Some expecting mothers are happy to know that they will be delivering more than one baby but multiple pregnancies comes with a number of complications and it has been found that in case of many fetuses, twins may have least complications. Mother expecting multiple babies can suffer from following risks.
Miscarriage: Multiple-pregnancy comes with the risk of miscarriage. Miscarriage may happen in the initial twenty weeks of pregnancy and symptoms of miscarriage include cramps and bleeding.
Fetal loss: In case of loss of one of the babies, the doctor will decide if the babies should be removed from the uterus or pregnancy should continue. If the babies share the chorions, then intervention from the medical practitioner may be required. Chorion is the membrane which is present around the fetus and in case of identical twins; the babies have either one or two chorions, whereas in case of fraternal twins, the fetuses will have two chorions.
Vanishing Twin Syndrome: It is a condition where one of the two fetus dies during pregnancy but the dead fetus, may show no sign of miscarriage.
Preterm delivery: In seventy percent of multiple pregnancies, the babies are born preterm, which means the baby is born before the completion of thirty-eight weeks of pregnancy. In single pregnancy, premature babies are born in case of infection or in case of abnormalities in the placenta. In multiple-pregnancy, it is caused due to increased need of the babies for space and food. Babies born before the twenty-eight weeks have many complications such as difficulty in breathing as the lungs and other body parts are not fully developed.
Low birth weight: Preterm babies may have low birth weight and it can cause problems such as mental retardation, cerebral palsy or vision loss.
Anemia: Expecting mother may suffer from anemia as the fetuses struggle to get their share of nutrients.
Birth defects: There are more chances of babies having congenital defects such as gastrointestinal defects and neural defects.
Twin to twin syndrome: Fetus that share placenta may suffer from twin-to-twin syndrome in which the blood vessels is connected with the placenta and it causes blood diversion from one fetus to other.
Intrauterine growth restriction: The growth of twins starts reducing in the 32 weeks and in case of triplets, it reduces after the 28 week. As the number of babies increase, the rate of growth slows earlier and it happens because the placenta is unable to provide more nutrition to the babies.
Preeclampsia or high blood pressure: During pregnancy expecting mother may suffer from high blood pressure, that is called pregnancy induced hypertension or toxemia. Prenatal care can reduce the chances of preeclampsia in women.
Placental abruption: In multiple-pregnancy, mother may have placenta abruption.
Gestational diabetes: Expecting mother may suffer from gestational diabetes as the fetus increase the placenta hormone in the body and it may reduce insulin secretion in blood.
Cesarean: Multiple babies may not be positioned properly to allow safe vaginal delivery and C-section may be required.
