[cl-mygoosebump]

~!~FAQ FOR THE BOARD~LURKERS PLZ CHECK HERE FIRST~!~

BETA HCG NUMBERS FOR THE BOARD:

Hcg numbers are NOT reliable in determining twins. These numbers basically tell whether the pg is healthy and progressing the way it should.They can "point" to twins, but since the numbers vary vastly from lady to lady and there is lots of crossover between singleton and twin numbers you can't go by that alone. It also depends on which chart you use, some go by dpo, others weeks and still others months...these also vary vastly.It is mostly used as a diagnostic tool that can determine if more testing is need....ie and u/s.

http://www.conceivingconcepts.com/learning/articles/hcg.html
http://messageboards.ivillage.com/iv-pppregwtwins/message.asp?webtag=iv-pppregwtwins&msg=22966.6

GENETICS OF TWINNING:

The causes of twinning are many and complex. The chances of having twins does NOT necessarily increase just because twins "run in your family" as there are many other factors that contribute.  UNLESS it is your mother, grandmother or you that is a twin or had twins....then your chances are 1 in 17.  If the twins in your family are cousins, aunts, sisters or uncles then your chances are about 1 in 89, as the gene to hyperovulate is passed from mother to daughter....AND it is difficult to isolate whose genes caused the twins.  A woman's age, hormone levels, nutrition, emotional state, environmental condions all play a  role. It is usually pure luck that the conditions are just right for twins at the exact same time the woman is ttc a baby. Dh's  history of fraternal twins has no bearing and can not increase your chances.

http://messageboards.ivillage.com/n/mb/message.asp?webtag=iv-pppregwtwins&msg=22980.1&ctx=0

http://multiples.about.com/cs/funfacts/a/oddsoftwins.htm

There are also lots of polls online that will predict who will have twins and who won't.....I had the ladies on this board take the poll and 73 total took the poll and most scored very, very LOW(27% chance or below) yet they are having twins. Only a few ladies(five out of 73....less than 10%) who had twins confirmed scored a 45% or higher. The moral of the story is you can have EVERY risk factor yet never go on to have twins; and  have none and get pg w/ them.....there is no sure way to predict.

http://messageboards.ivillage.com/n/mb/message.asp?webtag=iv-pppregwtwins&msg=27417.1&ctx=2048

SUSPECT TWINS??(the only sure way to diagnose twins is via u/s)

Frequent complaints from lurkers suspecting twins: early pregnancy symptoms are really bad/much worse than with my singleton,this pg just seems different from my other pg, my uterus is measuring larger than my dates, an early hpt.

Everyone is different as is every pregnancy. Some people have had horrible, horrible ms and have a singleton pregnancy. This is not uncommon at all. Some people have no ms with one singleton and really bad ms with the next singleton pregnancy. Bad ms by itself isn't really indicative of a multiple pregnancy, as any pregnancy can have bad ms. Several multiple moms have reported no ms, or at least no ms until later in the pregnancy (as in 2nd trimester). Most multiple moms report extreme fatigue as the first noticeable symptom, some report extra discomfort and menstrual like cramps while the uterus is stretching for more than one, and finally symptoms that are just pregnancy related. Comparing symptoms IS NOT a reliable barometer(even to your previous pg).

http://multiples.about.com/cs/pregnancy/tp/aatpsigns.htm
http://messageboards.ivillage.com/n/mb/message.asp?webtag=iv-pppregwtwins&msg=22974.1&ctx=512

TWINS SUSPECTED AND CONFIRMED VIA U/S:

http://messageboards.ivillage.com/n/mb/message.asp?webtag=iv-pppregwtwins&msg=23656.1&ctx=0

HAVE A GUT FEELING TWINS WERE MISSED BY THE U/S:

http://messageboards.ivillage.com/n/mb/message.asp?webtag=iv-pppregwtwins&msg=25159.1&ctx=0

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS FROM LURKERS:

http://messageboards.ivillage.com/n/mb/message.asp?webtag=iv-pppregwtwins&msg=22975.1&ctx=0

FEELING MOVEMENT IN MORE THAN ONE PLACE=TWINS??

http://messageboards.ivillage.com/n/mb/message.asp?webtag=iv-pppregwtwins&ft=1&ctx=262144&cacheTag=x...

ZYGOSITY(Are your twins Frat or Id)

http://messageboards.ivillage.com/n/mb/message.asp?webtag=iv-pppregwtwins&msg=22976.1&ctx=512

VANISHING TWIN SYNDROME:

http://messageboards.ivillage.com/n/mb/message.asp?webtag=iv-pppregwtwins&msg=22979.1&ctx=0

U/S PICS FOR TWIN PG:

In the first trimester twins are detected w/ an 83-100% accuracy rate. Most missed are due to ID twins sharing the same sac or very early u/s(5-6wks). 99% of twins will be discovered by the 20wks u/s. Ultrasound is almost foolproof at diagnosing twins, but the greater the number of babies, the less accurate the ability to detect how many there are.

http://216.239.63.104/search?q=cache:mR_8YTu6aXkJ:www.sogc.org/SOGCnet/sogc_docs/common/guide/pdfs/p...

http://pregnancy.about.com/library/ultrasounds/bltwinusindex.htm

AFP TESTING:

http://messageboards.ivillage.com/n/mb/message.asp?webtag=iv-pppregwtwins&msg=22978.1&ctx=0

SURVIVAL RATES FOR PREEMIES:

http://www2.medsch.wisc.edu/childrenshosp/parents_of_preemies/survival.html

AVERAGE GESTATION/WEIGHTS FOR TWINS(from this board)

37.1 weeks was the average gestation. The earliest twins were born at 26w6d. We had two ladies who carried their twins 40 weeks(WOW!!) The average weight for twin A was 5lbs6oz

The biggest twin A was 9lbs2oz(yep, NOT a typo), the smallest 2lbs6oz
The average weight for twin B was 5lbs8oz
The biggest twin B was 7lbs11oz, the smallest 1lb12oz

FREEBIE LISTS:

http://messageboards.ivillage.com/n/mb/message.asp?webtag=iv-pppregwtwins&msg=23262.1&ctx=0 (carters is NO longer giving freebies away)

HELPFUL TIPS FROM BTDT MOMS:

http://messageboards.ivillage.com/n/mb/message.asp?webtag=iv-pppregwtwins&msg=23130.1

Here is a link to a multiples shopping list received from someone on this board. The first is the US dollar one (the original). The Canadian one has been modified, and the dollar rates converted, to suit my needs.

http://web.uvic.ca/~joanj/twins/equipment_twins-us.xls

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Edited 9/9/2005 12:16 am ET ET by cl-mygoosebump

[mygoosebump]

 Remember, almost all multiple pregnancies will have high betas, but high betas do not definitely indicate multiples (you can see that by the singleton numbers which are all over the place).

Twin pregnancies tend to show higher HCG levels on a given day of pregnancy. However, there is a large variation in HCG levels between pregnancies, and much overlap exists between single and twin pregnancies.

I have seen ladies have way high numbers and the u/s showed one, ladies w/ average numbers had twins and two ladies w/ the EXACT same number for dpo one had twins and the other a singleton. Also different charts will give you very different results....there is the dpo, weeks, and months....some will show your numbers to be extremely high whereas the others say within  the normal range. So if you are at 5000 at 22 dpo or 5wks or 1 month & 1wks) each chart will give you a different range of normal.(high first for dpo, average for wks, low for months)

* At 14 DPO, the average HCG level is 48 mIU/ml, with a typical range of 17-119 mIU/ml.
* At 15 DPO, the average HCG level is 59 mIU/ml, with a typical range of 17-147 mIU/ml.
* At 16 DPO, the average HCG level is 95 mIU/ml, with a typical range of 33-223 mIU/ml.
* At 17 DPO, the average HCG level is 132 mIU/ml, with a typical range of 17-429 mIU/ml.
* At 18 DPO, the average HCG level is 292 mIU/ml, with a typical range of 70-758 mIU/ml.
* At 19 DPO, the average HCG level is 303 mIU/ml, with a typical range of 111-514 mIU/ml.
* At 20 DPO, the average HCG level is 522 mIU/ml, with a typical range of 135-1690 mIU/ml.
* At 21 DPO, the average HCG level is 1061 mIU/ml, with a typical range of 324-4130 mIU/ml.
* At 22 DPO, the average HCG level is 1287 mIU/ml, with a typical range of 185-3279 mIU/ml.
* At 23 DPO, the average HCG level is 2034 mIU/ml, with a typical range of 506-4660 mIU/ml.
* At 24 DPO, the average HCG level is 2637 mIU/ml, with a typical range of 540-10,000 mIU/ml.

Weeks from the Last Menstrual Period (LMP)	Amount of hCG in mIU/ml
3	5 - 50
4	3 - 426
5	19 - 7,340
6	1,080 - 56,500
7-8	7,650 - 229,000
9-12	25,700 - 288,000
13-16	13,300 - 254,000
17-24	4,060 - 165,400
25 - 40	3,640 - 117,000

Weeks after conception and hCG levels:

0-1 week: 0-50 IU/L
1-2 weeks: 40 - 300
3-4: 500 - 6,000
1-2 months: 5,000 - 200,000
2-3 months: 10,000 - 100,000
2nd trimester: 3,000 - 50,000
3rd trimester: 1,000 - 50,000
Non-pregnant females: <5.0
Postmenopausal: <9.5

Twins numbers and singleton numbers are also VERY close in the early stages of pregnancy as you can see from these charts.

NORMAL SINGLE PREGNANCIES

Day after HCG or LH	Average mIU/ml	High mIU/ml	Low mIU/ml	#
14	48	119	17	12
15	59	147	17	18
16	95	223	33	23
17	132	429	17	21
18	292	758	70	19
19	303	514	111	23
20	522	1690	135	13
21	1061	4130	324	12
22	1287	3279	185	22
23	2034	4660	506	13
24	2637	10000	540	16

NORMAL TWIN PREGNANCIES

Day after LH or HCG	Average mIU/ml	High mIU/ml	Low mIU/ml	#
14	68	313	56	7
15	38	159	26	9
16	146	803	112	12
17	154	542	52	8
18	360	1760	200	9
19	499	2509	215	13
21	963	5859	631	10

SINGLETONS confirmed via u/s:

*14 dpo: 307, 16 dpo: 680, 18 dpo: 1540

*5wk: 19,000   5wk 2days: 38,000  6 weeks 3 days: 99,900  

*22 dpo 19,536,   27 dpo 41546

*19 dpo 9500

*18 dpo 4972

*11 dpo 37, 17 dpo  1112

*17 dpo-935

*18 DPO - 1758  * 20 DPO - 3915

*14DPO at 306 , 18DPO- bit over 2000, 21DPO- right at 10,000

*15 DPO at 240, 17dpo at 575

*14dpo at 225 

*17DPO at 1,179, 19DPO at 2,454  Progesterone 120

*3800  at 18dpo

*8dpo  31, 11dpo  164, 15dpo  1366, 19dpo  4326

*15dpo  201,  18dpo  775,  24dpo  13,105.

*14dpo 280 , 21dpo 4726

*14dpo  241 , 16dpo  548

*21 dpo my hcg was 7585

*28 dpo: 4,000.  42 dpo: 101,702

*14dpo  70
16dpo  245
18dp  760
21dpo  4020

*21dpo: 17,000,  25dpo: 43,000

*14 dpo- 272,  18 dpo-2100

*31 DPO 42,533

*29 dpo  57,312

*11 dpo: 18, 14 dpo: 156,   20 dpo: 4216, 26 dpo: over 20,000

*31 DPO: 42,533

*15 dpo: 530
19 dpo: 3100

*12 dpo: 195
18 dpo: 4,200
*25 dpo: 14,000
28 dpo: 34,000+
*11dpo: 59
15 dpo: 284
*28 dpo: 28,676
*17 dpo: 1228
*17 dpo: 2000
*36 dpo: 78,000+
*21 dpo: 9,597
*24 dpo: 2490
26 dpo: 5660
*12 dpo: 100
14 dpo: 233
17 dpo: 1,600 conceived twins, pregnant with singleton
*11 dpo: 59
15 dpo: 284
*16 dpo: 846, prog. 18.1
18 dpo: 2667, prog. 15.1
23 dpo: 23,000
25 dpo: 80,000+
*16 dpo: 518
20 dpo: 4329 possible vanishing twin, pregnant with a singleton
*16 dpo: 545, prog. 25.2
18 dpo: 1429, prog 33.9
* 10 weeks: 117,000
*12 DPO: 115
15 DPO: 435
*9dpo - 8
13dpo - 96
20dpo - 2539

*14dpo484                                                                                                                                         

21dpo-17,486

*21dpo-13,548  23dpo-21,707

*14dpo: 615

                                                                                                                                                 *16dpo 2058

*29dpo: 41,741
*11 dpo: 31
16 dpo: 531
http://messageboards.ivillage.com/iv-pppregwtwins/?msg=12186.1
16 dpo - 736
18 dpo - 1572
21 dpo - 7397

09dpo (3w2d) HCG = 6
15dpo (4w1d) HCG = 399 (doubles every 23.8 hrs)
22dpo (5w1d) HCG = 13,000 (doubles every 33.4 hrs)

TWINS confirmed via u/s
*12 dpo 164
14 dpo 469
17 dpo 2030
*10 dpo: 10
14 dpo: 90
*14 dpo: 145
17 dpo: 665
*15 dpo: 62
18 dpo: 220
*16 dpo: 467
19 dpo: 1352
*11dp3dt 144 (14dpo)
13dp3dt 288 (16dpo)
*14 dpo: 181, prog. 44
*12dp3dt 186
14 dp3dt 390
*14 dpo: 181
*14 dpo: 145
*13 dpo: 313
16 dpo: 697
*14 dpo: 189
17 dpo: 745
*13 dpo: 55
18 dpo: 819
*13 dpo: 246
16 dpo: 968
*26 dpo: 11,640
*19 dpo: 1936
*IUI on 10/28 and 10/29:
11/15 2215
2nd betas 4892
*10 dpt: 6
12 dpt: 69
*11dpo: 550
*12dpo: 113
14dpo: 378
17dpo: 1,880
HIGHER ORDER MULTIPLES
*14 dpo: 599 conceived triplets, delivered twins
*13 dpo: 171
15 dpo: 347 conceived triplets, delivered twins
*12dp3dt 826 conceived quads, delivered twins
*13 dpo: 113
15 dpo: 271
23 dpo: 4575
37 dpo: 94,000
39 dpo: 104,216 conceived quads, found 3 hb, lost 3rd to vanishing twin, delivered twins
*10 dpo: 143
13 dpo: 444 conceived quads, delivered triplets
*13 dpo: 168
16 dpo: 462 conceived quads, delivered triplets
*14 dpo: 243
16 dpo: 334
19 dpo: 773 conceived quads, delivered triplets
*12 dpo: 209
14 dpo: 494
16 dpo: 941
19 dpo: 3202
22 dpo: 9217
26 dpo: 33,400 delivered quads
http://messageboards.ivillage.com/iv-pppregwtwins/?msg=22803.1

---

Edited 6/15/2009 1:04 pm ET by mygoosebump

[boogiwoman]

I found this so helpful I wanted to bump it up.

[mygoosebump]

bumping for all the lurkers and curious

*~*~*~Tina B. & her THREE~*~*~*

Cierra 7(3.12.99)

 Mahealani & Mahlia 4(2.21.02)

http://www.picturetrail.com/3goosebumps4me

fomer cl of the pregnant w/ multiples board

http://messageboards.ivillage.com/n/mb/listsf.asp?webtag=iv-pppregwtwins&nav=start

SUSPECT TWINS??

We have had 780 ladies post on the pg w/ multiples board that they suspected twins & 37  had it confirmed via u/s, which is about a 5% confirmation rate!

http://messageboards.ivillage.com/n/mb/message.asp?webtag=iv-pppregwtwins&msg=30642.1&ctx=0

[mygoosebump]

bump

SUSPECT TWINS??

We have had 1190 ladies post on the pg w/ multiples board that they suspected twins & 59 had it confirmed via u/s, which is about a 5% confirmation rate!

http://messageboards.ivillage.com/n/mb/message.asp?webtag=iv-pppregwtwins&msg=30642.1&ctx=0

[emc_squared]

bump