The NHS issued new guidelines for women who are expecting twins or triplets, such women should be offered close monitoring counting extra scans. The UK health watchdog NICE (the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence) says that expecting mothers should be referred to team of specialists and should receive no less than six scans.
They have depicted commendations for antenatal cure in multiple pregnancies in the midst of substantiation standards. These recommendations will provide mother-to-be with reassurance about their care. Multiple births are on the increase, mainly because of rise in the number of couples having IVF. They now account for three percent of total births.
There is higher risk of stillbirth or having a premature birth in multiple pregnancies. Some risks are particularly associated with babies sharing a placenta. Slow growth in the womb and congenital abnormalities are also more common. The NICE guidance says women those expecting twins or triplets should receive no less than six scans, and sometimes as many as eleven.
A scan of mother-to-be should be done at between eleven and fourteen weeks to evaluate if twins share a placenta, which can increase the risk of complications. Women at risk of early labour should not be routinely offered bed rest or drugs to prevent labour because there was no proof that they work.
Besides, the guidelines offer recommendations on when a planned birth should be offered. Up till now, there have been no apparent guidelines for women expecting twins or triplets. However, researchers do not examine women who are pregnant with four or more babies.
According to Dr Fergus Macbeth, director of the centre for clinical practice from NICE, they know there is a real clinical need for this guideline because NHS antenatal care for women expecting twins or triplets seems to vary significant. Not all women with multiple pregnancies are cared for in dedicated settings such as twin clinics or by multidisciplinary teams of healthcare professionals.
Although many women will have a normal pregnancy and birth, it is well known that there are higher risks involved for these types of pregnancy and so it is important to get it right, added Dr Macbeth.
Increased monitoring and contact with healthcare workers would help assure the mother and their babies received the best possible care. A multi-disciplinary approach including input from midwives, obstetricians and ultrasonographers will help ensure any complications are picked up early, explained Dr Virginia Beckett, from the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
Ultrasound view of Twin Pregancy
source : http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health