What to Expect During the Final Weeks of a Twin Pregnancy

I received a question from a mother who is 34 weeks pregnant, and she wanted to know what to expect in the last weeks of the twin pregnancy. So I’ve got a great resource on the website: It’s a week-by-week twin pregnancy guide. It covers a lot of the details about what mom is experiencing, how the babies are doing, and what were to happen if the babies were to be born that week, as well as some things that you can prepare in that week and the weeks to come.

The Final Weeks are Difficult

Keep in mind during the last several weeks of pregnancy, especially for someone who’s already 34 weeks pregnant, that the babies are safe to arrive at this point. The average for twin delivery is around 36 weeks. So if the twins are born right now, they should be fine. And the truth is they could arrive any day now as soon as you’re in the 34-week period.

Balance the need for wanting them to be born, but also wanting to give them time to grow safely before they’re born. And I know I felt this kind of tug in both directions as well as my wife did . Toward the later end of the pregnancy, mom is going to be miserable, mom is going to be huge, and she’s going to want the babies to be born. But at the same time, you want the babies to stay in so they can continue to develop and grow so that they have the best chance to be healthy once they’re born.

Now by the time mom is 34 weeks pregnant with twins, Dad is going to start to get really anxious because every day he’s going to think, “Well, is today the day? Is today the day the twins are going to be born?” and the reality of impending responsibilities start to weigh even more on him. I know this was the case with me during those last few weeks of the pregnancy. We’d put our preparations in place, and it was just waiting for the twins to arrive. It was a very kind of nerve wracking period of the calm before the storm.

Enjoying the Final Weeks

My advice in these last few weeks is hopefully that you’ve got all of your preparations in place, and, of course, the sooner the better to finalize your preparations and your plans, but also take time to enjoy the quiet moments that you’re going to have before the twins are born because once the twins are born there’s not going to be a lot of time for you, for quiet meditation, and pondering or resting.

So take advantage of those last few weeks of the twin pregnancy to enjoy the quiet moments, because life is never going to be the same after the twins are born. Things will become a new normal, but that normal will be different than what you started with before they were born.

This question was originally addressed on the Dad’s Guide to Twins Podcast Episode 43: Financial Shock of Twin Registry, Starting Same Schedules, Final Weeks of Pregnancy.

Picture by Jenn Raynes