The increase in the birth of twins in the world.

Scientists studied the statistics of the birth of twins in the world during the years 2010-2015 and found that one in 42 newborns in the world is currently a twin. This means that around 1.6 million twins are born each year.

And the journal Human Reproduction indicates that researchers from the Netherlands, Great Britain and France compared these results with the statistics of the eighties of the last century and it was clear to them that the birth of twins increased by a third. A twin doesn’t just mean that two babies are born of the same pregnancy, but more than that. There are two types of twins: identical twins and single-egg identical twins that were fertilized by a single sperm. And heterozygous fraternal twins, resulting from more than one egg fertilized with more than one sperm.

The possibility of a multiple pregnancy increases with the age of the mother and is also associated with the intake of drugs that stimulate ovulation. Currently, the birth of twins also increases as a result of the in vitro fertilization (IVF) process.

Scientists relate the increase in the birth rate of twins in the world in the 20th century, scientific progress in the field of modern medicine. They believe that the twin birth rate in recent years has increased between births, compared to previous years.

The scientists observed when studying data from 165 countries that over the past forty years, the percentage of twin births decreased in South American countries, while 80% of twin births occurred in countries in Asia and Africa. The interesting thing is that Africa even in the eighties of the last century registered a record in the birth of twins, which means that their relationship between births did not change in practice. This is what led scientists to believe that the inhabitants of Africa have a genetic characteristic, which makes women tend to have multiple pregnancies.

“It is important to note that the birth of twins is associated with a higher infant mortality rate, as well as an increased risk of complications during pregnancy, delivery and postpartum recovery,” said Professor Christian Mundin of the University of Oxford.

Researchers suggest that the twin birth rate in high-income countries has peaked and will begin to decline. They explain this, as IVF technology has changed to reduce multiple pregnancies. In addition, women do not want to have more than one child at the same time, and doctors take this wish into account.