Prenatal Visit Schedule for Twin Pregnancy
You’ll probably find yourself flipping through waiting room magazines far more often than some of your friends who are just carrying one baby. Your visits will depend largely on the number of babies you’re carrying. If you’re pregnant with nonidentical twins (aka dizygotic, meaning two of your eggs were fertilized by two of your partner’s different sperm) you get a bit of a break in the appointment department. Once you’ve gone for your first trimester screening (typically between 11 and 14 weeks), you’ll be back every month or so—at first for another set of screenings (15 to 20 weeks) and then for your anatomy scan (18 to 22 weeks). The monthly check-ins continue from then until your delivery day.
However, if your twins are identical (monozygotic) and share the same placenta or both the placenta and amniotic sac, you’ll step it up a bit, hopping up on the OB’s exam table once every two weeks. Same deal for triplets and beyond—about once every couple of weeks till D-day. Why the extra check-ins? For identical twins, who typically share a placenta, there’s a higher risk that your babies may develop twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome, where one twin receives significantly more nutrition than the other. And because there’s a significantly higher risk of preterm delivery from triplets and beyond, your doctor will likely want to stay on top of any potential changes happening inside.
Please note: The Bump and the materials and information it contains are not intended to, and do not constitute, medical or other health advice or diagnosis and should not be used as such. You should always consult with a qualified physician or health professional about your specific circumstances.
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