Twins! : expert advice from two practicing physicians on pregnancy, birth, and the first year of life with twins

The likelihood of giving birth to twins has shot up from one-in-90 to one-in-40 in recent years, thanks to the escalating use of fertility treatments and the advancing age of first-time mothers. Today, more than 100,000 multiple births take place annually, but despite this astonishing statistic, there hasn't been an authoritative reference that adequately focuses on the unique concerns of the parents until now. "Twins!" gives parents comprehensive information on the physical, medical, emotional, and psychological issues involved in having twins. The first part of the book covers the pregnancy, birth, and postpartum experience, and discusses a broad range of twin-specific information such as the epidemiology of twinning, fetal and embryonic development, nutritional needs, and exercise. The second section covers the first year of life, discussing such topics as telling the twins apart, size and energy differences, and how to cope with the extra work. Additional features include discussions with parents of twins, in which they share their experience on a variety of topics; sidebars filled with fascinating facts; a workbook for recording the pregnancies progress; and several appendices.