The period of pregnancy possesses so much importance in the life of a woman as she experiences a lot of chemicals, physical and emotional changes in her body. Women are really very excited to get through this phase of life but sometimes it really becomes a bothersome and unbearable period for females.
Females having Normal singleton pregnancies for the first time don’t suffer from intense complications and allergies as compared to women having twin or multiple pregnancies.
Being a woman you just need to know what is a singleton pregnancy and how it differs from a twin or multiple pregnancies? What are the risks and pregnancy complications?
This research-based article is designed to explain the risk of some pregnancy complications of singleton pregnancy in contrast with a twin pregnancy, supported by firm scientific evidence, studies, and research.
What is Singleton Pregnancy?
Singleton pregnancy refers to the birth of a single child at a time. Typically singleton pregnancy has a gestation period of 20 weeks or more.
Difference Between Singleton Pregnancy and Twin Pregnancy:
Singleton pregnancy tends to give birth to a single baby while twin pregnancy gives two babies at a time. Of course, this is not the only difference between singleton and twin pregnancies also. Women who experience first singleton pregnancy and then twin pregnancy can clearly feel the difference between these two.
The most common and noticeable differences between singleton and twin pregnancy are highlighted below.
Baby Bump:
Baby bump in twin pregnancy is bigger than singleton pregnancy with a crystal clear reason. The woman’s womb is now accommodating two babies instead of one that gives a larger baby bump. Baby bump of twin pregnancy at 32 weeks is equal to singleton pregnancy at 40 weeks
Morning Sickness:
Although Morning sickness is common during pregnancy it becomes more intense in twin pregnancy as compared to a singleton pregnancy. It bothers many mothers and increases their prenatal visits to overcome this problem. Morning sickness may become worse as the pregnancy progresses further and prescribed medicines to ease your gestation period.
More Vitamins and Nutrients:
Singleton pregnancy requires vitamins and nutrients to fulfill the nutritional requirement of the mother and her baby. But in the case of twin pregnancy, this nutritional requirement becomes almost double. Malnutrition during twin pregnancy gives serious consequences.
Pregnancy Complications:
Singleton pregnancies have less risk of complications as compared to twin pregnancies. The more the babies in the womb the more will be a complication. Mothers having twin pregnancies suffer more from hypertension and risk of preterm premature rupture of membranes.
More Clinical Visits:
Twin pregnancy demands more prenatal visits as compared to twin pregnancy. In singleton pregnancy, if you visit the doctor once a month then you have to visit twice a month during twin pregnancy.
Risk of Preterm Premature Rupture of Membranes in Singleton Pregnancy :
Before the onset of labor, there is a slight rupture of the fecal membrane known as preterm premature rupture of membrane (PPROP). PPROP is basically a pregnancy complication that may cause the early birth of the baby and increase the risk of infection.
In PPROP the sac surrounding the baby breaks before the 37th week of pregnancy.PROP happens naturally due to the weakening of fetal membranes because of the force of contraction or any infection of the uterus.
A study by PubMed reveals the following conclusion about PPROP in singleton pregnancy vs twin pregnancy
- In both singleton and twin pregnancies, latency in PPROM earlier than 30 weeks of gestation was longer than PPROP at or more than 30 weeks of gestation.
- PROP shows the same latencies in singleton and twin pregnancies when occurred before the 30th week of gestation.
- Latency in twins was shorter than in singleton pregnancy if PPROP occurs at 30th week of gestation or at > 30th week of gestation.
This is the overall conclusive report that shows the comparison of latency in both singleton and twin pregnancy with respect to the occurrence of PPROP ( at 30th week of gestation, before or after 30th week of gestation).
Singleton Pregnancy and Preeclampsia:
The etiology of preeclampsia is still unknown. It is a pregnancy complication associated with high blood pressure and damage to other vital organs like kidneys and liver. Population-based research was carried out to know about the risk of recurrent preeclampsia in singleton pregnancy vs twin pregnancy. Here we summarize the conclusions of this study as follows.
- When the first pregnancy was a singleton, the risk of recurrence preeclampsia is more for the next pregnancy. The case of women having first twin pregnancy has less risk of recurrence preeclampsia.
- Women who experience preeclampsia in their first singleton pregnancy have a risk ratio of recurrence preeclampsia in second pregnancy 14.9%.
- Women having first twin pregnancy have less risk of recurrence preeclampsia that is 6.8%.
However, in the case of the first pregnancy, women having singleton pregnancies have less chance of the occurrence of preeclampsia as compared to women having a first twin pregnancy. Preeclampsia is more common in multiple pregnancies as compared to a singleton pregnancy.
Conclusive Thoughts:
Singleton pregnancy is less complicated and less bothering than twin and multiple pregnancies. Multiple pregnancies are not uncommon but still a difficult task for the human body to give birth to more than one baby. There are so many physical and clinical differences between singleton and multiple pregnancies.
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