Having twin babies is quite rare nowadays. We all can observe more twin babies around us. A scientific investigation says that in the 19th century, the rate of having twin babies is between 2-2.5 percent. But in the 20th century, the rate has increased to 3.3 percent. If we observe carefully, we can see that most of these twins are fraternal twins. Fraternal twins mean when two eggs are fertilized by two different sperm at a time. They can be the same or different gender, but most of the time, they are a boy or a girl. If they are the same gender, then sometimes they can be looked identical as they are the same age and share the same environment inside the womb of the mother.
Several reasons acted upon the occurrence of an increasing number of twins before, and a brief explanation of some factors are given below-
Women Obesity and Height: It has been observed that tall women with obesity have more chance of having twins.
Women’s Age: Women’s age contributes a lot in this section. Women over 30 years old have a higher chance of having twins. Because their follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) is released from the pituitary gland at a higher amount than those under 30 as they approach menopause. As FSH stimulates ovaries to release eggs and an increased level of FSH secretion may cause the release of multiple eggs. That’s why older women when getting pregnant, have a higher chance of giving birth to twins.
Fertilization Medication and Treatment: As women now prefer late marriage and late pregnancy, the infertility rate has increased by a large amount. That’s why they go through many types of fertility treatment, which includes fertility drugs and some other reproductive technologies.
Fertility-stimulating drugs assist women to conceive by stimulating ovulation, but sometimes, the human body system reacts differently to different drugs. These fertility drugs cause hyper-ovulation, which means the release of multiple eggs at a time. And it causes fraternal twins.
A common and popular technology related to fertilization is In Vitro Fertilization (IVF). In this process, eggs are collected from the mother’s ovary and then fertilized by sperm in a liquid in the laboratory; this zygote (fertilized egg) cultured for 2-5 days for embryo culture and then fix the embryo in the same or another woman’s uterus to develop. To make the process successful, at least one embryo can grow, and multiple embryos (two or even three embryos) are transplanted into the mother’s womb. Among those who take IVF treatment, the birth of twin children is common.
Other fertility treatments such as Clomid, Famera, and UIT treatment also have a chance to give birth to twin babies, but rates are below IVF treatment. But Gonadotropin treatment, which is an injectable hormone, shows the highest chance of giving birth to twin babies.
Mohua Sarkar
Department of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology,
Jagannath University,
Dhaka.
References:
1. https://www.verywellfamily.com/what-are-my-chances-of-having-twins-1960180
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