What are my chances of having twins?
Your chances of “twinning” are actually not bad-about 1 in 90 births result in twins. If fraternal twins run in your family, your odds are slightly higher. The number of twins and multiple births has skyrocketed over the past several decades, and the incidence of higher order multiples-which include triplets, quadruplets, or more-grew a whopping 404 percent between 1980 and 1997, but has experienced a slow but steady decline since 1999. Twins are more common then ever, however, with 119,648 twin births occurring in 2000. The Centers for Disease Control attributes approximately two-thirds of all U.S. higher order multiples to the use of fertility treatments, also known as assisted reproductive technology (ART). Over 37 percent of all successful pregnancies from ART result in a multiple fraternal birth. National statistics also reveal that more women are waiting until their thirties and forties to have children, and the increasing twin rate may reflect that reality. Women over 35, especi
