chance of mulitple babies?

Question

My husband has twins in his family, but I have no twins in mine. We both would love to have a set of multiples.

Anyone know the chances?

Answer 1

Absent factors that will increase the likelihood of your having twins, the chance of having twins is roughly 3 percent.

There are things that increase your chances, as you know; however, the incidence of twinning in your husband's family is not one of them. As others have noted, fraternal twinning is something that comes down through the mother's side of the family. (Fraternal twins are also called dizygotic twins, meaning that the twins came from two separate zygotes, or, fertilized eggs.) Fraternal twinning occurs when multiple eggs are released during ovulation -- something that occurs with women, obviously, and something to which men bear no relation. That said, of course the fact that you have no (known) fraternal twins on your side of the family doesn't mean you won't have twins yourself. (Also, it's not true that twinning skips a generation; while that was believed to be true at one time, that myth has since been debunked.)

The chance of fraternal twins also increases with age (women tend to release more eggs during ovulation when we get older), and studies have shown an increased incidence of twinning with women who are overweight or tall. In addition, fraternal twinning is more prevalent in some races than in others (I'd have to double check on this, but, if memory serves, it's more prevalent among African Americans than among Caucasians, for example).

And, of course, the use of certain fertility drugs ups the chances.

While the "party line" regarding identical twinning remains that it's a random event, the scientific jury really is out on that one, and there's more than enough anecdotal evidence to suggest otherwise (there are enough reports of the incidence of multiple sets of identical twins running down a family line to call into question the whole "random event" theory). (Note that the term "monozygotic" refers to identical twins, because they came from a single zygote.)

As for types of twins: there's monozygotic and dizygotic, and there is also some theorizing about a third type of twinning, "polar body twinning," which, in theory, may occur if a single egg splits....I've read some explanations that don't quite agree with one another, but what I have seen that's consistent is that it's really just a theory at this point and the medical community hasn't accepted that this is a real or valid form of twinning (at this point)...so I'll go out on a limb and say the chances of polar body twinning are slim to none.

As the mother of twins, I can tell you that it's wonderful and fun.....and regardless of that, you should be careful what you wish for. I've never done anything harder in my life. (Plus, multuiple pregnancies are riskier than singleton pregnancies, with increased risk of things like gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, and preterm labor, among other things.) Not that I'd trade my two for anything in the world....;)

Good luck to you.

Answer 2

If the twins were identical, that is a quirk of nature. Can happen to any woman, any pregnancy. Fraternal multiples are hereditary, to a point. It all goes out the window after you're over 38. Then your system can go a little berserk, and start dropping eggs by the handful, instead of one at a time. (Just had triplets, I will be 45 this June) You'd really have to ask your doctor.

Answer 3

Your chances of twins are about 3 percent fraternal twins come from the mothers side and usually skips a generation. Some woman(like me) are strange and ovulate more than one egg at a time all the time drastically increasing their chance of twins. There are also so many types of twins theirs dyziotic, mono zygotic, and a Bunch of other ones I don't remember. each specific type has different chances of you having them the most rare though are usually the identical twins also the amount of sex you have can also determine it. The highest rate of twins in the U.S. was after WW2 when young couples who were married right before deployment(I know it sounds crazy, but that's what they say) were reunited. Women over 30 do have higher chances of multiples,size does not matter though but is a good asset to be taller and bigger it makes it easier to carry them with lesser chance of miscarriage of one or both or still birth of one or both. I'm only 5'2" and weighed 115 lbs when I got pregnant with my twins

Answer 4

Faternal twins come from the womens family. If you have a mom or grandmom that has the genes for ovulating with more than one egg at a time chances are you have the gene. Identical twins are a fluke and you have the same chances as everyone else.

Answer 5

From my research I've done today, the chance of twins depends on if they run in the family. They are also more prevelant in women over 30, women who are tall and women who are "larger". Go to babycenter.com and look up twins - it should give you some info there.

Answer 6

They say twins run on the maternal side. But I'd think having a family history of it helps. Good luck.

Answer 7

I heard that twins skips a generation so for example if your mother is a twin she won't have twins but her kids will. My father is a twin and so far none of my siblings have twins. My Aunt's mother is a twin and my aunt had twins so I don't know how true it is. Good luck!

Answer 8

Only fraternal twins are genetically passed down through every other generation. Identical twins are completely random!

I have a twin brother. If you have multiple fraternal twins, please make sure they're never in the same class!

Answer 9

The ability to have twins lays on the female side. Sorry
the egg has to either split or you have to release 2 eggs at once.