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Multiple births pose health risk to moms
CTV.ca News Staff
There could be deadly complications for women who become pregnant with twins, triplets or greater multiple births, a new study warns.
Multiples research usually focuses on the babies. It has long been known that twins, triplets and babies from other multiple births are more likely to suffer health problems than "singletons."
The new study was done by the Ottawa Hospital and the University of Ottawa. It is the first major review of the mothers' health.
Some of the findings regarding women carrying multiples:
* They are four times more likely to have a heart attack during pregnancy
* 13 times more likely to suffer heart failure
* 2½ times more likely to develop deep vein thrombosis, blood clots in the legs or lungs
* Have a greater risk of developing water in their lungs, high blood pressure, and post delivery bleeding
Dr. Mark Walker, a researcher with the Ottawa Health Research Institute, wrote the study with colleagues from Health Canada, and the Universities of Toronto and Ottawa.
In an interview with CJOH, Walker said mothers expecting more than one child should watch for warning signs -- pain in their legs, shortness of breath or chest pains.
"With a single baby during pregnancy, the heart's output increases by about 40 per cent," Walker said. "The blood becomes more coagulable (thicker), all preparing for delivery … when you have two or three babies, that increases that much more. That much more stress on the body."
About half of all twins and most sets of triplets are the result of fertility drugs or treatments that implant more than one embryo to improve the odds of having a viable pregnancy.
Dr. Jon Barrett of Sunnybrook and Women's College Hospital said women considering IVF or other techniques should be reminded of the risks.
The study was published Wednesday in the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
With files from CTV's Avis Favaro and CJOH's Norman Fetterley