America sees increase in twin births
A new study shows that the number of women giving birth to twins has increased dramatically over the last 30 years.
Every one in 30 babies now has a twin, according to The Associated Press. In 1980, only one in 53 babies had a twin.
MSNBC reports that researchers are saying that the reasons behind the increase include a higher use of fertility treatments and the tendency for women to delay childbirth until later in life.
Joyce A. Martin, an epidemiologist at the Center for Disease Control’s National Center for Health Statistics, told MSNBC that this uptick in the amount of twins is somewhat concerning.
“It’s really important to note that outcome for twins is much less positive than for singleton pregnancies,” Martin told MSNBC. “Twins tend to be born earlier and smaller.. Their mothers are more likely to require hospitalization. And the twins themselves are more likely than singletons to require hospitalization.”
Martin also added that although twins carry a greater risk, most twin births do very well.
The amount of twins born varied between factors such as state and ethnic group, according to MSNBC. Rates doubled for whites, rose by half for blacks and were about one third for Hispanics. Black moms birth more twins historically, but white moms have almost caught up, The Associated Press reported.
The greatest increase in twin births happened for moms that were 40 years of age or older. The Associated Press reported that these moms are more likely to have two embryos implanted during in vitro fertilization, as where younger women usually just get one.
MSNBC reported that while nobody knows why older women are more prone to conceiving twins, it may have something to do with them having older eggs.
While these older eggs still can properly conceive a baby, the processes that allow the embryo to grow and divide may be compromised, and this is what could lead to an increased number of twins, MSNBC reported.
