In the age of in vitro, twins are hardly a rare phenomenon. What is less common, however, is the one-in-70-million chance of giving birth to two sets of identical twins in the same delivery, as a Texas mom found out this past Valentine's Day.
According to an article in the Huffington Post, the four brothers were born by C-section at just 31 weeks in were delivered at 31 weeks at The Woman's Hospital of Texas in Houston.
Incredibly, mom, 36-year-old Tressa Montalvo, and her partner claim they did not use fertility drugs. They were simply expecting a sibling for their 2-year-old.
"We planned the pregnancy—I guess we just succeeded a little too much!" said Montalvo, who knew about the twins at the 10-week mark of her pregnancy. They later discovered she was in fact carrying four babies: two to a placenta.
Those stressing over baby names, spare a thought for the Montalvos who suddenly had four boy names to coin. Enter Ace and Blaine, Cash and Dylan, all weighing in at between two to three pounds.
"We tried to stick to the A-B-C-D theme when naming them," said Montalvo. "We didn't expect it, we were trying for just one and we were blessed with four."
But clearly some people are never satisfied, though. Daddy Manuel still wants a daughter. Let's hope mom has the sense to tell him he can get pregnant this time around!
I don't know about you, but the state of my toenails were the furthest thing from my mind when the contractions started. But for many moms-to-be, the new priority is looking like you just stepped out of a salon in those all important first photos with your baby.
Glamming up for the delivery room is something of a trend, and not just for celebrities, either.
“I went for a blow-dry before I went into hospital," said model Imogen Thomas in an article in the UK Sun. "I’ve seen some awful photos of women who have just given birth. They look really sweaty and have no bra on.”
The range of treatments pregnant women opt for pre-delivery is extensive: from spray-tans, eyelash and hair extensions, acrylic nails, manis, pedis, bikini and leg waxing, to cut, colour and blow-dry.
"When I go on a night out or to any big events, I always make an effort with my appearance," said a single mother known only as Jenny. "To me, having a baby is the biggest event in my life—so why wouldn’t I make an extra effort to look good?"
Others rush to apply a full face of makeup at the first signs of genuine labour. One woman went through her entire beauty regime at 4am, minutes after giving birth. Another donned her favourite jewelry for the camera.
Some women claim that looking good helps them feel more confident and in control about the birth. The process also ensures that all those proud photos on display (especially since the dawn of Facebook) aren't cringe worthy for mom.
Are these women just being vain, wanting to cover up the sweat-soaked natural glow of childbirth? Did you indulge in any beauty regime prior to, or immediately following, labour?
Rotten news for moms-to-be hooked on their morning cuppa. Seems that while this supplement does wonders for expectant moms, even the slightest hint of caffeine can affect your fetus. Not only has caffeine consumption been linked to low birth weight in babies, but it can also prolong the duration of pregnancy.
According to an article in Science Daily, the new research published in BioMed Central's open access journal BMC Medicine has found that caffeine "freely passes the placental barrier" and the embryo isn't sufficiently developed to counter its effects. While the World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended a limit of 300mg coffee per day during pregnancy, other countries suggest even less—200mg, the equivalent of half a cup of java from some cafes.
You can kiss goodbye your latte. As part of the 10-year study, researchers from the Norwegian Institute for Public Health sampled data from almost 60,000 pregnancies. The result: caffeine from all sources led to reduction in birth weight equating to 21-28g per 100mg of caffeine, and even increased gestational length by eight hours per day for every 100mg coffee consumed.
This would suggest that it's not just the caffeine but some other ingredient present in coffee responsible for the extra time the baby spends in utero.
A self-proclaimed addict, I managed to get down to one cup a day. But obviously that wasn't enough. My son was induced after 14 days, but at 8.5 pounds he certainly wasn't underweight!
Were you able to cut out coffee/caffeine completely during your pregnancy? How did you do it?
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