Pregnant with Triplets/ Multiples? Few first hand tips, what to expect and more...
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Author:
Khushboo Kirale
- >> Post Created: August 8, 2020
- >> Last Updated: April 25, 2024
Medically Reviewed by: Dr. Veena Shinde (M.D, D.G.O, PG – Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) from Warick, UK) Mumbai, India
Pregnant with Triplets - Tips and more...
My journey of becoming a mother to triplets started when I came to know during my ultrasound that I was pregnant with triplets.
People kept asking me whether I had gone for an IVF procedure, but it was a completely natural conception. They were and still are shocked to find it was natural. We were shocked as well, as our families don’t have a history of twins or triplets.
The news that I was Pregnant with Triplets sent shockwaves through both our families. Everyone was happy for sure, but there were a millions doubts and queries that we had with respect to being pregnant with triplets, along with the financial implications.
Being a mother of triplets, this post is extremely special for me. I truly believe this article will help you gain insights into what you need to keep in mind once you know you are pregnant with triplets/ twins or more.
Learn more: Pregnant with Twins – Some Faqs.
I have simplified various details that will help you along your journey, while being pregnant with triplets/ twins/ multiples. Hope this article helps you in being better prepared and planning ahead for what’s to come.
What does multiple pregnancy mean for you?
A happy mommy gives birth to a happy baby, and when there are more babies you need to be extra happy. Take care of yourself; this is very important especially when having multiple babies.
I came to know I was pregnant with triplets in my 17th week of pregnancy. Before that I was continuously working and traveling. I felt fatigued and dizzy often, but never associated it with pregnancy. I correlated it to the stress at work and my irregular menses.
In spite of my hectic life and the stress I had put myself through during the early weeks, I was lucky enough to not have any complications and could carry my boys to full term.
However, you need to be extremely careful when you are pregnant with triplets/twins or more, as the probability of complications increases with multiple pregnancy.
The best way to take care of your babies is to take care of yourself.
Now let me tell you what multiple pregnancy will bring along with it:
More frequent check-ups
To track your babies’ growth and development, you would need to visit your gynecologist more frequently. Your healthcare provider will monitor not only your health but also check for any early signs of complications. You may need to perform ultrasounds and other tests regularly.
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Advance Preparations
When pregnant with triplets, twins or more you may need to be prepared for an early delivery. So planning for essentials beforehand will come in handy.
Keep the basics check list of baby must haves ready like cribs, baby bottles, changing tables or pads, towels, etc. ready two months prior to due date. Also make sure you have people with you in the hospital as you will not be able to do anything once you are in the hospital bed or postpartum.
If you already have an elder child/children at home make sure you make arrangements for them as well. Stocking up on canned food and ready-to-eat food will help even when you come back from the hospital and don’t have time for grocery shopping initially.
Share medical details, history and insurance details with your friends and family so they can help you when you are in the hospital.
Pick your medical team early
When pregnant with triplets/ multiples, it’s always advisable to pick your medical team well in advance.
It’s always good to have one team attend to you from start to end. This will enable them to know your medical history and will help you become more comfortable with your caregivers and hospital in advance.
Keep in mind to look for professionals who have had more experience with multiple pregnancy, especially if you are going to have triplets or more.
Nutrition: Do you really need to eat for 4 or more?
Nutrition is a vital element for having a healthy pregnancy, as what you eat will fuel your baby’s growth. Therefore, eating a balanced diet filled with the right nutrition is recommended by all doctors.
Your doctor may prescribe important prenatal vitamins, extra folic acid, or iron pills to make sure you are getting enough nutrients for you and your growing baby.
Your doctor may also suggest you to increase your calorie intake anywhere between 300 – 600 calories, depending from patient to patient, apart from giving you a detailed diet chart.
Moms with multiples are generally suggested to increase calorie intake up to 600 calories per day.
When I was pregnant with triplets, my doctor had suggested at one point that I should eat as much as I could as I was suffering with really bad acid reflux for some time.
When pregnant with triplets don’t worry about the extra pounds that you might gain in the process. You can always shed them later.
Restricting your diet during your pregnancy may potentially not only hamper your child’s growth but also be perilous for your health altogether as well.
Don’t even think about skipping meals and portion control when you are going to have twins, triplets or more. Restricting your food intake may result in lower nourishment for your babies inhibiting their growth.
I myself had gained 24 pounds by the time I delivered my triplets at 40 weeks. So don’t fret over it. Once your babies are born, taking care of them will give you plenty of exercise.
If you follow a vegan diet, vegetarian diet or any other diet as a lifestyle choice OR have religious restrictions on certain food intake, make sure you inform your doctor so they can build a diet plan based on your diet preferences. Also, inform your doctor about any allergies that you may have, so they can eliminate the same from your diet.
Disclose Medical Details
Your doctor needs to know if you are under any medication from the first visit itself. Your families’ medical history is as important as yours and your partner’s.
The doctor usually conducts preliminary tests to rule out any complications that may arise, but if you already have any preexisting conditions, then disclosing them will make the doctor’s job easier.
Be Careful with Medicines
I have always been of the opinion that before you start or stop any kind of medicine, dietary supplement or herbs you need to take your doctor’s permission. You need to be extra cautious during pregnancy with medicines.
Body Changes: Internal & External changes that you need to keep in mind.
Woman who are pregnant with triplets will have more intense symptoms during pregnancy than woman with a single pregnancy. They’re more likely to feel exhausted and sense the growth within their bodies sooner. I myself used to feel drained out and fatigued easily on a daily basis.
After the initial few months my doctor suggested bed rest for me with light exercises and movements.
You will also see your uterus grow faster when compared with a single pregnancy. I remember I did not show too much tummy till 30 weeks while carrying my elder daughter. But with triplets I had started to show the babies bump pretty much by the end of 21 weeks. In fact, I had started to feel loads of changes from 5 weeks itself; however, I ignored them thinking the bloating was due to irregular menstrual cycle.
So girl shop for your maternity clothes in advance. You will be surprised how soon you may be needing them.
You need to understand about water retention as well. In most multiple pregnancies, women experience water retention, particularly in their ankles. You feel completely bloated waist down.
Drink loads of water and stay hydrated. Generally, soaking your feet in hot water with sea salts can give relief to swollen ankles.
Water retention is normal. But it can also be a sign of Preeclampsia – life threatening condition. That’s one of the reasons why doctors monitor multiple pregnancies so carefully.
Exercise in Pregnancy
You need to remember that while being pregnant with triplets you have to be extremely cautious especially when you are considering to exercise.
You should take your doctor’s advice seriously. If you have been a workaholic all your life be prepared for a scenario where you may not be able to continue with the same lifestyle.
Honestly, it was very difficult for me to transition from movers and shakers to hardly moving.
However, always remember, it’s important to slow down. A slower pace is good for you and your baby.
Speak to your doctor about what you can and cannot continue doing while being pregnant with triplets/multiples. Please be open with them all the time. The more information they have, the easier it is for them to help you.
They may suggest yoga, walking or any other form of light exercise based on your circumstances.
Bed Rest
When pregnant with triplets, twins, multiples, bed rest is a common suggestion by doctors.
Carrying multiples has always been in the range – ‘High Risk Pregnancy’.
However do not fret. Most doctors suggest movement of some kind to keep your body and baby healthy.
Depending upon your case your doctor may suggest anything from light walking to even cycling.
Make sure whatever form of exercise or movement you choose is approved by your doctor beforehand.
Consider Complications
Healthy twins and triplets are born every day. Still, it’s important for you to be aware of possible complications. I am listing a few which you need to be aware of:
Premature Birth
The more babies you’re carrying, the less likely you are to carry your pregnancy to full term. If you have signs of preterm labor, you might be given injections of a steroid to speed your babies’ lung development. I remember my doctor had discussed this with me with my first baby due to complications and requested me to consider it during my triplets as well.
There could be a possibility that even then, your baby might experience complications, including breathing and digestive difficulties, vision problems, and infection.
Interventions to prolong pregnancy, such as bed rest, aren’t recommended because they haven’t proved to decrease disease and deaths in newborns.
I remember that my daughter had to be delivered a month premature because of a drastic reduction in amniotic fluid. So when I heard I am pregnant with triplets I had to be extra cautious. My doctor and I were preparing for all the worst scenarios and hoping for the best. As the saying goes, it is better to be safe than sorry. I followed that to the T and so should you.
Gestational Diabetes
If you’re carrying multiple babies, you are at an increased risk of gestational diabetes. This condition causes high blood sugar that can affect your pregnancy and your babies’ health. An endocrinologist, a registered dietitian or a diabetes educator can help you learn to manage your blood sugar level during your pregnancy.
High Blood Pressure
If you’re carrying multiple babies, you’re at an increased risk of developing high blood pressure disorders during pregnancy. Always keep a check on your blood pressure.
C-section Delivery
When you are delivering twins, vaginal delivery is performed quite frequently, especially if the first baby’s position is head down. If the first baby if in the feet down position, a C-section can be advised by the doctor. In some cases it has been seen that complications developed after the vaginal delivery of the first baby; therefore, the second baby required a C-section. For triplets or more the common route of delivery is usually a C-section.
Twin-Twin Transfusion
With identical twins and triplets, it’s possible for a blood vessel in a shared placenta to result in one baby receiving too much blood and the other too little. If this scenario occurs, it can lead to a serious complication where both babies might be at risk. It might lead to heart complications and may require fetal procedures when the baby in the womb.
Again, I strongly suggest speaking to your doctor about the slightest difference or discomfort that you may experience. The more you share, the better they can care.
Caring for Multiple Babies
Here comes the true test of your pregnancy. Post-delivery, your twins, triplets or more will put all your skills to test.
Healthy multiple babies have the same needs as other newborns. You will a lot of rest and support, especially if your babies premature or need special medical attention after birth. You are also at a higher risk of postpartum depression. If you experience any symptoms of postpartum depression, talk to your doctor.
It is definitely time to enjoy with your babies, and here are some tips that could help you with the same:
Ask for support
You would need a lot of help post pregnancy. Discuss this in advance with your family, friends, doctor and caregivers. Plan things in advance as you may not be in a position to be up and going after the delivery.
It takes a village to raise a child, so you know YOU WILL NEED ALL THE HELP YOU CAN GET. Consider hiring a nanny, if your budget permits.
Rest when your baby rests
It can be easily achieved if you have one baby. But with multiple babies, you can thank your stars if all your babies are resting at the same time or even overlapping durations to give you maybe an hour’s time to recuperate. Never leave that chance. RUN.
SLEEP. It won’t be easy to find time for rest with multiple babies, but you need to get enough sleep and rest. Don’t be adamant to do everything by yourself, you will exhaust yourself sooner than you know. You don’t want to turn into a zombie mommy.
Don’t stress about breast feeding
After the stress of the delivery, your body is going through an upheaval of hormones. This along with handling twins/triplets or more is going to be challenging enough for your body.
Don’t stress if you are not producing enough breast milk. There are simple hacks which will help you in increasing your milk supply. You can also slowly create a stock of expressed breastmilk. Its really simple to store and heat breastmilk when you want to utilize. This way it will help yo get breaks as well while your partner can feed the expressed milk.
Learn more: How to buy Breastmilk Storage bags and Bottle Warmers?
To start with in the initial phase while your body is adjusting, avoid feeling guilty for putting your kids on formula. Forgive yourself and do the best you can, it’s not in your hands most of the time
Discuss this with your doctor in advance. More babies mean more responsibilities and work, which can be translated to more stress. Be prepared with some things that help relieve the stress.
Dedicate time for it every day, and inform everyone who is helping you. You deserve some ‘me’ time and should definitely take it. While doing so, keep in mind you may not always get your time when you need it, so be open to adjustments because your babies may need you.
Do not get frustrated. Enjoy this time with your babies. It’s not always you will see three bundles of joy playing in your hands. You can even join support groups where moms going through the same can help each other.
A few support group sites that can help you deal with Postpartum that you can check:
Look out for Weight Gain
Delivering multiple babies is going to be taxing on your body and you may not look like the pregnancy posters of your favorite celebrities. Be open to weight gain. During pregnancy, it’s necessary as you need to sustain the triplets’ health.
For twins, it is recommended that women gain about 37 to 54 pounds (which is 17 to 25 kilograms) who were in the normal weight range before pregnancy.
Post-delivery, don’t expect a miraculous weight loss. It would be slow and would range between 1 – 3 pounds a month to begin with (this may differ from person to person).
Work closely with your doctor and your dietician and you can overcome the weight gain in a year or sooner (some may even take longer—again depends on person to person).
Use Baby Identifiers
Even though I had fraternal triplets (that means they are not identical), they look so similar that many members of my family had trouble distinguishing one from the other.
There were instances where they fed the same baby twice or gave the same medicine twice. As a mother I could identify my boys easily without special aid, but it was not easy for everyone else.
So we tied different colored ribbons to each baby’s ankle to identify them easily. You can also go for name tags, initials on clothes, assign a particular color of clothing for each baby, etc. to help your other caregivers in their confusion.
This did come in handy when I had to leave my boys at day care. The employees were glad that I had used these easy identifiers. You can try the same if people have trouble distinguishing between your babies.
Key Takeaway
All pregnancies come with their fair share of jitters.
Considering the heightened risks, it’s no surprise that moms of multiple babies might feel especially anxious.
You will make mistakes, but blaming yourself and others will not work. It will increase your anxiety and can lead to postpartum depression. So keep a clear head and forgive yourself.
Worrying won’t help you, but being well-informed and prepared will help. Don’t shoot for the stars and aim at becoming a superwoman and do everything yourself from the start. Take baby steps and become a supermom instead.
If you are pregnant with triplets, you are a supermom already. You are among 0.1% of the population who have given birth to triplets. So wear that cape proudly.
Don’t forget to ask for help when needed, even superheroes have each other’s back.
I hope this article helped you understand being pregnant with triplets better. Hope my tips and pointers are useful in getting you on the right track towards a healthy triplet delivery.
If you are pregnant with triplets and have any specific query, feel free to write to us. We would love to help you out with it.
Happy Triplets!
Khushboo Kirale
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