April 19, 2012
According to Michigan State University, the occurrence of twin births has increased dramatically in the past several decades. Consider this remarkable statistic: in 1980, one in every 53 babies was a twin; in 2009, that number rose to one in every 30 births. These findings were presented in early April 2012 at the 14th Congress of the International Society for Twin Studies in Florence, Italy. Barbara Luke of the MSU College of Human Medicine’s Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology presented these findings, and also noted that the rise can be attributed to an increase in maternal age and the increase use of fertility treatments.
As perinatologists and other providers of Maternal-Fetal medicine are well aware, multiple pregnancies are accompanied with greater health risks than single gestation pregnancies. Attentive care and ongoing research seek to mitigate these risks and deliver the healthiest possible outcomes for mothers and babies alike. For more information on MSU’s research, their news publication can be viewed here.
