Not too long ago, having triplets was quite a big deal for a lot of parents all over the world. This is because hitting three birds with one stone is not that common at the time. Today, however, this is no longer the case. This is because in around 8,000 live births, there is actually one case of triplets. This is about a hundred times more than it was two decades ago! A number of reasons may be attributed to this. This includes a significant increase in the usage of fertility drugs, for instance. Another reason for this is that there are a lot of older mothers these days. You see, older mothers have more tendencies to give multiple births, as studies have shown.

There are actually four known ways for triplets to be conceived. These are fraternal triplets, identical triplets, mixed triplets, and fraternal triplets occurring during fertility treatment.

Fraternal triplets
From the name itself, there are actually three different eggs that have been released by your ovaries. When they are positioned accordingly, three different sperms then come into contact with them, thereby fertilizing each of them. Thus, each fertilized egg cell would have a different set of genes from the other two egg cells.

Identical triplets
Only one egg cell is released in this form of triplet conception. Only one sperm cell is responsible for the fertilization of this single egg cell. But during the process of cell division, the egg cell splits into two halves. Not long after that, one of the halves would then again split into two. Thus, this would then result to triplets sharing the same set of genes and such.

Mixed triplets
In this case, there are actually two identical b

abies and one fraternal here. What happens here is that there are two eggs released and fertilized by two separate sperm cells. This is exactly what happens with fraternal twins. However, in this case, one of the fertilized egg cells would split in half during the process of cell division, thus, making a separate set of identical twins.

Fraternal triplets (IVF Fertility Treatment)
This involves In Vitro Fertilization, which is the method parents who are having trouble birthing resort to. What happens here is that at least three fertilized eggs are injected right into the potential mother’s uterus for them to grow. But the effects of infertility drugs can sometimes jumpstart these pregnancies, resulting to the formation of triplets inside the mother’s uterus.

If you happen to be carrying triplets yourself, then there are a few things you need to remember. It can be hard carrying just one child, let alone three. Thus, you should be very vigilant in keeping those prenatal appointments you have with your physician. This way, you can make sure that all of your babies are growing as healthy as possible.

The gestation period of pregnancies involving triplets is actually around 32 to 33 weeks. During this period, it is very important for the mother to gain 50 pounds or more. Thus, you and your physician should sit down and have a long talk about your diet. For protein alone, you actually need to consume about 200 grams each day. Iron, folic acid, and calcium are just amongst the many nutrients you need to include in your diet. Thus, there is indeed a need to have a long chat with your physician.

You may have heard of a lot of cases of multiple births where some would be born premature. Some of these babies would even weigh no more than 5 ½ lbs. However, not all cases end in premature births at all. And this is precisely why, as an expecting mother, you should do everything in your power to ensure the healthy births of your triplets.