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Multiple Pregnancy 101

Everything You Need to Know from Morning Sickness to Bed Rest

By Kelly Burgess

"The stress of having multiples doesn't magically disappear when the babies are born," Dr. Pector says. "It's just replaced by different stress. It may be financial or social or marital, but there's no doubt it's very difficult to bring home two or more babies at the same time. Start during your pregnancy to round up friends, family, neighbors, people from church – even teenagers from the local school can be very helpful."

In some cases, including Dr. Pector's own, the expectant mother's bed rest is complicated by the fact that she has another child at home. Karen Spataro's son, Jason, was 4 years old when she discovered she was pregnant with twins. She was on bed rest for 28 weeks and had to be more creative with her parenting.

"My mother-in-law helped a lot, and we did lots of activities just sitting on the bed, like playing games and cards," says Spataro, of Gibsonia, Pa. "He was a good boy, but I know it was very hard for him."

The vast majority of twin pregnancies have a successful outcome. While the percentage is somewhat lower for triplet pregnancies, they also have a high success rate. Beyond that, the percentages aren't as good, but triplet pregnancies are still quite rare, and higher numbers are even more rare.

Statistics show that multiple pregnancies are on the rise, in part because of the increase in infertility treatments and in part because women are waiting longer to have children. Older mothers have a greater chance of giving birth to multiples. However, with good prenatal care, the chances for both mother and babies to have a safe, healthy pregnancy are greater than ever.

Want to see more?

• Check out our Article Library.
• Start your very own twin diary here!
• Keep Those Babies in There: Avoiding Premature Delivery with Twins
• The Home Stretch: Surviving the Last Trimester with Twins
• Eating for Three (or More): The Special Nutritional Needs of Moms Carrying Multiples
• Talk about it!

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