Life
One of the first things many women consider when they find out they're pregnant is whether or not they're having twins. It might scare you, it might thrill you, but either way, the thought will cross your mind. How could it not? With more and more twins being born every year, you're likely to know a few pairs yourself. Maybe they run in your family, or your partner's family, and you're desperate to know how many babies you're baking. Look no further. These signs you might be pregnant with twins are the most common symptoms reported and easiest to watch out for.
Multiple births are at an all-time high, according to the Pew Research Center. By their accounting, "In 2014, 3.5 percent of all babies born were twins, triplets, or higher-order multiples, accounting for almost 140,000 births." That's a ton of babies. Most of the moms I spoke to were pretty sure they were having twins, but a few seemed to be completely gobsmacked when their OB-GYNs gave them the news. I don't know about you, but I'd rather know. Most of the symptoms are exaggerated versions of the typical symptoms, but there's one or two that might surprise you if you didn't know about them. (You know, until you hear two heartbeats and really get the shock of your life.)
1
You're So Tired You Can't See Straight
Pregnancy makes you tired. That's something that almost every mom who's been pregnant has experience with. However, with twins, it's like the wind has just completely gone out of your sails, according to KidSpot. It's the type of exhaustion that almost feels drugged. Julie Adams, 33, mother of twins (times two, OMG), tells Romper it is "the kind of tired for which there is no recovery."
2
You're Over 35
It's not exactly what you think of as a "symptom," but it totally is. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), women over 35 are much more likely to give birth to twins than younger women.
3
So Much Morning Sickness
Women pregnant with twins frequently report that the nausea and vomiting that accompanies their pregnancies is far more extreme with twins than singletons, noted the American Pregnancy Association. Because science isn't clear as to why morning sickness exists, they can only posit that two babies make it worse — because double your pleasure?
4
Quicker, Bigger Bump
Holy stretched uterus, Batman. Twins, especially twins born after the mom has had another child, mean that bump is especially bumpy, Emilia Starskard, 31 tells Romper. "I went from zero to hero in less than eight weeks with the twins. It was startling to say the least. By the time I got to my midwife at 12 weeks, no one was surprised they heard two heartbeats. In fact, I think I might've sobbed if it was only one baby in that huge belly."
5
You Had Fertility Treatments
According to a report on NPR, "Twins are conceived naturally just 2 percent of the time; for those who get pregnant with fertility treatments, the rate is more than 40 percent." This was something I worried over a lot when I was undergoing IVF. My doctor was very upfront that this might be the case, and he evaluated my ability to carry twins to term before he even began the process.
6
Your Blood Work May Hold A Clue
According to Family Education, your blood work, namely the levels of hCG in your blood, might point to twins. They wrote that "HCG measurements are quite inflated when a multiple pregnancy is present."
Check out Romper's new video series, Bearing The Motherload, where disagreeing parents from different sides of an issue sit down with a mediator and talk about how to support (and not judge) each other’s parenting perspectives. New episodes air Mondays on Facebook.
