An increasing number of expectant parents are hearing those words these days. If you are expecting twins (or more), then one of two things has happened. In natural twinning, either your body has released two eggs, and they have both been fertilized, or one fertilized egg has split into two. The former will result in fraternal twins; the latter, identical.

Learning that you are expecting twins is normally quite a shock. It can take some time for the news to sink in, and for all the concerns and questions to arise. You may be concerned about pregnancy complications or what the birth will be like; you make also worry about being able to cope with having two babies at once. These concerns are completely normal and common.

Realize that the majority of twin pregnancies turn out just fine. You can probably expect to be tired throughout the pregnancy and require a lot of rest; this is your body telling you what it needs, so be sure to listen. Some pregnancy symptoms can be exacerbated with twins, such as morning sickness (which can actually occur any time of day). Your higher levels of hCG will often mean more nausea and possibly vomiting than women with singleton pregnancies experience.

Later in your pregnancy, you may also experience other symptoms to higher degrees, such as shortness of breath, constipation, heartburn, and bloating. Back or hip pain may also be more of a problem as your babies grow.

Another difference you will notice in your twin pregnancy is increased weight gain. Understand that if your are average weight, you will need to gain more weight than women who are carrying only one fetus – but also realize that it needn’t be a lot more. While mothers of a singleton pregnancy need only eat 100-300 calories more per day, a mother of twins needs to ingest about 500 more calories per day. More may be advised if she is underweight to start with; if she is overweight, less is fine, as long as the babies are growing and healthy.

Mothers of twins should expect more prenatal care, as well. More ultrasound examinations are common to keep an eye on how well your twins are doing. You will also have regular blood pressure and urine checks, because as a pregnant woman expecting twins, you have a higher likelihood of developing high blood pressure, gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, and anemia.  Because of the higher risk of depleting the maternal iron and calcium stores with a twin gestation, additional supplementation with prenatal iron and calcium is prescribed in order to prevent anemia or osteoporosis later in life.

Look out for the same danger signs as in any other pregnancy and report them to your doctor immediately. If you aren’t sure whether a symptom is normal or not, or even if you just feel instinctively that something isn’t right, consult with your doctor to be on the safe side. Report any of the following symptoms to your doctor:

• Severe headaches
• Sudden swelling
• Vomiting
• Abdominal pain
• Excessive fatigue

Take all the help you can get during this challenging pregnancy. Let others care for older children regularly so you can rest; allow your partner to run errands and do more than his or her normal share of the housework. The important thing for you to focus on is keeping yourself rested and healthy. And try not to worry; the fact is that the most likely outcome of your twin pregnancy is two healthy, normal babies.

– Yvonne S. Thornton, M. D., M. P. H.