B. Luke et al., THE IDEAL TWIN PREGNANCY - PATTERNS OF WEIGHT-GAIN, DISCORDANCY, AND LENGTH OF GESTATION, American journal of obstetrics and gynecology, 169(3), 1993, pp. 588-597
OBJECTIVE: Our purpose was to evaluate factors associated with the bes
t intrauterine growth and lowest morbidity among twins (''ideal twin p
regnancy''). STUDY DESIGN: A historic prospective study of 163 twin bi
rths was performed. Ten models were formulated with multiple regressio
n and multivariate logistic regression. RESULTS: In the models of birt
h weight, gestations of 28 to 36 and 39 to 41 weeks, black race, great
er-than-or-equal-to 15% discordancy, and smoking were all significant
negative factors. The pattern of early low weight gain (< 0.85 pounds
per week before 24 weeks) and late low weight gain (< 1.0 pound per we
ek after 24 weeks) was negatively associated with all eight models of
intrauterine growth. CONCLUSIONS: The best intrauterine growth and low
est morbidity is achieved earlier for twins than for singletons. Using
length of stay and growth retardation critera, nearly 70% of ''ideal'
' twin pregnancies were between 35 and 38 weeks. In addition, poor wei
ght gain and poor patterns of weight gain were associated with all mea
sures of intrauterine growth and adverse pregnancy outcomes.