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Development in Utero
Reader's Questions and Answers: |
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NOTE: Answers provided are of a general nature only and in no way reflect a medical opinion or diagnosis. If you are in doubt about any aspect of your pregnancy, please consult your physician immediately.
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November, 2007
My sister is in hospital expecting twins at any time. The pregnancy is at 26 weeks 0 days, but she has been advised that the internal development of twins is 10-14 days behind a single baby. I've searched for information on this, but can't find any, so if you have any advice at all on this, I'd be really grateful. Many thanks Nikki H.
From Lynda:
Please know I am not medically trained, nor do I have in depth knowledge of your sister's situation. What I can tell you is that comparing the growth of multiples in utero to a singleton baby is not the way to go. Multiples share, sometimes unequally, the available maternal nutrition while a singleton baby gets 100% of the available maternal nutrition. Of course there is going to be a difference! There are many reasons for a weight discrepancy between the babies themselves: e.g. Twin to Twin Transfusion syndrome (this only occurs with monozygotic [identical] multiples and you don't say what the babies are; an anomaly with one of the babies; I have heard of a woman on medication to get pregnant and she conceived one baby, continued ovulating and got pregnant again one month later so the weight discrepancies in her babies was legit; a miscalculation of pregnancy dates and such.
In short, yes there are differences between a multiple-birth pregnancy and a singleton and the two can't really be compared to each other. I hope this is of some help.
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October, 2007
At the 20th week of twin pregnancy, is a difference in size of 20% (boy 10 oz and girl 8 oz) cause for concern? If so what?
From Lynda:
Hi, please know I am not medically trained nor do I have knowledge of your personal medical situation so my comments are guesswork. There isn't a law to say that twins in utero share the available maternal nutrition 50/50. In fact it could be 60/40, 70/30 or anywhere in between. If this was the case, that might explain the weight discrepancies. I think what I would look for is growth in each baby. Just because they are twins doesn't mean they will do everything the same at the same time. They are individuals, even when they are monozygotic (identical). As individuals, they are not always at the same speed. Make sure you ask a lot of questions at each doctor's visit: How big is each now? Perhaps keep your own growth chart so that you can see that your babies are gaining weight. Do they appear healthy? and anything else you might need to know. Eat nutritiously, don't drink or smoke or be around secondhand smoke, keep regular doctor's appointments. What this does is help your babies have the best chances. Hope this helps.
Best wishes.
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July, 2007
What about one baby moving more and not much movement from the other?
From Lynda:
Hi, I'm sorry I can't explain why one baby would be more active than another other than perhaps different temperaments. It could also be one baby has some stressors and your doctor could confirm if this was the case. It is really important that you connect with your doctor and voice your questions and concerns. Having all of your medical history, s/he is the best person to answer this question.
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July, 2006:
I'm now pregnant at 26 week (twins). I have had the 3 Dimention monitor and the doctor said their weights are about 760g and 730g for the babies. Is this weight normal at this period of pregnancy?
From Lynda:
I can't answer your question as there are so many variables: your height and weights (prepregnancy and now), your partner's height, your age. Each pregnancy is different, even for the same woman. What you want to learn is that the babies are regularly gaining weight and things are progressing. It sounds to me as if you are doing very well and you aren't too far from when the babies would be viable. My advice: don't worry unless you have to. Be aware of your body, what is happening, keep positive, eat nutritiously, keep regular doctor's appointments and the time will pass so quickly. Oh, and no alcohol, smoking or exposure to secondhand smoke. All no-nos.
Enclosing very best wishes,
Lynda
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July, 2006
when do the eggs split onto mutiples? @ what week or day?
From Lynda:
There is no specific time, each case would be unique. The splitting occurs in the fallopian tube and the split, ferilized eggs fall into the uterus to imbed and grow. Some split later and then con-joined twins occur.
Thank you for your question.
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July, 2005:
I have identical twin grandsons who are two and a quarter. One twin is talking up a storm and the other only has a few sounds. Should we be concerned?
From Lynda:
Dear Gramma, Congratulations on having identifical (monozygotic) twin grandsons. Very nice! One of the difficulties with having babies arrive 2 or 3 at a time is not comparing them to each other. Comparisons can be very difficult for both of them as they easily pick up on the cues of the adults around them and they will quickly realize that those adults feel something is amiss. What can delay multiples is that they shared the available maternal nutrition while in utero and not always equally. This inequality (and how premature they were) will have an impact on their development as compared to a singleton baby who received all of the maternal nutrition available. Each child is an individual no matter their birth situation. It is helpful to assess them on the following criteria:
1) Are they both healthy?;
2) Is each child individually progressing, developing, reaching goals at a reasonable rate?
If your answer is yes to both of these questions, I would not overly worry. It may still be that one may need some reading tutoring or math or otherwise at some point, but this is common with many children, especially boys.
I also like to have parents ask themselves, Would yI worry if they were singletons, say two years apart? Probably not. Who remembers exactly which day their singleton child spoke? We remember 'about when' they spoke. Because twins come together, we tend to compare them and we need to change our perspective and focus on each developing at his own capacity, in his own manner and that each is healthy and happy. The rest falls into place. I'll give you another example - if one needs glasses, would you be worried because the other doesn't? No, because they are different children with different needs.
Another way to encourage language is to read to him one-on-one and/or have him answer questions about pictures in a book. Another important language tool is to talk looking at him so he can see your mouth move and lips form the words. Mimicing is an important way to learn speech. Always make it fun with lots of positive feedback. I would also not fill in a word for him. If he wants some milk, for example, and points and says, "mmmmmm" even if you know what he means, say the word properly, "milk." If he can, have him repeat it back to you and lavishly praise him when he does. Responding to "mmmmm" only re-enforces the no speech pattern. He'll get it soon enough and be anxious to please, especially if his brother is already drinking his - but remember, no comparisons. It breaks the spirit.
It may be that one may have a speech impediment but keeping an ear open and having his doctor evaluate him will allow for a timely intervention, if such is the case. One of our twin daughters had speech therapy for two years, beginning at age 4. It helped her to keep up with her peers as well as with her sister. But it all occurred completely separate from her sister.
Hope this isn't too long. I understand the worry and hope I've managed to allay some of your fears.
Best,
Lynda
Feedback:
I had a miscarriage at 18 weeks with my last pregnancy and my pregnancy before that developed a healthy baby boy and now I am pregnant with fraternal twins is there any worry for me in this pregnancy?
From Lynda:
Congratulations on the birth of your son and now twins! How wonderful is that? I can completely understand your worry though. Please accept my condolences on the loss of your precious baby.
What most people don't realize is that pregnancy is different each and every time, even for the same woman. As you have already given birth to a healthy son, I would suspect that you will do just fine with your twin pregnancy. What will make it difficult is chasing after an energetic little boy while your tummy gets bigger and bigger. Not to worry though, that goes with the territory. You may want to think of interactions that you can do together while you are both sitting down, especially in the latter stages of your pregnancy. Maybe: playing with plastacine, reading, age appropriate games or toys, even watching a video. Swimming might be something that would work out too for the both of you.
What I would recommend is that you keep your regular doctor visits, listen to your body and if you are tired rest, eat healthy meals and snacks and enjoy this time to delivery. Please check out my Site for articles which will be of interest - the clothing and equipment and nutrition facts, for example.
Have a wonderful pregnancy. Please let me know what you have and if you feel like sending in a photo, that would be marvelous.
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