Bed rest has not been found to change outcomes and therefore is not generally recommended outside of a research study. Selective reduction (procedure) Selective reduction is the practice of reducing the number of fetuses in a<unk>  pregnancy; it is also called "multifetal reduction". The procedure generally takes two days; the first day for testing in order to select which fetuses to remove, and the second day for the procedure itself, in which potassium chloride is injected into the heart of each selected fetus under the guidance of ultrasound imaging. Risks of the procedure include bleeding requiring transfusion, rupture of the uterus, retained placenta, infection, a miscarriage, and prelabor rupture of membranes. Each of these appears to be rare. There are also ethical concerns about this procedure, since it is a form of abortion, and also because of concerns over which fetuses are terminated and why. Selective reduction was developed in the mid-1980s, as people in the field of assisted reproductive technology became aware of the risks that<unk>  pregnancies carried for the mother and for the fetuses. Care in pregnancy Women with a<unk>  pregnancy are usually seen more regularly by midwives or doctors than those with singleton pregnancies because of the higher risks of complications. However, there is currently no evidence to suggest that specialised antenatal services produce better outcomes for mother or babies than ‘normal’ antenatal care. Nutrition As preterm birth is such a risk for women with<unk>  pregnancies, it has been suggested that these women should be encouraged to follow a high-calorie diet to increase the birth weights of the babies. Evidence around this subject is not yet good enough to advise women to do this because the long term effects of the high-calorie diets on the mother are not known. Cesarean section or vaginal delivery A study in 2013 involving 106 participating centers in 25 countries came to the conclusion that, in a twin pregnancy of a gestational age between 32 weeks 0 days and 38 weeks 6 days, and the first twin is in cephalic presentation, planned Cesarean section does not significantly decrease or increase the risk of fetal or neonatal death or serious neonatal disability, as compared with planned vaginal delivery. In this study, 44% of the women planned for vaginal delivery still ended up having Cesarean section for unplanned reasons such as pregnancy complications. In comparison, it has been estimated that 75% of twin pregnancies in the United States were delivered by Cesarean section in 2008. Also in comparison, the rate of Cesarean section for all pregnancies in the general population varies between 40% and 14%. Fetal position (the way the babies are lying in the womb) usually determines if they are delivered by caesarean section or vaginally. A review of good quality research on this subject found that if the twin that will be born first (i.e. is lowest in the womb) is head down there is no good evidence that caesarean section will be safer than a vaginal birth for the mother or babies. Monoamniotic twins (twins that form after the splitting of a fertilised egg and share the same amniotic fluid sac) are at more risk of complications than twins that have their own sacs. There is also insufficient evidence around whether to deliver the babies early by caesarean section or to wait for labour to start naturally while running checks on the babies’ wellbeing. The birth of this type of twins should therefore be decided with the mother and her family and should take into account the need for good neonatal care services. Cesarean delivery is needed when first twin is in non cephalic presentation or when it is a monoamniotic twin pregnancy. Neonatal intensive care<unk>  infants are usually admitted to neonatal intensive care immediately after being born. The records for all the triplet pregnancies managed and delivered from 1992 to 1996 were looked over to see what the neonatal statistics were. Kaufman found from reviewing these files that during a five-year period, 55 triplet pregnancies, which is 165 babies, were delivered. Of the 165 babies 149 were admitted to neonatal intensive care after the delivery.
Multiple birth
Male lactation
Male pregnancy
Abortion in Europe
History of abortion
Preterm birth
History of birth control
Sexual activity during pregnancy