In some ways, your nutritional needs are different with a twin pregnancy. The biggest way that your nutritional needs are different relate to the fact that, if you have twins, you should gain more weight than you gain with a singleton pregnancy. With a singleton pregnancy, you should gain between 25 and 35 pounds; with a twin pregnancy, you should gain between 35 and 45 lbs.

Still, this difference is not as hard to accomplish as you think. When you are “eating for two,” you aren’t going to take in twice the amount of calories; your growing baby and you need about 300 extra calories each day to keep things moving along. If you have twins and are “eating for three,” you only need a total of about 600 calories beyond your pre-pregnancy dietary needs.

In terms of prenatal vitamins, you should definitely take prenatal vitamins if you have a twin pregnancy. If you have a singleton pregnancy, it is often not as important for you to have a prenatal vitamin, although it is still recommended. Your nutritional needs are higher with a twin pregnancy, but they are not double, however. You should still only take the dose of a prenatal vitamin that your health care provider recommends. Don’t double up on prenatal vitamins. Keep in mind as well that a prenatal vitamin is not a substitute for eating a well-balanced diet.

If your lab testing results show that you have problems with anemia, which is common among women who are pregnant with twins, your health care provider will probably prescribe a little bit of extra iron or folate supplements, which help to expand your blood volume.

If you are concerned about your nutritional needs with your twin pregnancy, you should speak with your health care provider. She may be able to help determine if your diet is providing the nutrients that you and your babies need, as well as help suggest dietary changes to meet those nutritional needs.

Posted in Pregnancy

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