The most common form of multiple birth is twins. Twins occur in approximately 1 in 80 births. There is a greater chance of a couple having twins if there is a family history of multiple pregnancies on either the mother or the father’s side (or both).
Twins may be identical (homozygous) if they come from the same egg, or non-identical (heterozygous) if they come from separate eggs.
If you are pregnant with twins, you will notice a rapid weight gain early on in your pregnancy, and your final weight will be greater than if you had only had one baby. Careful monitoring of blood pressure, weight and urine are important because of the increased risk of hypertensive disease of pregnancy. It is important to get adequate amounts of rest. Most twins are delivered at 38 weeks, and labour is generally no longer than it is with a single baby. Complications may arise if the babies are in an unnatural position, and in this case Caesarian section may be advised. In addition twins are usually smaller than single babies, and the incidence of prematurity is higher, so they may need special care.
Triplets, quadruplets, quintuplets and so on are uncommon, and usually occur after use of certain fertility drugs and in-vitro fertilisation techniques. In the same way as twins, these babies can be identical or non-identical, or both types may occur in one set (for example, in triplets one baby may develop independently from an adjacent pair of identical babies).
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