More Than One – The Joys and The Pain!

In the UK approximately 98.5% of all multiple births are twins and about 33.3% of them are “identical” with the remaining being “non-identical”. Multiple births used to be a rare sight until 1980 when twin births rose by 62%. They have risen even further since 1990. However since 1998 there has been a decline of 21% in the rate of higher-order multiple births. Statistics now show that each year over 9,000 sets of twins are born in the UK.

Researchers believe that the increase in multiple births is linked to a rise in fertility treatments as women are putting off having a family until they are older due to career or financial reasons. A recent survey suggests that approximately 80% of birth of triplets in the late 1990s were as a result of fertility treatments. The cause of the birth of identical twins is still unknown, however infertility treatments along with other factors such as height, weight and age of the mother could be seen as the reason for the birth of non-identical twins. African women have the highest rate of giving birth to non-identical twins whilst oriental women have the lowest. If a mother is a fraternal twin herself, then there is a higher likelihood of her having twins. Taller and slightly obese women are more likely to have multiple births.

Scientists believe that diet plays an important role in the conception of twins and that eating certain foods like yams could affect a woman’s chances of conceiving twins. They also suggest that there is a link between the number of daylight hours and conception of multiple births.

Fertility treatment however increases the chances of conceiving multiples to 1 in 4 from 1 in 60 (natural conception of fraternal twins); and from 3% for natural conception of any multiple. Inadvertently increasing the need for closer monitoring as women carrying multiples have increased risks during their pregnancy; the greater the number of babies the higher the risk to both mother and baby.

These high risk pregnancies require close monitoring and ultrasound scans are recommended to ensure that all the babies are growing at the same rate and to detect possible problems with the placenta or blood circulation. Early diagnosis of complications and proper management is the best protection for both mother and babies.

Ultrasound scans, however, should not be limited to checking on your baby’s growth as parents and siblings can derive pleasure from seeing the yet unborn addition to their family moving about in the womb instead of just feeling their movements. Now parents have the option of having 3d ultrasound scans and 4d ultrasound scans.

Imagine the joy of having a real time video, produced by the 4d ultrasound scan that you could play over and over. It could even be used as a screen saver on your computer. How wonderful that would be to keep as a momento?

For more information on where you can get a pregnancy ultrasound scan done, please visit: pregnancy ultrasound scan