Peculiarities of the Third Pregnancy: Is There Any Difference?

As a rule, the third pregnancy in most cases is more conscious than the first and second ones. There are several reasons for this.

Firstly, the third pregnancy is usually planned. Hence the conclusion is that a woman prepares for this event carefully and for a long time. Secondly, she becomes older, more experienced, and wiser. Thirdly, pregnancy proceeds, so to speak, according to already well-known paths. And thanks to this, it becomes possible to listen to your senses as carefully as possible, to reveal the alarming symptoms, and take measures to eliminate them.

Features of a Normal Course of Pregnancy

The normal course of the third pregnancy depends on the following factors:

  • The age of the woman is from 26-27 years to 32-35 years.
  • The intervals between previous pregnancies and childbirth are at least 3 years and not more than 6-7 years.
  • Normal course of past pregnancies and delivery in a natural way.
  • Absence of concomitant somatic pathologies in pregnant women, especially chronic diseases in the stage of incomplete compensation.
  • The birth of a third child from one man.

If all these factors take place, it’s not worth fearing for the course of pregnancy and subsequent third birth. We can say that even on the contrary, the third pregnancy usually goes unnoticed for a woman. Her body quickly adapts to the changes. As a result, the pregnant woman easily tolerates them. As a rule, there are no more pathological symptoms that accompanied the first pregnancy. Unmotivated fear and psychological instability are usually absent as well.

One of the prognostic factors of the course of the third pregnancy is the nature of the course of the previous ones and the timing between them. Their good outcomes combined with optimal breaks (3-4 years) make the third pregnancy one of the most pleasant.

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Peculiarities of Pathological Course of Pregnancy

Deviations during the third pregnancy can occur in the following cases:

  • Age of a woman is more than 35 years.
  • The presence of serious diseases and problems with health.
  • Short interval between pregnancies and childbirth, after which a woman’s body is exhausted. Too long intervals can also make the third pregnancy much more difficult than the first ones.
  • Complicated pregnancies and childbirth; delivery by caesarean section.
  • Rh-incompatible pregnancy.

The third pregnancy, like the third birth, in the presence of these risk factors, may be complicated by the progression or development of severe hemorrhoids and varicose veins, weakness of the anterior abdominal wall and hernias, cardiac decompensation and renal pathology, gestosis of varying severity up to eclampsia, various types of anemia, intrauterine pathology, genetic diseases, and fetal anomalies.

Planning the Third Pregnancy

The third pregnancy is rarely unplanned. As a rule, this is a conscious step of a self-assured woman who wants another child very much and feels the strength and love to bring him up. She perfectly understands what awaits her, what difficulties she will have to face, and how to minimize possible troubles. The future mother of the third child is not usually afraid of childbirth. She calmly accepts the changes in her body during pregnancy.

Doctors say that such experienced mothers during pregnancy have much fewer neuroses, and practically don’t suffer from toxicosis. Apparently, calmness and experience are doing their job. Moreover, future mothers with many children understand and try to prevent all the risks to their health.

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Risks with Third Pregnancy

If it is a question of a young mother who has acquired numerous heirs before the age of 30, then there are no special risks. Still, often the third pregnancy occurs in women in the period from 35 to 45 years. Today, from a social point of view, there is nothing reprehensible to give birth at this age.

By this time, most women had already managed to achieve social status and stable income. But they should not lose sight of the potential risk of chronic diseases. Therefore, when planning the third pregnancy, make sure to undergo a medical examination and consult the doctor who will lead the pregnancy. Also, it would be useful to go to a consultation with a geneticist. During pregnancy, do screenings to identify pathologies.

The Course of the Third Pregnancy

Most often, women decide on the third child after reaching the age of thirty. Sometimes even much later. This most likely can be called one of the problems. By this age, most women already suffer from different kinds of chronic diseases.

It can be diseases of the digestive tract, heart, and thyroid gland. The diseases associated with female genital organs are also possible. Of course, we cannot say that all this can affect the course of late pregnancy. In this regard, if you decide on a third child, you need to go through all the medical examinations in advance to make sure that the pregnancy will go without complications.

Another problem that women may face is the possibility of congenital malformations in the child. Therefore, be sure to visit a geneticist. During pregnancy, pass all the necessary screening tests to identify possible problems.

The venous system also undergoes some changes with age. Therefore, be prepared for the fact that problems such as hemorrhoids and varicose veins can appear during the third pregnancy, even if you have not had such problems before. It is necessary to constantly monitor the level of hemoglobin in the blood and the level of iron in the body. All this can be done both for preventive purposes even before pregnancy, as well as throughout the pregnancy.

The Birth

One of the possible advantages of the third pregnancy is that the delivery itself is faster. An organism that has already passed through one or two births, as a rule, prepares for the birth of a baby faster. Pelvic muscles are elastic, the opening of the birth canal happens faster and is less painful. This is good for both the mother and the child. As a rule, birth traumas occur less often in the third pregnancy than in the previous ones.

However, it is worth saying that not everything is so good. Postnatal bleeding due to stretched muscles can continue much longer. The woman can lose much more blood than a woman who gives birth for the first time. But do not tune yourself to a bad outcome. Currently, all maternity hospitals have modern equipment and the necessary means to prevent possible complications and to conduct births as less as possible traumatic, both for a woman and a child.

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Sometimes doctors suggest labor induction. Why is it necessary? Over time, namely, in the third and subsequent births, such a moment can be observed as the absence of proper dilating pains and pangs of childbirth necessary for the rapid flow of labor. The absence of pangs can threaten the child with a lack of oxygen, since it is already time for the baby to go out, and the labor activity of a woman is so weak that it is necessary to resort to medicinal stimulation. All these are only possible options in the course of childbirth. It is not at all necessary that in your case it will be the same.

Postpartum Period after the Third Pregnancy

Experts note that after the birth of the third and subsequent children, mothers are less likely to suffer from postpartum depression. They already know the value of these vain experiences and are able to concentrate on the joy of motherhood. But if the psychological recovery occurs fairly quickly, then the physical one is not so simple. The uterus can contract much more slowly, and observation by specialists is necessary to prevent inflammation.

In women who have given birth three or more times, the uterus after birth can contract slightly more slowly. Therefore, the doctor’s attention is necessary to prevent the development of an inflammatory process or bleeding. You may be prescribed drugs in the form of injections, for better contraction of the uterine muscles.

The most important advantage and dignity of women who have given birth to more than one child are that milk after delivery arrives at once, unlike the first-birth mothers, who usually get the milk only on the third day.

Summarizing all that has been said, we want to note once again that the birth of a child is always a special joy. Each pregnancy is unique. It can’t be compared to others. If a woman decides to give birth to the third child, then she feels that there is still a lot of unspent love in her, which she can share among her children.