How to Know If You Have a Twin Pregnancy

A twin pregnancy can often come as a surprise and can leave even the most excited future parents a little nervous. The sooner you know if you have a twin pregnancy, the more time you will have to prepare. The only sure way to know if you have a twin pregnancy is to get an ultrasound. However, your symptoms during pregnancy, your lifestyle, and your family’s history may all provide you with some insight into how likely you are to have twins.

Method 1
Method 1 of 3:

Getting a Medical Diagnosis

  1. Set up an ultrasound at your OB-GYN’s office or birthing center. Your ultrasound technician, doctor, or birthing professional will be able to use the ultrasound images to determine if you are pregnant with twins. [1]
    • An ultrasound is the most accurate way to determine whether you’re carrying twins.
  2. If you suspect twins and want to know before you can get your ultrasound, ask your doctor, nurse, or birthing professional to listen for multiple heartbeats. [2]
    • Hearing multiple heartbeats in the womb is not always indicator that you may have a twin pregnancy, so you may still want to confirm it with an ultrasound.
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  3. If your uterus is larger than normal, this may also be a sign of a twin pregnancy. Often, your doctor will check this without prompting during your regularly scheduled appointments. [3]
    • This measurement stretches from the top of your pubic bone to the top of your uterus. It’s called the fundal height measurement.
  4. HCG (human chorionic gonadotropin) is a hormone that’s present in your urine and blood during pregnancy. Doctors can measure it through a routine blood test. If you’re pregnant with twins, your HCG level might be higher, but it’s not always an exact indicator. [4]
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Method 2
Method 2 of 3:

Evaluating Your Symptoms

  1. Weight gain and the size of your bump will vary from person to person. If, however, you feel like you are gaining weight or growing faster than you expected, that may be a sign of twins. [5]
    • In general, a healthy woman of average weight should gain 20-40 lbs (9.07-18.14 kgs) during her pregnancy. If you are putting on a lot of this weight in the early stages of your pregnancy, twins is one possible cause. [6]
  2. Pregnancy will impact most women’s energy levels, and a twin pregnancy can magnify that. Feeling extremely tired or lethargic throughout the course of the day or getting easily exhausted by basic tasks such as walking from one room to another may be a sign of a twin pregnancy. [7]
  3. A twin pregnancy requires a little more help from your body’s resources so that both babies can grow healthy in the womb. This can result in your body working harder to pump blood, which in turn may lead to varicose veins. If you notice a high number or the quick development of varicose veins, this is another sign that you may be carrying twins. [8]
    • If you were already prone to varicose veins before you became pregnant, twin pregnancy may make your veins more prominent.
  4. Many women with a twin pregnancy report feeling extreme nausea and morning sickness. A twin pregnancy may cause women to feel symptoms on par with that of hyperemesis gravidarum, an extreme type of morning sickness that can result in frequent vomiting and sudden episodes of confusion, imbalance, or exhaustion. [9]
    • Not all pregnant women experience an increase in nausea with twins, and not all episodes of extreme nausea are due to a twin pregnancy.
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Method 3
Method 3 of 3:

Checking Your Predisposition for Twins

  1. Twins often run in families. That means that if other women in your family have given birth to twins, you are likely to do so as well. Look over your family’s history to see if twins are common. If you are unsure, ask some of the women in your family if they know about anyone who has had twins. [10]
    • Since only women ovulate, twins only run genetically on the mother’s side of the family. This means that you don’t need to focus on your partner or donor’s family, even if twins are common with them. [11]
  2. Your chances of twins go up in you were using in vitro fertilization (IVF) or fertility treatments. Think about how you became or plan to become pregnant. If you are using IVF or hormonal fertility treatments, this increases the likelihood of twins. [12]
    • If you are using IVF, your doctor will determine the number of embryos transferred to your uterus. If they only transfer a single embryo, twins are far less likely than if they transfer multiple embryos.
  3. Multiple pregnancies such as twins and triplets are more common among older women as the body is more likely to release multiple eggs during ovulation. Women over the age of 35 are subsequently more likely to have twins than women who become pregnant before or during their early 30’s. [13]
  4. Some scientific studies suggest that vegetarian and vegan women are less likely to have a twin pregnancy than women who also eat meat. This may be because a protein released by animals can increase ovulation in women who consume meat. Look over your eating habits to see if they are more likely to result in a twin pregnancy. [14]
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      References

      1. ↑ https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/pregnancy-week-by-week/in-depth/twin-pregnancy/art-20048161
      2. ↑ https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/pregnancy-week-by-week/in-depth/twin-pregnancy/art-20048161
      3. ↑ https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/pregnancy-week-by-week/in-depth/twin-pregnancy/art-20048161
      4. ↑ https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/getting-pregnant/in-depth/home-pregnancy-tests/art-20047940?pg=1
      5. ↑ https://www.babycentre.co.uk/a539826/when-will-i-know-if-im-having-twins
      6. ↑ http://americanpregnancy.org/pregnancy-health/pregnancy-weight-gain/
      7. ↑ https://raisingchildren.net.au/pregnancy/health-wellbeing/twin-pregnancy/pregnant-with-twins
      8. ↑ https://raisingchildren.net.au/pregnancy/health-wellbeing/twin-pregnancy/pregnant-with-twins
      9. ↑ https://www.babycentre.co.uk/a539826/when-will-i-know-if-im-having-twins
      1. ↑ https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/what-causes-twins/ ?
      2. ↑ https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/what-causes-twins/
      3. ↑ https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/what-causes-twins/
      4. ↑ https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/what-causes-twins/
      5. ↑ https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/05/060521103211.htm

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        May 10, 2018

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