You Want to give birth to twins? Here are 5 ways to increase your chances
Many people would love to give birth to twins because they are cute and shorten the stress of undergoing childbirth many times.
There are two types of twins: fraternal twins and identical twins.
Identical twins are born when an egg is fertilised by a single sperm and two identical twins with the same sex and DNA are produced.
Fraternal twins are born when two different eggs are fertilised by two sperm cells. They can be of different sexes, lack the same DNA, and do not look alike.
What can you do to give birth to twins?
1. Drink milk and eat dairy products
Consuming dairy products can increase the chances of twin pregnancies due to the growth hormones released by cows in their milk. Dairy foods can boost insulin-like growth factor (IGF) production in women, promoting the release of eggs by the ovary and making two more likely to be fertilised simultaneously.
2. Marrying a partner with the twins gene
Finding a partner with a family history of twins increases the chances of having twins. If you have a lot of twins in your family and your partner does, there is an even higher chance you will give birth to twins.
3. Getting fatter
Studies have found that people with a body mass index of 30 have a higher chance of giving birth to twins. Obesity increases the chance of twin pregnancies due to increased levels of oestrogen, a female sex hormone, and excessive stimulation of the ovaries that comes from extra body fat.
This can result in multiple eggs being released instead of one.
4. Get pregnant in your 30s or 40s
Those over 30 years old are more likely to conceive twins due to increased production of the follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), which is responsible for egg development in the ovaries. Lower fertility levels can cause follicles to overreact, releasing multiple eggs and causing multiple births.
5. Using fertility treatment
You can artificially increase your chances of having a twin pregnancy with assisted reproductive technologies like intrauterine insemination — or IUI — and in vitro fertilization — or IVF.
IUI
The IUI procedure itself doesn't increase your twin pregnancy chances but the medications taken along with the procedure. Clomiphene (Clomid) and letrozole (Femara) are fertility medications that stimulate ovulation. These medications are given during IUI cycles. They may cause your body to produce multiple eggs — leading to multiple eggs being fertilized, resulting in twin pregnancies.
Gonadotropins (Chorex) — which stimulate egg follicle growth and are usually injected during IUI and some other fertility treatments — also increase the chances of multiple births.
IVF
Mothers receive medications during the IVF procedure. In this procedure, the main thing responsible for increasing the chances of twin pregnancies is the number of embryos you choose to transfer. You might decide to transfer one embryo, hope it splits into two, and lead to pregnancy with twins.
If you transfer multiple embryos, there's an increased possibility of fraternal twins occurring. The two or more embryos could successfully attach and develop into a set of twins or more.
Next steps
Though there isn’t any special drug that guarantees twin pregnancy, you can increase your chances of becoming pregnant with twins. Following any of these suggestions will increase your chances of a twin pregnancy, but remember that twin pregnancy has its risks and rewards. It's not all fun and cuteness.
Twin pregnancy is more susceptible to perinatal morbidity and mortality. Also, there can be maternal complications like preterm labor. That doesn’t mean you can't have a healthy twin pregnancy. You would only need more care and attention.
