The woman's body has been conceived to house gestations of a single embryo. Therefore, a multiple pregnancy is associated with an increased risk of experiencing certain complications during pregnancy.
This does not mean that they necessarily occur twin pregnancy complications, since most of these children are born perfectly healthy, but if you are waiting for two or more babies, you should be aware of the possible risks.
The most common complications in twin pregnancy They are:
Miscarriage in pregnancy of twins
In all pregnancies there is a certain risk of having a miscarriage. It is believed that 20 percent of pregnancies do not reach term. In the case of twin pregnancy, the risk is multiplied by increasing the chances of it occurring a genetic abnormality during the first phase of pregnancy.
One of the most frequent cases of spontaneous abortion in the pregnancy of twins is known as evanescent twin or missing twin syndrome. It occurs when one of the babies, for reasons still unknown or for what is believed to be a defense mechanism, is absorbed by the mother, by the placenta or even by the other baby in the first weeks of gestation.
It is possible that in these cases it is not even detected that there has been more than one conception.
Low birth weight
It is considered that a baby is born with low weight if it weighs less than 2,500 grams, while a baby of 1,500 grams or less is considered a very low weight baby.
He low birth weight It is related to prematurity, which we will also discuss later. These babies are more likely to suffer physical difficulties during childbirth and the first hours of life and higher risk of suffering various respiratory diseases, especially during the first year of life. It is also associated with developmental delays.
If we make a comparison, in single pregnancies about 10 percent of babies are born with low weight, while in twin pregnancies more than half have low birth weight. When the twin pregnancy is triple, quadruple or more, the risk increases with each baby.
Premature delivery
A delivery is considered full term when it occurs between weeks 38 and 42 of gestation. The average gestation of a baby is 39 weeks, while The average duration of a twin pregnancy is 36 weeks. Approximately 30 percent of multiple births occur before week 37.
In some cases, babies are born before week 32, becoming large premature and facing certain complications such as difficulty feeding, regulating body temperature and breathing, among others.
Prematurity is a situation of high fetal risk. Also aggravated with complications that could derive from the mother such as infections, problems in the placenta, gestational diabetes or preeclampsia.
Delayed intrauterine growth
In the case of twins, it is more likely that there are alterations in terms of nutrients obtained from the placenta. Whether each one is fed through their own placenta, one may develop more than another so that a baby receives more nutrients than his brother, as if they share the same placenta and the amount of blood, and therefore nutrients, that reach one is disproportionate with respect to the other.
This imbalance causes the growth of one of the babies (or both) is restricted so that its size is not in accordance with the weeks of gestation.
It is considered to exist delayed intrauterine growth when the baby's size is less than 10% Expected for your gestational age. There may be different degrees, from a mild and controlled delay to more serious situations in which the twin who receives less blood flow may suffer anemia and risk their lives (phenomenon known as fetal transfusion syndrome).
