with many moms of multiples over the years, one of the topics brought up most is whether it’s possible to breastfeed twins. Surprisingly, many moms-to-be of multiples are discouraged from breastfeeding by the medical community or members of their family, but they really want to give it a try. I won’t lie and say that breastfeeding twins is easy. It takes a lot of patience, determination and dedication. But if you possess all of these qualities (and a sufficient milk supply, of course), I strongly encourage you to go for it! Here are some things to keep in mind:

Get support. Don’t hesitate to ask your husband, mother or friends to help until you feel comfortable doing things on your own. If you have a supportive pediatrician, don’t be shy about asking questions. Seek out other mothers who have successfully nursed twins. (You may be able to find them through a local multiples group or an online support group.) Consider contacting the La Leche League or a lactation consultant if you’re having problems. (Your hospital or doctor can provide you with contact information.) Make your preferences for breastfeeding versus bottle-feeding known to your doctors and the hospital before you give birth so they will support you in your efforts. If they are not supportive, you may want to consider changing doctors or hospitals.

Learn to tandem nurse. Breastfeeding twins can be time-consuming, so it’s very important to learn how to nurse both babies at the same time. At first, it can be difficult to place both babies in position to breastfeed, especially when they’re young and need head support, so don’t hesitate to ask for help in bringing your babies up to you. Many women find the best position for their babies is the “football hold,” with the babies lying head to head and their bodies stretching around the sides of your body. You’ll also want to position pillows or a Boppy under each arm to bring your babies up to your level so you don’t need to slouch to reach them.

Be organized. When you’re sleep-deprived, it’s hard to remember when you last nursed, which baby nursed on which side, and how long they nursed. Keep a running log with this information, plus a record of wet and soiled diapers. This may be especially important if your twins are premature and your doctor has instructed you to weigh your twins and record bowel movements to make sure they’re getting proper nourishment. This information is also helpful if others will be giving the twins a bottle of breast milk or formula.

Take care of yourself. For optimum milk supply, drink lots of fluids (especially water, not soda!), eat healthy foods and get as much sleep as possible (easier said than done, I know). Don’t wear yourself out by trying to keep up with cleaning and cooking. Let others help you out or let it go for a while. You’re the only one who can nurse your twins; anyone can do the housework. Make sure you check with your physician before taking any medications or alcohol that might be passed on to your babies.

Be persistent. When you’re dealing with the hormonal seesaw of emotions that follow childbirth, it’s easy to get frustrated or break down in tears. It’s okay to wallow for a bit, but don’t give up! Many mothers report that it takes a while before breastfeeding becomes second nature. Give yourself and your babies an adequate adjustment period.

Get the best breast pump you can afford. If you’re pumping your milk, mothers have told me that an industrial-strength double pump is a must for twins’ moms! It will pump your milk most efficiently and quickly, saving you a tremendous amount of time. Pumped breast milk can be refrigerated or frozen for later use, and this allows others to help you feed your babies.

Change the program for preemies. If your twins were premature, they may have more difficulty with sucking and swallowing. Don’t be distressed if you have to pump your breast milk for a while until your babies are ready to take to the breast.

Change the scenery for older babies. Babies over six months old may start to get distracted by the sights and sounds of the world around them. You may need to find a quiet place to nurse them, such as a darkened bedroom. Avoid nursing in front of the TV or in a room with lots of activity.

Breastfeeding twins is a huge commitment, but well worth the time and effort when you consider the rewards: the best nourishment for your babies, a great bonding experience with your twins, and the convenience of not having to prepare and heat bottles. But if you find that you’ve become a twenty-four-hour milk machine, talk to your doctor about using a combination of breast milk and formula so that others can help out with the feeding. (Or pump your breast milk into bottles.) This way, your babies still get the benefits of breast milk, and you reap the rewards of more rest and help!

About The Author
Susan M. Heim

by Sarah Mitchell

Choosing a baby name for your new born can be quite a stressful decision. With thousands upon thousands of names at your disposal, you may begin to feel a little over whelmed. Well, for twins, you can double the trouble! This article is aimed at helping soon to be moms and dads of twins to choose those perfect baby names.

Using anagrams for naming twins
One way of choosing baby names for twins is to take one name that you like and rearrange the letters to make another name. A few examples of this are:

• Reva & Vera
• Ira & Ria
• Mary & Myra

If you are a fan of traditional baby names, then your choices are slightly limited with this option. But, if you don’t mind bending the rules a little, then you can play around with this idea forever.

Using synonyms for naming twins
Another idea for choosing baby names for twins is synonyms! A synonym is a word (or a baby name in our case) that has a similar or exact meaning of another word. So, you might want your twins to both have names that mean ‘flower’. An example of this would be:

• Eve & Zoe
• Yasmin & Lala
• Dahlia & Daisy
• Camellia & Heather

All of these names refer to a flower in general or a particular flower, although they are all quite unique from one another. For example, Heather is an English name, whereas Camellia is a Latin name. If you would like to experiment with this idea some more, visit www.namestobe.com. Simply type in a meaning or part of a meaning and a list of names that corespond to that meaning will appear.

Reversing names for twins
Choosing baby names for twins can sometimes be as easy as spelling a name you like, backwards! As you can imagine, this will only work for a small selection of names, but if you have the time to sit down with a pen, paper and some patients then you will eventually find some that you are fond of. An example of this would be:

• Aiden & Nadia

Other tips for naming twins
Some other tips for naming twins are to use names beginning with the same letter, use names that rhyme, or even use names that have no connection between them what so ever. Sometimes parents get so wrapped up in trying to choose the perfect names for their twins that they forget the fact they have the option of choosing two names that have no connection at all. Regardless of what option you choose to name your twins, you should take the time to sit down and put some serious thought into your decision. Best of luck to you!

About The Author
This article was written by Sarah Mitchell from www.namestobe.com. Find thousands of baby names, their meanings, origins and genders at www.namestobe.com. info@namestobe.com

by: Nancy Wurtzel

Did you know that the number of twin births have more than doubled since the early 1970s? Today, about one of every 35 births in the United States are twins. Even more significant is the number of triplet and higher multiple births which have increased 200 percent over the last three decades.

Why the huge jump in the number of multiple births?
The most obvious reason for the growing birth rates of twins and multiples is the use of fertility drugs and treatments. These medical interventions are most often the reason for births of four or more multiples. Recent studies from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) show that approximately 43 percent of live births resulting from assisted reproductive techniques were multiples.

But fertility drugs don’t tell the whole story.

Where you live could make a difference. If you reside in Massachusetts or Connecticut, a study by the National Center for Health Statistics found that the rates for twin deliveries was as much as 25 percent higher than the overall national rate. If you want to give birth to triplets, move to Nebraska or New Jersey. Both states boast a percentage of triplets that is twice the national average.

On the other hand, if you reside in tropical Hawaii your chances of having a multiple will decrease to about 30 percent below the overall U.S. rate.

The time of year and the number of daylight hours also has an impact on multiple births. More fraternal twins are conceived in July than in any other month, while January has the fewest twin conceptions. Scientists speculate that this is probably due to the longer length of daylight in July, which allows for a higher secretion of the Follicle Stimulating Hormone in women.

Enhanced medical care and good nutrition may play a role in skyrocketing multiple birth rates, although experts caution that it is difficult to directly link these influences. In fact, if access to state-of-the-art medicine were a deciding factor, then why does the Yoruba tribe of Nigeria have the highest twinning incidence in the entire world? These Nigerian people attribute it to their population’s consumption of a specific type of yam. Yams? That’s right, scientists have discovered that these colorful vegetables that are grown only in Africa contain a high level of a substance that is similar to the hormone estrogen — which could bring on multiple ovulation.

Surprisingly, age can work in a woman’s favor when it comes to conceiving twins. Older mothers traditionally have a higher chance of delivering fraternal twins, with the odds increasing to one in 27 when the mother is 35 years or older.

While identical twins have no familial connection, it is true that fraternal twins can run in the family. Female fraternal twins score an impressive one in 17 chance of giving birth to their own set of fraternal twins, probably because many carry a gene for hyperovulation, which means they sometimes release more than one egg during ovulation. And, if a woman has already given birth to fraternal twins, the chance of another set increases fourfold.

Want to learn more about babies and multiples? Visit the All About Baby website at www.allbaby.com for extensive child-related content, including tips on how to pick the best name for your newborn, interesting birth statistics, a list of the most popular given names for children and much more.

**All statistics were taken from the Center for Disease Control (CDC), the National Center for Health Statistics and from the National Organization of Mothers of Twins Club (NOMOTC).

About The Author
Nancy Wurtzel founded her ecommerce business, All About Baby, in 1995. All About Baby located online at www.allbaby.com specializes in personalized and memorable gifts for children as well as interesting and helpful child-related site content. Ms. Wurtzel consults with small businesses seeking to expand. nancy@allbaby.com