Could you really be surprised by twins at birth?

[spatulagirl]

Could you really be surprised by twins at birth? Say if you aren't getting an ultrasound and don't use the doppler. Wouldn't you or your midwife figure it out before you went into labour?


I ask because DH is freaked out by by twins and my family has made it worse by telling him it is time another set was born in the family, teasing him that it is twins this time. I don't have a twin vibe though and I would think I would? Wouldn't it be quite different from a singleton pregnancy?

[lillymonster]

well, my mom was told she was having a single baby and she had identical twins. It was 50 years ago, but she gained a ton of weight and the OBs told her it was only one. It was my dad who told her either she was having twins or birthing an elephant. It was her first birth though, so she told me she had no clue.

As for twins - identical twins are a fluke of nature, they don't run in families. Fraternal twins run on the mother's side.

[MaerynPearl]

http://www.mothering.com/discussions...ighlight=twins

nudnik just did in July

but its rare.

It may help if you read up on twin info... for example it does not matter if you have twins in your family if they are identical, only if they are fraternal.

BTW fraternal does run in my family (both mother and fathers sides) ive been pregnant 4 times and never has it been twins... but that certainly does not stop my family from trying to convince me it is, even after ultrasounds.

[sewingsparklz]

Um, you and your midwife should be able to tell by measuring your fundus and by your weight, I would think. Should be very obvious, from everything I've read (though I've never had twins).

[WifeofAnt]

Rarely fundal height doesn't show 'obvious' signs of twins.

[katroshka]

My childbirth educator had surprise twins back in the late 70's, apparently they were using a stethoscope and never could hear the second heartbeat. They just thought she was having a big baby.

[littlest birds]

Hahahahaha

We were.

My midwife should have known. I was suspicious before 5mos and actually started reading about twins semi-obsessively. I measured big, but my midwife said oh no you had a big baby for your first (10lb) so there's no need to think that measuring big raises a question. She basically said no way.

I simply believed her (although there were a couple of odd dreams) and didn't consider it again until the birth.

I was HUGE by 35 weeks. I looked at least full term before then. But I just felt really pregnant which seemed normal near the end IYKWIM and I was full time student at the end of a semester (finishing up before baby was expected) so I wasn't very focused on it an I think I even missed one prenatal appointment right before my midwife left for a conference out of state. It turned out that she got seriously ill and was hospitalized across the country when the babies were born.

I went into labor early, my midwife was out of state at the time but her assistant came with me to hospital, it was the middle of the night, labor was slowed down but I was fully dilated so it was still inevitable. Never had an ultrasound, the monitor was a little "glitchy" but we ignored it. (In hindsight there was a second heartbeat.) I was happy and smiling and relaxed throughout and the nurses were nice about leaving me alone. The doctor went to sleep until I was ready, dd was born at 7:30 and nobody knew about ds until we were waiting for the placenta. The doctor said it was the first time he'd ever had a twin birth that wasn't in an operating room and it was also the lowest intervention one ever. It was kind of hilarious all around.

(It was also a VERY good thing the midwife who came and supported me was there and that she whispered to me that I should push baby #2 out fast as soon as we knew he was in there before they decided to make an emergency of it--and that is what I did.)

We had no other twins in our family.

Anyhow, yes, it is possible. But I think most midwives in most circumstances would catch it. There were more than a few signs for us, if I hadn't turned off the twin possibility part of my brain and if my midwife were doing her job better.

[finnegansmom]

I would think you would at least suspect something when you are feeling kicks in 2 different places at once and by the size but I'm sure there are times when it's not possible to know? No USs, dopplers, ....... I can totally see people not knowing until later on though, I'm 19 weeks tomorrow and can barely feel the baby kicking so it could be two and I wouldn't know (i know it's one but I'm big enough for 2).

What surprises me more than people not knowing they have twins is people who don't know they are pregnant AT ALL. LOL... I remember with my last, he was so big and strong he'd kick me SO HARD you could totally see it through a shirt. I mean, what else could you possible think that protusion was that wouldn't send you rushing to the ER immediately?

[WifeofAnt]

I only have one and he likes to move around and push off in more than one spot. If I hadn't had two very clear ultrasounds I might think there are two in there.

[Banana731]

[lillymonster]

Originally Posted by finnegansmom

What surprises me more than people not knowing they have twins is people who don't know they are pregnant AT ALL. LOL... I remember with my last, he was so big and strong he'd kick me SO HARD you could totally see it through a shirt. I mean, what else could you possible think that protusion was that wouldn't send you rushing to the ER immediately?

I am obsessed with the show "I didn't know I was pregnant" okay maybe if you had no morning sickness, but come on, you can't chalk up a baby kicking to gas...I am only 23 weeks and I see my stomach move and jump out of the corner of my eye.

[lillymonster]

Originally Posted by littlest birds

Hahahahaha

We were.

My midwife should have known. I was suspicious before 5mos and actually started reading about twins semi-obsessively. I measured big, but my midwife said oh no you had a big baby for your first (10lb) so there's no need to think that measuring big raises a question. She basically said no way.

My mothers twins were around 4-5 pounds each, so both of them weighed less than I did at birth (I was close to 10 pounds)

[katroshka]

littlest birds: Oh, my god... I want to hear more about when you guys realized there was another one in there... I don't know why, but I always think back to the story from my childbirth instructor and wonder what happened in detail. Like #1 comes out, then you just keep having big contractions? Or what? And does everyone just freak out when they realize? I really don't know why I'm so curious, but I guess it's been all these years of curiosity just building up!

[dejagerw]

My aunt didn't know she was pregnant with twins (this was over 30 years ago), but they didn't know until after the first one came out and she was like "there's something else in there". She had identical twin boys.

But I was thinking the same thing as pp. If people can give birth without even knowing they were pregnant, I'm sure it's a lot easier to have 2 in there and only think it's one.

[spatulagirl]

See, I told DH there was no way we wouldn't know. That something would eventually clue us in. littlest bird, I won't tell him your story! LOL

I know about the identical/fraternal thing. And all the twins are fraternal on my side. Four of my cousins have already given birth to fraternal twins. That is what has DH freaked out.

But I think people just like to freak other people out about these things, so I keep telling him to ignore it all.

[SumnerRain]

Twins run in my family too, my maternal aunt had twins, my maternal great grandmother was the only surviving twin, and my paretnal aunt lost twins at term. My maternal cousin & his wife had twins (nephew of my aunt, not child of), his sister is pregnant with twins right now and she is only 4 weeks ahead of me. Not that it effects genetics, but just to make it more fun, my sister is adopting twins... so this winter there will be three sets of g/g twins under the age of three. When I got pregnant, I SWORE they were twins, and I asked my aunt how she knew since her twins are in their 40's and they didn't have high tech tests then. She said she knew at 5m when she was feeling hiccups in different places, in different rythyms. She refused to leave her OBs office until he found HB #2, he argued but she stood her ground and voila! She only gained 20 lbs, despite being small when she started the pregnancy and measured just a little ahead. The boys were 5 lbs each.

So it does happen, it is pretty uncommon, but I think most midwives/mamas would figure it out.

[HeatherB]

For me, I know I'm NOT having twins because I can clearly feel just ONE baby. For several months I've been able to make out a single baby which has gone from a lump on one side or another to obvious back, feet, etc. I would guess that with twins you would have a much harder time discerning parts but that you'd also clearly feel something more in there.

Still, I totally believe it's possible to miss or ignore signs and love the stories where there are surprises!

[OkiMom]

I actually knew of a woman who had "typical" pregnancy care (two ultrasounds, appointments every 6-8 weeks then every 4 after 32) and was very suprised to have twins two days after her due date. She had no clue, her midwife/OB neither had a clue. First sign was after the birth she felt the second baby kicked and asked "If the baby is out, why is she still kicking??" Quick ultrasound later they found the second baby. She wasn't that happy about it (not about having a second kid, she was jazzed about that, it was not knowing until that late and not being ready for a son when she was expecting a daughter).
One of my friends was a triplet. Her mom knew she was having twins, went into labor and ended up having triplets. This was in the 80s, had a C-section and the doctors said "Heres number one, heres number two.. or shoot did you know there was a 3rd??". The doctors told her they figured the 3rd hid behind the other two during the ultrasounds.

[Just1More]

I'm curious about this, too. I'm still wondering how many are in there, and I'm 40+ weeks! We've not done much prenatal care, and only seen my midwife in person 3 times. Only once did she palpitate much. This baby has been the most active of my 4, and I can't make sense of the bumps, etc. I think it spends some time posterior, but...

There are so many lumps and bumps. And I feel hard baby sized things, and limb feeling things in front of them. I really don't know.

I'm not bigger, or gained more, and the baby feels good sized, like my others.

Almost definitely not. But, I don't know...

[Fujiko]

Yeah, I want to know what would go through a woman's head when they were told or realized at labor that there was more than one.