MULTIPLE BIRTHS |
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FACTS AND FIGURES RELATED TO MULTIPLE BIRTHS |
One out of every 35 live born babies is a multiple birth. Each year more known multiple births are occuring.
Why do you think this is so?
Multipel births are occurring in a dramtic increase. There were nearly 6000 triplets, quadruplets, and even higher sets born in 1996.
Since 1975, numbers have increased by 50%. Since 1980, the numbers of triplets and higher increased by 312%. More than 100,000 were twins, 5,298 were triplets , 560 were quadruplets, and 81 quintuplets were born.
There is a lot of risk to carrying multiples. The more babies, the earlier they are born. Mulitple birth babies not only suffer from prematurity, but they also suffer from low birth weights and there tends to be more complications invloved. The rate of complications when a woman is pregnant with twins is eight times that of a single birth, so for triplets and quadruplets, the problems go up dramatically.
Larry Gostin of Georgetown University says, " They have to choose between three conflicting values. First, their own health in having to carry so many fetuses. Second, the health of their fetuses, and third, the moral values of whether or not you have to abort one or more of those fetuses." If you decide to keep all of your fetuses, there are alot of dangers involved. For example, one of them might die; like one of the Houston octuplets. Even if they do survive, they face great dangers. Doctors say that the McCaughey family was very lucky to have all seven of their children survive. Gostin says, " Many of these children are going to have profound handicaps throughout their lives, both physical and mental handicaps. He said that women aren't made to carry such great numbers of offspring for nine months. This may explain why so many multiple births are born prematurely.
FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO MULITPLE BIRTHS
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Twins |
33% of the time twins come from a single egg that divides into smaller structures.
The frequency of identical twins occurs 1 in every 250 births world wide. It is not influenced by age, hereditary, race, number of pregnancies, or medications taken for infertitlity.
Fraternal twins are however influenced by race, hereditary, maternal age, # of previous pregnancies and the use of fertility drugs.
Twins occur 1/100 in Whites. 1/79 in Black/Hispanic, in some places it occurs 1/20 and 1/50 in Asians.
Female twins having twins occurs 1/58.
Twins average gestation is 37 weeks, about 258 days. A normal child goes 282 days. Their average weight is 5 1/2 lbs.
Slightly less than half of all twins are premature.
The difference between a single birth and a double birth is that the first is usually born head first, and the second baby is breech or transverse.
95% of all multiples are twins. More than 125 million sets roam the world.
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TRIPLETS |
Triplets occur once in every 8000 births. The average gestation of 35 weeks. The average weight is 3 1/4 lbs.
Complications of pregnancy is 2-3 times more than a single birth. Delivery is more complicated and cesarean will more than likely be done.
Multiple pregnancies cause more problems. One of the biggest problems is premature delivery.
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HIGHER BIRTHSR BIRTHS |
In 1998 there were 6919 triplets, 627 quadruplets, and 79 quintuplets.
Just recently were quadruplets were born to the Tetrick's on April 5, 2002. These quadruplets are the first born quads to have two sets of identical twins by a natural pregnacny unaided by fertility treatments. Experts say that this only occurs in about 1 in 25 million babies born. For more information on these quadruplets you may look at their site at www.born4theusa.com
There are approximately 18 sets of surviving sextuplets across the world. The first to be born were the Dilly's back in 1993.
On May 8th 1997, The Thompson's gave birth to sextuplets. These babies were the first babies born in the U.S. to a Black mother, all natrual, no fertility treatments. She was able to carry her babies for 29 weeks and 6 days, which is the longest period for sextuplets in the U.S. Everything went well, except for one fatality; one of the babies were still born.
There are the McCaughey septuplets of 1997.
There were the Octuples born in Italy and in Houston.
There are exanples of 9 or 10 or even 15 fetuses being found in the womb, but they were either miscarried or tstill born.
Created by Shannon Perkins