It is interesting to know that the odds of having twins are the same for everyone i.e. 1 in every 250 couples. Although there hasn’t been one specific cause identified for a twin pregnancy, research has shown that some factors increase your chances of having twins:
- Genetics: If the mother has any history of fraternal twins in her family, there is about double the possibility that you might give birth to fraternal twins yourself.Â
- Prior twins: If you’ve given birth to twins prior to this pregnancy, this increases the likelihood of you giving birth to twins again.
- Age Factor: Women who get pregnant in their late years, especially above the age of 35 produce higher follicle stimulating hormone which might cause more than one egg to drop. This is why they have way more chances of giving birth to twins than someone in their 20’s.
- Fertility Treatments: When couples have difficulty conceiving, they might decide to undergo fertility treatments such as In Vitro Fertilization (IVF), intrauterine insemination (IUI) and ovulation induction (OI). It has been realized that these fertility treatments cause an increase in the chance of twin pregnancy.Â
- Higher BMI’s: It might sound very odd at first but research has found that overweight women with a higher body mass index i.e. over 30 have a better shot at having twins.
- Are you taller? Chances are if you are taller than 5’4 you are 2 times more likely to have twins than women shorter than 5’1. It might be related to the fact that taller women also produce higher protein also responsible for triggering an increase in follicle stimulating hormone.
- Ethnicity: It has been researched and found that non-identical twins are higher in rates in certain ethnicities than the other. Black communities like Nigeria have the highest concentration of twin populations with the lowest rates of twin babies in Asian communities in Japan.
References:
- What Are Your Chances of Having Twins?: https://www.whattoexpect.com/pregnancy/chances-of-having-twins
- What are my chances of having twins?: https://www.thetech.org/ask-a-geneticist/what-are-my-chances-having-twins
- Pregnant with twins: https://www.nhs.uk/pregnancy/finding-out/pregnant-with-twins/
