You may be wondering if pregnant woman usually know before hand that they are carrying twins and what are these twin pregnancy symptoms.
The truth is, some women who have had twins said they suspected that they were carrying more than one baby from the start. Meanwhile, others have been shocked when they know that they carry twin babies.
So are twin pregnancy symptoms different from singleton pregnancy symptoms? Are there clues that women can use to determine if they are pregnant with one or two babies before an ultrasound scan?
If you have been pregnant before, you will know that pregnancy comes with many noticeable changes in the body that one cannot miss. These changes show the symptoms of pregnancy.
Symptoms like nausea, lack of appetite, tiredness, and fussiness are some first trimester symptoms. Increased cravings, feeling more active and energetic, changes in skin tone, and weight gain are some second-trimester symptoms.
While body pains, tiredness, restlessness, and increased nesting instinct is some part of the third-trimester symptoms. These symptoms vary from woman to woman and differ with each pregnancy.
We know that the surest way to tell if a woman is pregnant with twins is through an ultrasound scan but can the symptoms of a twin pregnancy give us sufficient clues that a woman is pregnant with twins?
In this post, ten twin pregnancy symptoms, we throw more light on the symptoms of twin pregnancy than single pregnancy and give you ten sure-fire signs to check out for and know if you are pregnant with twins.
But before we discuss the ten twin pregnancy symptoms, let’s address some frequently asked questions regarding twin pregnancies.
How Soon Can You Tell If You Are Pregnant With Twins?
In the first few weeks of pregnancy, a woman may experience typical early pregnancy signs like vomiting, extreme tiredness, sensitive sore and heavy nipples, nausea, missed periods, etc.
To not confuse early pregnancy signs with twin pregnancy symptoms, check here for more early pregnancy signs you could be misinterpreting.
These symptoms may spur the woman to carry out a home pregnancy test to confirm if she is pregnant or not. If pregnancy has not been confirmed, a woman may not be aware if she is carrying multiples or not.
Twin pregnancy symptoms like elevated hCG level or exaggerated morning sickness may make the doctor want to check if the woman is carrying multiples (i.e., twins, triplets, etc.).
Are Twin Pregnancy Symptoms Different?
Twin pregnancy symptoms are somewhat not different from singleton pregnancies.
However, sometimes (not all the time), the symptoms are more exaggerated than in singleton pregnancy, like intense backache, extreme tiredness, exhaustion, increased weight gain, and a more pronounced belly bump.
Other times, it is the same.
Can Twins Be Detected At Four Weeks?
No, one cannot detect twin pregnancy at 4 weeks. So doing an ultrasound by 4 weeks to see a twin pregnancy is inaccurate.
So, how soon can you tell if you are pregnant with twins or not? On your own, you may not accurately determine if you are carrying twins or not, except you carry out an ultrasound scan.
An ultrasound scan detects a twin pregnancy, with accurate scan pictures from around 6 to 10 weeks. By 6 to 10 weeks, the doctor can schedule an early ultrasound scan to determine if you are carrying a twin.
If you do a scan earlier, you may not be able to tell if you are with twins accurately, but by 6 weeks, the baby is more mature; by 6-10 weeks, you will likely hear a distinct heartbeat and images of the fetus.
How Would You Know If You Were Having Twins?
An ultrasound scan is the surest way to detect if you are pregnant with twins. The scan is done at the end of the first trimester.
The scan shows the number of babies growing in the amniotic sac with the scan and also the fetal heartbeat.
So, to know if you are having twins, do an ultrasound scan if you are past ten weeks and a repeat scan at twenty weeks.
Can One Twin Hide Behind The Other Until Birth?
Yes, this can happen. The truth is, ultrasounds cannot give one the whole deal of what is happening in utero.
Since they are sonographic images, there will be some errors here and there, especially when you do a scan in the first trimester when the babies have not really matured.
Also, since there are no hidden twin pregnancy symptoms, a woman may not even know that she is carrying twins.
Some reasons why one twin can hide behind the other until birth include:
- The babies share an amniotic sac, i.e. monochorionic monoamniotic twins
- The woman took an ultrasound scan very early in pregnancy.
- Human errors
- While taking the ultrasound, one of the babies tucked behind the other.
- When you take only one ultrasound throughout pregnancy, though a twin can hide behind the other until birth, it almost always happens when only a single ultrasound is taken and at the early stage of pregnancy.
Early Twins Pregnancy Symptoms Before Missed Period
These are early signs of twin pregnancy for the first two weeks or three weeks after conception. Sometimes, the woman may not even know she is pregnant because it is not yet the date for her next period.
So, she has not missed her period. Below are some early twin pregnancy symptoms:
- Menstrual-like cramps
- Weakness of the legs
- Waist ache
- Extreme tiredness
- Drowsiness
- Vomiting/nausea
- Lack of appetite
- Heaviness and sensitivity of the breasts.
6 Weeks And 7 Weeks Twins Pregnancy Symptoms
As pregnancy advances, the symptoms change. The same thing happens with twin pregnancy symptoms. Below are some early twin pregnancy symptoms at 6 weeks and 7 weeks you will notice:
- Vomiting
- Missed period
- Unrest
- Lack of appetite
- Hyperemesis gravidarum
- Swollen and sensitive breast
- Feeling cranky
- Fatigue
- Dizziness
- Cramping
- Frequent urination
- Nausea
- Heartburn
- Frequent urination
- Increased sense of smell
- Food aversions
- Cravings
- Malaise
Single Vs. Twins Pregnancy Symptoms
There is no clear-cut difference between a single and twin pregnancy; most women experience the same pregnancy symptoms.
The only difference is that for twin pregnancy, the symptom may be more intense (though this doesn’t happen in all women).
Women with one baby experience severe pregnancy symptoms like hyperemesis gravid arum, even more intense than women with twin pregnancies.
Some can say that different women’s bodies respond differently to pregnancy, whether twins or singleton.
10 Twin Pregnancy Symptoms In Expecting Mothers
Now that we have answered these critical questions regarding twin pregnancy symptoms , let’s now talk about the main focus of this post.
Below are 10 twin pregnancy symptoms that could help you detect if you are with twins.
1. More Intense Morning Sickness
To statistics, pregnant women with twins have a higher and more intense morning sickness than women with a single baby. Women with twins may start vomiting and experiencing nausea early, even before a positive pregnancy test.
Usually, women carrying multiples experience hyperemesis gravid arum a severe case of morning sickness where women experience intense vomiting, nausea, and weakness.
Most times, they can barely keep things in their mouth. She also experiences loss of appetite, etc. However, it is essential to find ways to manage the morning sickness symptoms.
Try to take a small portion of meals at frequent intervals, find those meals you can tolerate, and eat them. Snacks, nuts, bread, etc., can help, and they are suitable morning sickness foods to help quell the sickness.
Drink lots of fluids, and do not forget to call your doctor if the morning sickness becomes unmanageable. Also, check out the tips on coping with morning sickness here. Morning sickness is a six-week pregnancy with twin symptoms.
2. Elevated hCG Level
The body starts making the hCG hormone when a woman becomes pregnant. In the first weeks of pregnancy, the level of the hCG hormone surges up.
If the level of hCG hormone is higher than usual, it could indicate a woman carrying twins. Unfortunately, this symptom is also experienced in some women having single babies.
So, the surest way to check is to wait for an ultrasound scan.
3. Severe Fatigue
This is another likely twin pregnancy symptom that you may want to note. Women with twin pregnancies have most commonly reported extreme tiredness, sleepiness, lethargy, exhaustion, weakness, etc., during the first trimester of pregnancy.
It is because the body works more to accommodate and nurture the two fetuses. In twin pregnancies, the body also has a higher basal metabolic rate (the rate at which the body uses up energy), so it is expected for the woman to feel exhaustion.
Extreme tiredness is also as a result of elevated hCG levels in the body. An increase in the hormone progesterone can also cause extreme fatigue.
It is essential at this time that the woman take frequent naps as soon as she feels worked up, eat a healthy diet to boost her energy level, have an earlier night, take walks, and do other mild exercises to keep active.
Even before confirming a pregnancy test, women with twin pregnancies may experience extreme fatigue. I had this same experience before I even knew I was pregnant.
Fatigue is eminent in all pregnancies. It may be extreme for twin pregnancies and multiples. This twin pregnancy symptom may always differ from one woman to another.
In the first two weeks, extreme fatigue is an early sign of pregnancy.
4. Measuring Large
The height of the uterine fundus is always measured during pregnancy to determine the fetus’s gestational age.
For twin pregnancies and other multiples, it is expected that the fundus height is increased because the mother’s uterus may expand or increase more compared to a single pregnancy because she is carrying two babies.
Though this could be a twin pregnancy symptom, an increased fundus height may also signify that the baby is big. If a woman has a previous pregnancy, it may also cause increased fundus height.
For accuracy, doctors usually carry out an ultrasound scan if they notice that a woman has unusually large fundus height to determine if she is carrying multiples or not.
5. Fetal Movement
As a pregnancy symptom, a woman is expected to feel the fetal movement in her belly bump from around the 18th to 25th weeks.
The woman should experience the first fetal movement called “quickening” much earlier than women with a single pregnancy, though not every woman may notice this movement.
After the first movement, the woman should begin to experience the fetal movement more rapidly. She would even be able to feel the babies more from her belly bump before the second trimester.
6. Increased Weight Gain
During pregnancy, you are expected to gain some weight in the first trimester, more in the second and third trimesters.
The increased weight gain results from the growth of the placental, increased blood volume, growth of the fetus, and an additional increase in the mother’s body mass.
This increase in the mother’s body mass is for storage of minerals during labor and breastfeeding.
To make up for the nutritional needs of two fetuses, the mother may have an increased nutritional need and sometimes more increased weight gain.
Sometimes, the mother may have an increased craving because of the increased demand for food. Note that eating more does not mean becoming overweight.
Women during pregnancy have to eat smaller portions at frequent intervals to have a belly-only pregnancy.
7. Food Aversions
Women experience food aversions as a sign of pregnancy. For some women with twin pregnancies, it is more intense.
Food aversion is when women cannot tolerate certain foods during pregnancy. One of the primary culprits of food aversion is changing hormonal levels.
This may cause some foods to cause a queasy feeling or irritate some pregnant women. However, food aversion may also be a natural way for the body to protect the fetuses.
Very spicy food, veggies, etc. are some foods women have aversions for. In any case, it is best to avoid those foods you have aversions to; to prevent vomiting and discomfort.
Instead, eat more bland and less flavorful meals that you can tolerate. Bananas, plain crackers, avocados, smoothies, chicken broth, etc., are excellent choices.
With time, the food aversions will decrease, and you will be able to have more food options to pick from.
8. Sore Nipples And Tender Breast
The breast’s soreness and tenderness are early pregnancy symptoms. Since it is similar to premenstrual, some women may not notice that it is a pregnancy symptom.
Breast tenderness and sore nipples are often extreme for twin pregnancy because of the elevated hormone level.
The woman may experience soreness around the nipple area; heaviness of the breast. The breast is also painful to touch. The nipples could also be itchy.
To reduce the pain and soreness, women can wear soft cotton bras that are loose, avoid tight underwire bras, and avoid any activity like running or bouncing that could overstimulate the breast till the pain and sensitivity subside.
9. Doppler Heartbeat Count
The Doppler heartbeat system is a harmless sound wave system that helps to amplify fetal heart sounds from as early as the late first trimester.
With careful listening to the Doppler heart sound, a gynecologist or even an experienced midwife can determine if there are two heartbeats rather than one by carefully listening to the heart sound.
Hearing more than one heartbeat could be a twin pregnancy symptom. Sometimes, this may not be an accurate indication of twin pregnancy because what the physicians hear as the second heartbeat may be the same baby’s heart heard from another angle.
The second heartbeat could also be the mother’s heartbeat rather than a sign that it is another fetus.
Background noise created by the mother’s heartbeat may make doctors assume that it is the fetal sound of another baby; hence the best way to confirm any twin pregnancy symptom or any pregnancy symptom is to carry out an ultrasound scan.
10. Increased Cravings In Pregnancy
Most women experience increased cravings and appetite for food. Food cravings may start as early as the first trimester for women, but in most women, it starts from the second trimester, when the morning sickness has worn off.
The woman who previously lacked appetite in the first trimester will now want to try out different types and varieties of food, unlike before pregnancy.
When I was in my second trimester, I remember craving more spicy and peppery foods and cold drinks.
With twin pregnancies, women may likely experience more hunger cravings because of increased nutritional demand by the babies. So, the woman needs to eat well.
She does not necessarily need to overeat to maintain the normal weight range but eating more frequently and in smaller portions can help her have a belly-only pregnancy while a woman is pregnant with twins.
Adequate nutrition is vital. Take foods containing the main classes of foods (i.e., Vitamins, minerals, protein, carbs), take lots of fluids, and avoid unrefined sugar, snacks, and too many fatty foods.
And do not wait till you get starving before you eat; you are likely to consume too much food this way.
11. The Belly Bump Is Bigger And Noticed Earlier
Compared to singleton pregnancies, many women with twin pregnancies start showing early because the belly bump is bigger than for only a single baby.
This is because the measurement of the fundus height for a twin pregnancy is usually higher.
However, it could also be higher in some singleton pregnancies because of factors like the number of times the woman has delivered before, baby size, etc. So, the size of the belly bump may not be an accurate indicator of twin pregnancy.
Still, most women expecting twins had observed that they started showing earlier than when they had single pregnancies and that the belly bump was bigger.
12. Increased Urination
When a woman is pregnant with twins, she should also expect frequent urination. It could be much more increased for a twin pregnancy because of increased hCG hormone levels in twin pregnancies compared to a singleton pregnancy.
Also, there is more weight in the babies, which causes an urge to pee. A twin pregnancy could lead to increased urination does not mean you should reduce your fluid intake.
Take fluids as expected but reduce taking fluids like coffee, tea, or seltzer. Alcohol is a complete no as it poses a risk of congenital abnormalities in your babies, especially when taken in the first trimester.
Try to take fluids 1-2 hours before bedtime to reduce the discomfort of waking up at night to urinate (this can disrupt your sleep). Always empty your bladder before bedtime.
Empty your bladder with each pee. Fluids that you can take to hydrate you and replenish electrolytes include; clean water, fresh juice like oranges, coconut water, broth, etc.
Also, take water-based fruits like cucumber, watermelon, pineapple, oranges, garden eggs, etc.
13. Gut Feelings
Without any test done or tell-tale signs, some women just have this gut feeling that they are carrying twins.
Call it maternal instincts or a hunch, but the unique thing is that sometimes these instincts are confirmed when the woman does an ultrasound scan.
In addition, some women have dreamt of seeing twins or some always talk about twins or believe that they are carrying twins.
Though there is no medical explanation for this, and sometimes the hunch may not always come accurate, it does come true.
14. Confirmation With Ultrasound
For women who may experience one or more of these symptoms, the best way to confirm if these are twin pregnancy symptoms is to do an ultrasound scan to ensure if you are carrying twins.
None of the symptoms of increased appetite, increased urination, weight gain, or even morning sickness would give you accurate facts if you are pregnant with twins or not.
So, if you have a hunch that you are with twins, it is best to do an ultrasound scan.
You will most likely be scheduled for a scan by the end of your first trimester or the beginning of your second trimester and a repeat scan done during your third trimester for better accuracy, as cases of hidden twins are more likely to occur if an ultrasound scan is too early.
Final Words
We can say that twin pregnancy symptoms will differ from woman to woman. To some women, it may not be all that different from single pregnancy but to some other women, the difference is obvious.
Whether you feel different symptoms or not, the best way to detect if you are with twins is to do an ultrasound scan.
Save for later!
