How do triplets form

You may need to take iron and folic acid supplements. Your healthcare team will provide you with a nutrition plan. You are more likely to experience annoying pregnancy symptoms like reflux , haemorrhoids , varicose veins and constipation. Carrying triplets or more means you may also experience backache , so correct posture is very important.

Always bend your knees when lifting, tilt your pelvis forward when sitting, standing or lying, and consider stomach support. Because the babies are likely to be born early, it's a good idea to get the nursery ready and attend antenatal classes earlier than you would for a single pregnancy. If possible, look for classes or information evenings designed specifically for women expecting a multiple birth.

You will get very large and tired in the later stages of the pregnancy. You may have problems sleeping, but frequent rest and drinking plenty of water will help. Towards the end of the pregnancy, you will have to limit physical activity and travel, and may need to go on bed rest.

You will usually have to stop work earlier than with a single pregnancy. Your healthcare team can advise you on the right time for this.

While a normal pregnancy usually lasts 40 weeks, triplets are often born earlier. However, generally the longer your babies can stay in the uterus, the better.

But when you are pregnant with triplets or more, complications often develop that mean it's better for you and your babies if they are delivered early. Most multiple births take place by caesarean section.

Your medical team will decide when to deliver based on your health and that of the babies. You may need to stay in hospital for a while before the birth.

If you experience any signs of preterm labour , call your doctor immediately. If you are expecting higher order multiples, it's common to worry about possible pregnancy complications, how big you will get, how your other children will cope, and what help you will need.

For support and resources, contact the Australian Multiple Birth Association. Learn more here about the development and quality assurance of healthdirect content.

Multiple pregnancies, including triplets and more, are rare but require lots of support. Find out about the different types of multiple pregnancy here.

If you are pregnant with triplets or more, the birth will need careful planning. The main risk is that they will be born prematurely. Find out more here. There has been an overall increasing trend in multiple births in the last two decades in Australia. Attributed largely to the increased use of fertility drugs and assisted reproduction technology and the growing number of older mothers.

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Triplets are three babies carried in the same womb during a single pregnancy. Like twins, triplets and other higher-order multiples can be categorized by their zygosity or degree of genetic similarity. Though triplets are most commonly fraternal dizygotic or trizygotic , it is possible for triplets to be identical monozygotic. While many people are familiar with the terms "identical" and "fraternal" in describing multiples and use them to describe whether twins or triplets look similar, what these terms actually refer to is how the multiples formed in utero.

Monozygotic or identical multiples form from the same egg. In the case of identical twins, the fertilized egg splits in two. In the case of identical triplets, the egg may split just once into three or it may split twice where the egg splits first in two and then one of the two splits again , resulting in three embryos with the same general DNA characteristics.

Monozygotic triplets are always the same sex, either all boys or all girls. Some monozygotic triplets are actually quadruplets where one embryo has vanished or been reabsorbed. Research on the prevalence of monozygotic triplets varies. A case report of a healthy set of spontaneously conceived three identical triplet boys lists the incidence at 1 in , live births. Most reported cases are conceived through assisted reproductive techniques. That paper noted that only seven other cases of spontaneously conceived identical triplets were known.

A paper states the rate of incidence of identical triplets is times more frequent with assisted reproductive techniques than spontaneous conception but is still extremely rare. Share this post:. Share on facebook Facebook. Share on twitter Twitter. Share on linkedin LinkedIn. Share on email Email. Similar Post. Multiple Births.

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