Interesting stats and random comments

Written on 8/14/2010...posted on 8/17/2010:

• For a mother of triplets, at 24 weeks along, the uterus is the size of a “singleton” uterus at 36 weeks.
• 92% of triplets are born before 37 weeks compared to only 10% of singletons (and 57% of twins).
• For a woman who has already given birth at least once, the odds of delivering before 30 weeks is only one fourth that of a woman for whom a triplet pregnancy is her first. Said differently, Melissa, having given birth before, is 3 times more likely to carry past 30 weeks than if she had not given birth before.
• Average birth weight for triplets is 4 pounds, compared to 7.5 pounds for singletons (and about 5.5 pounds for twins).
• Identical or fraternal? Our triplets are fraternal. Even very early on, we can confirm this on the ultrasound because each of the fetuses are clearly in their own sacs (placentas).
• Femara, not IVF (In Vitro Fertilization) – Femara is an oral medication that is actually a breast cancer drug, but one side effect is that it is a potent stimulator of ovulation. So, it is also used as an infertility drug. Melissa’s ovulation cycle was sporadic, so she was prescribed Femara for two cycles when we conceived our triplets. We did not do IVF, which is a process by which they harvest the female’s eggs, fertilize them with the male’s sperm outside of the womb, and then “implant” them back into the uterus. With IVF, they sometimes implant multiple eggs with the hope that one will successfully “take”. Most triplets are the result of IVF.
• The birth rate for “higher order” multiples (3 or more babies) is one in 584 pregnancies…this is significantly higher than in 1975 when it was one in 2,950…this is due to two things: 1) infertility treatments have become far more successful and 2) women are having children later in life. Women ages 35-40 are three times more likely to have multiples than women ages 20-25.
• C-section? Yes, with triplets, Melissa will have a C-section when the time comes. That is pretty much required with triplets, and considered much safer than vaginal birth in the case of triplets. She did not have a C-section with Chase, so we’re new to that concept.