Prenatal care is even more crucial when carrying twins, triplets, or more babies (multiples). Compared to a singleton pregnancy, multifetal pregnancy have a higher risk of complications for both mom and babies. To closely monitor their development and health, frequent prenatal visits and specific tests are essential.
Ultrasounds are often performed between 11 and 13 weeks to assess the kind of placenta and membranes shared by the multiples, which might impact pregnancy management and outcomes. Let’s look at multifetal pregnancy and related sonography in depth.
What is Multifetal Pregnancy?
When a woman conceives more than one fetus at once, it is known as a multifetal pregnancy. If you are carrying two babies, they are called twins. When three babies are carried during one pregnancy, they are called triplets. More than three babies are termed higher-order pregnancy.
Multifetal Pregnancy Sonography in Pune
Precious Clinic for Advanced Fetal Medicine offers multifetal pregnancy sonographys in Pune under the care of Dr Tejas Tamhane, the best fetal medicine specialist in Pune. Are you looking for multifetal pregnancy sonography in Pune? Do reach out to us and we’ll help you out.
Types of Multifetal Pregnancy
Multiples can develop in one of two ways:
- Fraternal (Dizygotic): The most common type of multifetal pregnancy. The ovaries produce two or more eggs, which are fertilised by different sperm. The offspring will be genetically diverse, similar to regular siblings.
- Identical (monozygotic): This is when a single fertilised egg divides into two or more embryos very early in development. The offspring will be genetically similar.
Implications of a Multifetal Pregnancy
A multifetal pregnancy, carrying twins, triplets, or more, comes with some considerations:
Increased risk of complications:
- Mother’s Health: Women who have multiples are more prone to develop issues such as gestational diabetes, high blood pressure (preeclampsia), anaemia, and preterm labour.
- Babies’ Health: Multiples are more likely to be born early and with low birth weight. This may raise their chances of requiring more treatment in the Neonatal Intensive Treatment Unit (NICU) and developing health problems later in life.
- Birth Defects: Multiples are slightly more likely to have birth defects than singletons.
Increased monitoring:
Multifetal pregnancies require more careful supervision than singleton pregnancies due to the increased risk of problems for both the mother and the offspring. This may involve:
- More frequent prenatal visits: This allows doctors to monitor foetal growth and Dopplers, identify potential issues like preeclampsia or early delivery, and alter care as necessary.
- Specialised sonographys: Detailed ultrasounds may be performed to detect the kind of placenta and membranes shared by the fetuses (important for pregnancy management) and to look for birth defects.
- Additional testing: Depending on the circumstances, doctors may propose procedures such as amniocentesis or chorionic villus sampling (CVS) to detect genetic issues.
- Choice of fetal reduction: If there are three or more foetuses in the womb, then couple can decide about undergoing fetal reduction procedure. With this procedure, the heart beat of one of the foetuses is stopped with specific medications so that there will be a better outcome for remaining fetus.
Diagnosis of Multifetal Pregnancy
- Medical History: If you undergo treatments such as in vitro fertilisation (IVF), you are more likely to have multiples.
- Physical checkup: During a standard prenatal checkup, your doctor may notice that your uterus is larger than normal for your gestational age, which could indicate multiples.
- Ultrasound: Prenatal tests include ultrasound, which is the most accurate approach to diagnose multifetal pregnancy. A transvaginal ultrasound performed between 5-7 weeks can frequently detect multiples. By 11-13 weeks, a comprehensive ultrasound can reveal the number of foetuses, the type of placenta and membranes they share, and any early signs of problems.
Get Multifetal Pregnancy Sonography in Pune – Consult Dr Tejas Tamhane
Carrying multiple babies can be an exciting as well as an overwhelming experience. However, it’s important for parents-to-be to navigate this journey confidently. Understanding multifetal pregnancy allows you to make informed choices about your care. For this, you should be in touch with a fetal medicine expert.
If you’re looking to get multifetal pregnancy sonography done in Pune, then do reach out to Dr Tejas Tamhane, the most renowned fetal medicine specialist in Pune.
Precious Fetal Medicine >
Multifetal Pregnancy Sonography