5 Signs You Might Be Pregnant With Twins (2024)
What we’ll cover in this post:
Is it one baby? Two? Three? Do you really have to wait until you have an ultrasound to find out for sure?
The short answer is: Yes. In order to be 100% sure how many babies are in your uterus, you’ll have to wait for ultrasound confirmation.
The good news is, there may be some other, earlier, signs of a twin pregnancy!
How soon can you tell if you’re pregnant with twins?
If you want to know for sure if you’re pregnant with twins, you’ll have to wait until your first ultrasound. Most pregnant people have their first ultrasound somewhere around 10-12 weeks of pregnancy. Sometimes, your healthcare provider will use a handheld doppler at your first appointment instead of an ultrasound. The handheld doppler will pick up your baby’s heartbeat. If you prefer to have an ultrasound, you can request one!
Who is more likely to conceive twins?
There are quite a few things that can increase your chances of conceiving twins.
You’re over 30 years old
Starting a family after your 20s is becoming more common, but could your age increase your chances of having twins?
Yes!
The older you get, the more your hormones fluctuate.
Some studies show that women over 30 years old have a higher level of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH).
FSH is exactly what it sounds like. It's a hormone that stimulates follicles (or immature eggs). FSH helps to ensure you are growing nice, healthy eggs before ovulation.
More FSH may mean more of those nice, healthy eggs; which may develop into fraternal twins.
You’re using fertility treatment
If you are using fertility medications, you can expect the likelihood of a multiple pregnancy to increase!
Fertility drugs help to stimulate your ovaries to produce multiple mature eggs per cycle. If more than one of these eggs is released and fertilized, more than one baby will begin growing!
Twins runs in your family
While there is not any set-in-stone evidence on this theory, some studies show that fraternal twins may run in families. Scientists believe that a hormone responsible for hyperovulation (releasing more than one egg during ovulation) may be genetic.
We use the word “theory” because if there is a hyperovulation hormone, it has yet to be identified. Theoretically, more hyperovulation hormone means there may need to be some outside factors present in order to “activate” it.
So, is it a coincidence that twins run in your family? Or are genetics really playing a role?
You’ve been pregnant before
If you’ve been pregnant before, your likelihood of conceiving twins in a subsequent pregnancy is higher. Your womb knows exactly what to do, so why not double the fun?
You have a BMI over 30
Those who have a body mass index (BMI) over 30 tend to produce more luteinizing hormone (LH). LH is the hormone responsible for telling your ovaries to release an egg (ovulate). More LH may mean more eggs released and fertilized.
You are taller than 5 feet 5 inches
Just like with genetics, being taller is another theory that may affect the likelihood of conceiving twins.
Researchers believe that an Insulin-like Growth Factor (IGF) may contribute to the likelihood of conceiving multiples in taller folks.
It is believed that this IGF may affect how sensitive the ovaries are to follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), which may cause hyperovulation.
You are breastfeeding / chestfeeding
You may have heard that breastfeeding/chestfeeding suppresses ovulation; meaning you can essentially use breastfeeding as birth control. This is called the Lactational Amenorrhea Method (LAM) of birth control.
There are quite a few factors that contribute to using this method appropriately (we’ll talk about that in another post).
Once your menstrual cycles return to “normal” while breastfeeding/chestfeeding (typically after the first 6 months), your hormones are still in breastfeeding mode.
While you are breastfeeding/chestfeeding, your level of luteinizing hormone (LH) and prolactin are higher. LH has a direct effect on ovulation while prolactin is a pregnancy hormone. This combination may increase the chances of conceiving twins while breastfeeding/chestfeeding.
Signs/Symptoms of carrying twins
Like we previously talked about, the only way to know for sure how many babies you’re carrying is via ultrasound. There are a few signs of a twin pregnancy that may happen early on.
Keep in mind that these things can also happen in singleton (one baby) pregnancies too!
Home pregnancy test positive earlier than “normal”
Most commonly, people get a positive pregnancy test right around the time of their missed period.
If you get a positive test, especially a really dark positive, days before your period is even due, that may be one of the early signs of twins!
The more babies you’re carrying, the higher and faster your human chorionic gonadotropin hormone (hCG) rises. This is the main hormone in pregnancy and the hormone that home pregnancy tests detect.
Having a higher level of hCG may be one of the earliest signs you’re having twins!
Belly bump shows faster
Are you noticing your belly growing pretty fast? There are a few different things that can contribute to that!
If you’ve ever been pregnant before, your uterus and abdominal muscles are already a bit stretched, so that can contribute to a baby bump sooner.
Another reason is that maybe your dates are off and you’re actually further along in your pregnancy than you thought.
If it is neither of those things and weight gain is happening faster, maybe it is a sign of a twin pregnancy!
Heightened pregnancy symptoms
For most pregnant folks, the unpleasant symptoms of pregnancy begin around week 6. The symptoms like:
Fatigue
Nausea
Vomiting/morning sickness
Breast tenderness
Frequent urination
If you are experiencing extreme early pregnancy symptoms and/or they come on pretty early, maybe you conceived more than one baby! Early twin pregnancy symptoms may be more severe than singleton pregnancy symptoms.
The hCG hormone is responsible for those early pregnancy symptoms and, remember, there's more hCG earlier on with a twin pregnancy.
If you are experiencing severe morning sickness and/or frequent vomiting, it is also possible that you have hyperemesis gravidarum (HG).
Hyperemesis gravidarum (HG) is severe, extreme nausea and vomiting during pregnancy. HG can lead to dehydration, fatigue, electrolyte imbalance and malnourishment. HG sometimes requires medical attention.
A second heartbeat
Sometimes, you can hear your baby’s heartbeat as early as 8-10 weeks of pregnancy. (If you’re interested in reading more about that, check out our post [plug heartbeat post]).
Some pregnant people may find the heartbeat(s) before their first prenatal appointment or your healthcare provider will find it at your first appointment.
If your healthcare provider uses a doppler and thinks they may hear more than one heartbeat, chances are, they will send you for an ultrasound.
Being able to detect this at home is unlikely, especially if you’re not experienced in using dopplers. You already have your own heartbeat that you can hear with the doppler. It may be too hard to decipher between your heartbeat, your baby’s heartbeat, and a possible second baby heartbeat.
Early movement
While this may not be an early sign, it can still happen a little earlier than in a singleton pregnancy.
Some twin moms report movement as early as the first trimester!
Not only will you most likely feel movement earlier in your twin pregnancy, but you’ll likely feel more movement since there’s multiple babies squiggling around in there!
Can you have twins if it doesn’t run in your family?
Like we previously talked about, having twins in your family may increase your chances of conceiving twins.
If this theory is true, scientists believe it may be because women carry a hyperovulation gene.
This hyperovulation gene may increase the chances of multiple eggs being released during ovulation.
In these cases, this would only increase your chances of having fraternal twins, not identical twins.
Let’s talk more about that!
Fraternal versus identical twins
To keep things simple:
Fraternal twins are conceived when two eggs are released and fertilized by two sperm. Fraternal twins have two placentas and two amniotic sacs; it’s basically two separate pregnancies at the same time.
Identical twins are conceived when one sperm fertilizes one egg and then that fertilized egg splits into two; this is much more rare than conceiving fraternal twins. Identical twins even share a placenta!
Naturally conceiving identical twins is much more rare than conceiving fraternal twins; especially when we account for environmental factors (the ones we talked about up there ^).
*Fun Fact: You can sometimes tell if your twins are identical or not by looking at the ultrasound at the placenta configuration. All of these scenarios could mean identical twins, but mono-di and mono-mono twins are always identical.
The Takeaway
The rate of twin births has increased significantly since the 1990s! Researchers believe there may be a few reasons why there’s been such an increase in twins:
Fertility Drugs - More and more people are using fertility drugs and treatments to conceive, which greatly increases the chance of twins
Obesity - The rate of obesity is continually rising and obesity can increase your chance of conceiving twins.
Environmental Factors - Studies show that more twins are conceived in the summer and autumn months, perhaps attributing to daylight, temperature, and food supply. Conflicting studies also suggest that smoking, folic acid intake, and recent oral birth control might increase the odds you’ll get pregnant with twins.
So, what are some factors that increase your chances of conceiving twins?
You’re over 30 years old
You have a BMI over 30
You’re more than 5 feet 5 inches tall
You’re breastfeeding/chestfeeding
You’re using fertility treatments
Twins run in your family
What are some signs of a twin pregnancy?
You got a dark positive pregnancy test days before your missed period
Your belly bump is growing quickly
Your early pregnancy symptoms are heightened
A second heartbeat
Early movement
Keep in mind, the only way to know for sure that you are pregnant with twins is to have an ultrasound.
🤍 The Motherboard Team
