how soon can you diagnose twins?
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It's possible to see twins (or more) on an ultrasound at around six weeks, though one baby may be missed at this early stage. Sometimes a heartbeat is seen in one sac, but not in the other. Rescanning in a week or two may reveal a second heartbeat, or the scan may show that one sac is growing and the other still empty.
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Chances are, you are not having twins if there is no evidence of multiples on ultrasound. However, it is not unheard of, particularly when the ultrasound is performed in the first two months of pregnancy.
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Giving birth to twins. Twins are more likely to be born early, often before 38 weeks, so it's important to understand your birth options. Less than half of all twin pregnancies last beyond 37 weeks.
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Most first-time moms of twins don't feel fetal movement, or quickening, until 18 to 20 weeks — about the same average for singletons. (That said, if this is your second or later pregnancy, you're more likely to feel the flutterings faster.)
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The only way to confirm a twin or multiple pregnancy is by visually identifying the multiple fetuses with ultrasound. If your doctor or caregiver can only see one baby, it is not likely that you're having twins or multiples.
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Throughout the first trimester and up until nearly the end of the second trimester, around 24 to 26 weeks, twin babies both grow and develop at about the same rate as single pregnancy babies.
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On average, twins are about 6 months behind single babies in their language development. Twins may be slower to pick up speech and language skills because: ... parents often speak to 1 twin while looking at the other, but children need eye contact to help their language development.
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Implantation in the womb. At this stage, your twin babies are each a rapidly dividing ball of cells, and around two weeks after fertilization they burrow into the lining of the uterus. Read up on fetal development for more details.
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An ultrasound scan is the only way to confirm that you're pregnant with twins (McAslan Fraser nd, NICE 2011). The earliest you're likely to find out is between 10 weeks and 14 weeks, when you have your dating scan (McAslan Fraser nd, NHS 2019, NICE 2011).
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Your twins may be born a little early. Doctors consider 37 weeks to be full-term for most twin pregnancies. The average length of pregnancy for twins is 36.4 weeks. Babies who are born between 32 weeks and 37 weeks generally do very well.
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This means more ultrasounds that could give you a sneak peek at the gender of your twins earlier than a singleton pregnancy. You might even discover the gender as early as 12 to 13 weeks into the pregnancy.
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The only definite way to find out whether you're having twins or other multiples is to have an ultrasound scan. The best time to have this ultrasound is at 10-12 weeks of pregnancy. This is usually when your health professional can say for sure how many fetuses, placentas and amniotic sacs there are.
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Ultrasound. Although the factors above may be signs of a twin pregnancy, the only sure way to know you're pregnant with more than one baby is through an ultrasound. Some doctors schedule an early ultrasound, around 6 to 10 weeks, to confirm the pregnancy or check for issues.
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First Trimester: Your Pregnancy Symptoms and Your Twins' Development. If you notice any early signs of pregnancy, a home pregnancy test might confirm that you're pregnant. But, only your healthcare provider can reveal that you're pregnant with twins, often during an ultrasound scan at 12 weeks.
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It's usually possible to find out if you're having twins through your dating ultrasound scan, which happens at around 11 to 14 weeks. At the scan, you should be told whether the babies share a placenta (meaning they're identical) or if they have 2 separate placentas (meaning they can be identical or not).
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You can tell identical twins apart by their belly buttons! Even if everything else seems extremely samey-same with your matching pair, twins' belly buttons will be different because they heal differently, post-birth.
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An ultrasound scan is the only way to confirm that you're pregnant with twins (McAslan Fraser nd, NICE 2011). The earliest you're likely to find out is between 10 weeks and 14 weeks, when you have your dating scan (McAslan Fraser nd, NHS 2019, NICE 2011). Ultrasound is almost foolproof at diagnosing twins.