Pregnancy is an interesting time in your life, and it can be even more interesting if you discover that there’s more than one baby on board. Finding out that you are pregnant with multiples can be very exciting, but it can also be a little scary at the same time. Here are a few things that you might want to know now that you are expecting more than one baby.
Multiple pregnancies used to be a lot riskier than they are now. With the constantly evolving practice of medicine, doctors have gotten a lot better at caring for mothers and babies both before and after birth. From insights into pregnancy health and nutrition to advances in ultrasound technology and other monitoring tools, there are many tools at your prenatal care provider’s (or prenatal care team’s) disposal to help you have a safe and healthy multiple pregnancy and birth. As soon as you find out that you are having more than one baby, talk with your care provider to find out what you need to know about multiple pregnancies from a caregiver’s perspective.
One piece of advice that you will likely get from your care provider that will differ from what your single pregnancy friends have been told is what your target amount of weight gain is. With twins, a typical suggested weight gain is between 35 and 45 pounds. That is double what a mom carrying one baby would be advised to gain, which makes perfect sense because you are growing two babies.
You just might find that you are feeling extra hungry from growing not just one, but two beautiful babies. Go ahead and eat something – you can safely enjoy about 600 extra calories each day instead of the 300 that moms of singletons need. Of course, the calories should come primarily from nutritious foods, but still. Healthy foods taste good, especially when you are very, very hungry.
Depending upon your pregnancy and your care provider, you may be advised to refrain from exercising or to keep things very, very light and gentle. You might feel like doing more than that, but it is important that you take it easy because all of the systems in your body are doing quite a bit of heavy lifting.
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