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More Twins Are Being Born Than Ever Before, Study Reveals

More twins are being born than ever before, according to research published in the scientific journal Human Reproduction.

There are a few reasons as to why. One is that many women are having children much later on in life when they’re more likely to release two eggs at once.

Another big factor is fertility treatments. Often used in high and middle-income countries, the hormones used can stimulate egg production.

A set of twins
More twins are being born than ever before, a study has revealed. Credit: Unsplash

Similarly, IVF means there are often two or three embryos being transferred into the uterus all at once.

However, this could all soon decline as many regulators are arguing it’s much safer to transfer just one embryo, rather than two.

There has been a rise in people using fertility treatments, leading to more twins being born. Credit: Unsplash

Scientists gathered the information between 2010 and 2015 from 135 different countries to conduct their study. It was then concluded that birth-rates for twins has risen by over a third in the past 40 years.

While the birth rate for twins in the UK has risen by 62 per cent since the 1980s, other countries that saw a huge rise were North America, Europe and Asia.

Yet in Africa, there’s been a continuous high rate of twins being born.

In the 1980s in Sub-Saharan Africa, the twin birth rate was twice above the UK – which has only just managed to catch up.

According to experts, this may be due to unknown genetic factors.

Despite the trend, the researchers are convinced we may have reached our ‘twin peak’.

Featured Image Credit: Pexel

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Written by Aimee Walker

Aimee is a senior content editor at IGV who specialises in finding the best original stories, trending topics and entertainment news. She graduated from Birmingham City University with a degree in Media and Communications.