Have you ever watched twins doing their thing? sometimes it’s like watching a choreographed reality show, coz in most cases they do the same thing at the same time, in the same way, more so identical twins.
It is because of this that many people desire to have twins, just the attention, the confusion in identifying them and for others, it is more of saving time(carrying two babies in one pregnancy). For whatever reason, there are measures one can take to boost your odds of having twins.
Other than fertility treatments, there are other factors that increase your chances of getting pregnant.
Family History
It has been said that having twins in your family guarantees that you’ll have the same, but here is a clarification, a family history of identical twins does not make it more likely you’ll have multiples.
However, if you have fraternal twins (non-identical) in your family, your chances of conceiving twins rise. If there are fraternal twins on both the mother and father’s side, your odds for twins goes up even higher.
A history of fraternal twins on the female side of the family indicates a higher likelihood of ovulating more than one egg per cycle.
A history of fraternal twins on the male side indicates a higher likelihood of the man producing enough sperm to fertilize more than one egg.
Age
Women over 30 are more likely to conceive twins. This is because the hormone FSH rises as a woman gets older. FSH, or follicle stimulating hormone, is responsible for the development of eggs in the ovaries before they are released.
Higher levels of FSH are needed as a woman ages because the eggs require more stimulation to grow than in a younger woman.
This is somewhat ironic, given that increased FSH is also due to lowering fertility. But sometimes, the follicles overreact to the higher FSH levels, and two or more eggs are released, resulting in a twin pregnancy.
Weight
Women who are obese—with a BMI over 30—are more likely to conceive twins than women with a healthier BMI. This is an ironic situation since overweight women are also more likely to have difficulty conceiving.
Extra fat leads to increased levels of estrogen. The higher levels of estrogen can lead to overstimulation of the ovaries. Instead of releasing just one egg at ovulation, the ovaries may release two or more.
Height
Women who are taller than average are more likely to have twins. One study found that women averaging 164.8 cm in height (about 5′ 4.8″) were more likely to conceive twins than women averaging 161.8 cm (about 5′ 3.7″). Sorry short women, it’s just science.
Why this happens isn’t clear, but one theory is that better nutrition (which may lead to more height) is partially behind the increased rate of twins.
Number of Children
Twins are more common in women who have carried many pregnancies and have large families.
Race
African-Americans are more likely to conceive twins than Caucasian women. Asian women are the least likely to conceive twins.
Breastfeeding
Women who conceive while breastfeeding are more likely to conceive twins than women who are not. It’s true that breastfeeding can also suppress fertility and prevent pregnancy, specifically during a baby’s first six months if the baby is exclusively breastfed.
However, it is possible to get pregnant when breastfeeding—and with twins!
One study found the rate of twins to be 11.4 percent among breastfeeding women, as compared to just 1.1 percent in non-breastfeeding women.
Diet
While research is still ongoing, some studies have found that women who eat a lot of dairy products are more likely to conceive twins. One theory is that the growth hormones given to cows affect the hormone levels in humans.
Fertility Treatments
Well, if you have scored 0 in the likelihood of having twins naturally, do not fret you can still try your luck with fertility treatments.
Fertility treatments that boost ovulation can lead to twins, triplets, or higher order multiples. Conceiving multiples is a possible risk of fertility treatments, one that can be decreased with careful monitoring, single embryo transfer (for IVF treatment), and the lowest possible effective dosage (when treating with gonadotropins.)
You may wonder why conceiving multiples is considered a “risk” and not a possible benefit to fertility treatments. After all, especially if you’ve been struggling to get pregnant, wouldn’t a double or triple blessing be a good thing?
The fact of the matter is that multiple pregnancies come with risks to the mother and babies. Your doctor’s goal is for you to conceive and give birth to one healthy baby at a time.