Expecting Twins

Mental Health Support

New Partnership Advocates for Better Mental Health Support for New Parents

Allie Walld 4 days ago

No matter how you look at it, parenting is stressful. Beyond keeping one or more tiny humans alive, the extreme sleep deprivation and financial strain of keeping multiple mouths fed and the associated butts clean and dry don't make anything easier. Add to that the potential trauma that can come with a multiple-birth delivery and the relationship strain that comes over time with never...

Wait...What?

10 Weird Twin Pregnancy Symptoms You’ll Wish Other Parents Warned You About

Allie Walld 3 weeks ago

You've probably heard of the classic pregnancy signs: nausea and vomiting, tender and/or swollen breasts, extreme fatigue. As these symptoms linger, you start to wonder what's up with your body, and then you realize your period is late, so you decide to take a test. Aside from the obvious pregnancy symptoms you've probably heard about, there are less obvious signs you might experience...

Making Screening More Accessible

Predicting Preeclampsia: New Prenatal Screening System is a Game-Changer

Allie Walld 1 month ago

Preeclampsia is a serious condition that affects between two and four percent of singleton pregnancies and between nine and 11 percent of twin pregnancies. This means a twin pregnancy presents a risk of developing preeclampsia that is approximately two to three times higher than a single-baby pregnancy. The likelihood of Preeclampsia developing is nine to 10 times more likely at...

When Two Become One

What is a Fused Placenta & Do I Need to be Worried About It?

Allie Walld 1 month ago

When you're pregnant, a lot of fun—and interesting—things can happen to your body. When you're pregnant with twins, there are even more interesting things that can happen to your body. Like finding out that the two placentas you saw on an early ultrasound have fused together and become one organ. But, what exactly is a fused placenta, anyway? And is it a cause for concern? Let's take...

Like Latin

Glossary of NICU Medical Terms & Acronyms for Parents of Premature Babies

Allie Walld 2 months ago

When you become a parent to premature babies, you also become someone who's taking a crash course in specific medical terms for infant care. The neonatologists and pediatric nurses in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) will use many different terms you may not understand when discussing your babies' medical conditions and the specialized care they're receiving. Sometimes, it can...

Quad Did You Say?

Just How Rare are Quadruplets? The Chance of Conceiving Four Babies at Once

Allie Walld 2 months ago

Earlier this month, a couple in Australia's family grew by four in a matter of minutes, when they welcomed monozygotic quadruplets via Caesarean section. Born prematurely at 28 weeks and four days (a gestational time when their lungs, digestive systems, and immune systems are still developing), the identical girls were naturally conceived after one single fertilized egg split into four...

A Complex Grief

The Shadow Sibling: Understanding & Healing from Vanishing Twin Syndrome

Allie Walld 3 months ago

If you're expecting twins or higher order multiples, your pregnancy is automatically higher-risk than a singleton pregnancy. A multiple pregnancy is considered high-risk for many reasons. When you're carrying more than one baby, there are more babies on board, more things to monitor, and more ways things can go wrong. And if they go wrong, they can go wrong very quickly, which is why...

A Little Warning

The Thing I Wish Other Parents of Twins Had Told Us Before Ours Were Born

Allie Walld 4 months ago

When you tell people you're having twins, one of the first things they automatically tell you is it's double the laughter and double the love. And in your head, you probably reply that it's double the diapers and double the work. I'm a fraternal twin, and I'm also a mother of identical twins, so I can vouch that all of these things are true. But there's one part of having...

How Many Heartbeats?

Multiplication Shock: 3 Things to Do When You Find Out You're Having Twins

Allie Walld 4 months ago

Nothing flips your world upside down quite like finding out the one baby you were planning and hoping for has secretly multiplied and turned into two bundles of joy. When you get that news, it's a good thing you're already laying down for the ultrasound. Usually, when you find out something surprising, the initial shock wears off after a few moments. But when that shock involves a...

Ouch That Smarts

Charley Horses Cramping You Up? Magnesium May Ease Your Twin Pregnancy Pain

Allie Walld 8 months ago

Morning sickness. Itching skin. Back pain. These are telltale signs of a pregnancy. Another common annoyance when you're expecting will hit you when you're least expecting it. As you enter the second and third trimesters, charley horses can kick you out of nowhere, causing short spasms in your legs. These brief bothersome bursts can be more frequent or more intense if you're pregnant...