Shortness of Breath While Pregnant With Twins

Last updated on December 2nd, 2023 at 11:13 am

A Mom Recently Asked:

I am currently pregnant with twins. It is getting kind of crowded in there and I find myself short of breath a lot. What did you do when you found it hard to breathe? Also does anyone have any relaxation techniques to help me stop from panicking when I am short of breath?

**The following article should be taken as Mom-to-Mom advice. This article and any other article on Twiniversity should not be considered medical advice.

Here’s What Our Twiniversity Fans Had to Say!

I had to sleep sitting up with my twins. Near the end I also tried the breathe right strips and found they helped calm me down when I was trying to get to sleep. I know the feeling. It’s hard! Luckily it went right away after birth for me.

I would stop what I was doing, stand up and do a 3 part yoga breath until I felt ok. If you have done yoga or you know someone who has done it and help you learn it, it would be good. You breathe in to fill up your diaghram then lower lungs, then your upper lungs. It sounds silly but it was really helpful and helped me relax.

Short breaths were a major part of my third trimester. Elevating my feet while laying down always helped…but only until the next time. I also didn’t realize that I often walked with a pace close to my normal (not pregnant) pace out of habit, but once I made myself slow down it helped a lot

I know that feeling all too well! I had that with twins. I made sure I never over did it. I sat a lot and rested at home a lot on my side. I had a temporary disability sticker so I could walk less. Your body is getting enough oxygen although you might not feel

Breathing slowly in through your nose and out through your mouth may help. Maybe the paper bag trick too? But definitely REST!!

This happened to me often and it freaked me out. Simply standing up would alleviate it sometimes (gravity), but being in a pool is dreamy, especially when you’re starting to get huge. Swimming helped my knees, hips, back, and breathing! Try not to let yourself get out of breath; it’s so hard to get it back if you do.

I spent most of my evenings laying/floating in the bath tub. I talk to myself. I talked to my babies tell them/myself I’m ok. Joke with them about moving. I would gently rub the top of my belly. And lots of prayers

Never thought that it was anything different than just being pregnant. I guess that’s why I decided to have no more after the twins. Twin pregnancy is a lot of work! I had a fan directly facing me when sitting down and laying down, it seemed to help. One breath at a time!

I’d put my arms over my head and arch my back. There is this amazing feeling of sweet relief right after the second baby comes out!

Reclining at about 45 degrees was best for me. I found the pressure of their weight didn’t fall on my back but it did allow my belly to drop enough to have a little more “breathing room”.

I laid down on my left side and drank cold water. If they are MoDi I would say call your doctor just to be sure everything is okay.

When you start to feel panicked, put a few drops of lavender essential oil on your palms, run them together, cup your hands over your nose and take a few deliberate, deep breaths. Lavender is a very calming scent, and it’s safe to be used directly on the skin.

If you lay down it’ll stretch things out so you have more room.

Maybe a cool rag on your face will help soothe you.

I had a seat for the shower because standing too long would make me short of breath. I could only sleep well upright in a recliner.

Baths always helped ….I think I spent the last bit of my twin pregnancy in the tub. The water took all the pressure off everything.

Oh it was a horrible feeling! I thought I was goin to pass out a few times with it! The doctor at our twin clinic showed me an exercise that opened up the lungs it worked a treat! Stand arms length away from a wall with ur feet shoulder width apart! Then place your hands against the wall n run ur fingers up it as far as ye can without over stretching yourself and bump! Hold it for 5 seconds or as long as it’s comfortable but no more than about 15 seconds then run your fingers back down the wall again! Repeat as necessary!

I had to lay down a lot with my feet up. Unfortunately shorter breaths were a part of it! Just hang in there!

Rest, relax & rest.

I would dab peppermint oil the tip of my nose. Helped me fall asleep as all I could think of is not breathing.

I would get on all fours on my bed and kind of rock back and forth until they moved always from my lungs.

Cat/cow positions from yoga – on all fours and arch back up and then down. Gravity pulls the belly away from your lungs.

Yoga ball on the bed, you on your hands and knees, lay your chest on it and it’ll open you up to breathe better.

Watch what you are eating/drinking. Some things bloat you more and will increase that uncomfortable feeling.

I’d get down on my hands and knees. That also took the pressure off my back.

Arms over the head helps wonders! There are some really good yoga videos on YouTube, consult your doctor though!

I had severe shortness of breath during my third trimester and everyone chalked it up to twins… Turns out I had a complication called Peripartum Cardiomyapathy and went into congestive heart failure after my twins were born 6 weeks ago. I am lucky to be alive. The condition is more common if you are pregnant with multiples. I’m not trying to scare you, but there is little awareness for this condition! I hope you just have the routine type of “twin induced” shortness of breath, but also be aware of PPCM (Peripartum cardipmyopaty). I wish I had known!!!!

Lay on left side and hanging out on hands and knees

Toward the end, I slept in the recliner.

Go to the pool and float.

There just isn’t enough room for the babies, lungs, bladders and so much more in there. I would go from laying down to sitting up just to keep babies from getting too settled. I had one that was pushing out ribs and that probably didn’t help. Baths were awesome, some essential oil and salts…that helped me relax until I was too big to get up from the tub. ? my husband would walk in and find me drifting to sleep. The moment you have those little ones you will be able to breathe again, it’s an awesome feeling! Lol.

I had a hard time breathing and couldn’t sit up for longer than 5 minutes or pass out. The boys were so big there wasn’t much room for my lungs. I laid on my right side a lot and stood up when feeling short of breath. When I had the boys I lost my voice for 3 days too. Turns out on top of large babies I have asthma.

To calm myself when I was short of breath I’d breathe in through my nose and out through my mouth. For some reason it helped. I hope you can get comfortable soon.

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