An introduction:

A twin or a multiple birth occurs when more than one fetus is carried to term in a single pregnancy. The name given to the multiple births depends upon the number of offspring. There are commonly two types of multiple births and are called fraternal (dizygotic) and identical (monozygotic). The risks related with the multiple births are a lot and in many cases it leads to premature birth. The premature birth of the babies causes many threats as they have to face many health challenges which include jaundice, anemia or apnea.

Problems in twin and multiple births:

One of the acutest problems related with multiple pregnancies is that of the premature births. When a normal pregnancy takes about 40 weeks of time a twin or a multiple pregnancy often takes a period of about 35 to 37 weeks. The risk involved regarding the premature birth increases in the case of higher-order multiples. Some of the other problems related with multiple births are gestational diabetes, fetal growth problems, and preeclampsia. The babies born in the multiple births many have to face some long-term health problems which are caused by the premature births.

Types of multiple births:

There are mostly two types of multiple births and are known as monozygotic or identical and dizygotic or fraternal. The monozygotic or the identical birth occurs when a single fertilized egg divides into separate halves and develops into two separate identical babies. The babies thus born are genetically identical having the same physical and chromosome characteristic. They are also similar in respect to the sex, hair, eye colour and the blood type. The other type of multiple birth i.e. Fraternal twins are absolutely different then the other babies born to the same parents.

The Fraternal twins are born when two eggs are fertilized by two separate sperms. The babies thus born may or may not be of the same sex and other physical features. Only this kind of pregnancy is affected by heredity, race or the maternal age. When the multiple pregnancy is in regard of triplets or any other higher-order multiple births then it is called as supertwins. This is the rarest form of multiple pregnancy and the babies thus born can be fraternal, identical or a combination of both of them.

How to stay healthy during multiple pregnancies:

The most important thing to care during multiple pregnancies is to stay healthy and fit. Getting adequate rest, eating properly and going for regular checkups to the doctor are some of the ways of maintaining a good health. During the pregnancy period a strict pregnancy nutrition guideline should be followed and the intake of calcium and the folic acid should be increased. Milk, broccoli, fortified orange juice and sardines are the sources of rich calcium. Some of the other requirements of the expectant mothers are the regular intake of adequate proteins. Iron is the most essential elements for the production of hemoglobin which is a substance that binds oxygen that are delivered to the tissues.