Triplet Pregnancy
Facts About Triplet Pregnancy
It may be hard enough when you realize you are pregnant but it can be an even bigger shock to find out you are having a triplet pregnancy. You will have to make some major adjustments, so that you can be prepared for their arrival. But this doesn’t have to be stressful or difficult. If you take the time to learn the best ways to simplify your daily tasks while taking care of the babies, everything will become easier. A triplet pregnancy can be hard on the expectant mother but she can also look forward to having an instant family, instead of just one baby.
This type of pregnancy happens more often now days and there are two main reasons for this. The first reason is because more women are taking fertility pills to conceive children. A woman may be having a difficult time becoming pregnant or it just might not be happening fast enough. If this is the case, a doctor might prescribe a specific fertility drug. These drugs can be administered over a period of time in treatments. They promote ovulation but there is a clear difference between this process and normal conception. Normally when women ovulate, they only produce one egg. But when a woman uses fertility drugs, she can drop multiple eggs at a time. The result is multiple births and this happens more often now, compared to twenty five years ago because of these fertility treatments. It is estimated that out of ten thousand births, eighteen will be a triplet pregnancy.
In vitro fertilization is another reason why women are having more babies. This medical procedure consists of a doctor implanting fertilized eggs in the uterus in hopes of a conception. This procedure is also used for couples who are having troubles conceiving. But in this case, either the man or woman might be suffering from another medical problem like a lower sperm count or damaged fallopian tubes. The egg will not have to travel through the tube and this can increase the chance of pregnancy considerably. When a doctor implants the egg, he rarely will use just one. To increase the chance that one fertilized egg may survive, he will implant more than one egg into the uterus. Many times, one or more of the fetuses will not develop into a baby. But occasionally they will and this can result in a multiple birth.
A woman who is experiencing a triplet pregnancy will have more pregnancy related symptoms. For example, she will gain weight faster and she will have severe morning sickness that is much worse than with a normal pregnancy. There are also risks involved with a triplet pregnancy.
Miscarriage is a possibility with a triplet pregnancy. Only half of the women that carry triplets actually carry them to full term. Thirty percent of women will have two healthy babies and eighteen percent will only have a single baby that survives out of the three. These expectant mothers are also at high risk for having a premature birth because of crowding within the uterus and birth defects can also happen. But a doctor can spot these problems early on in the pregnancy.
Luckily, an expectant mother will be monitored throughout her pregnancy. As soon as the doctor is aware of a triplet pregnancy, he will perform an ultrasound test. With this test he will be able to spot any irregularities or deformities that happen and address the problem. When the mother delivers the babies, a caesarean section is almost always performed but they can be delivered naturally if the babies are in the correct position and the mother is physically able.