Africa has a high rate of twins born naturally from two separate eggs, and according to the study 80% of twins are now born either in Africa or Asia.
In 2021, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (latest report as of October 2021) there were 4,248 multiple births representing 1.5% of all births (309,996) in Australia. This comprised 4,185 pairs of twins and 63 sets of triplets and higher order multiples.
Vietnam was the country with the fewest twins (6.2 per 1,000 births) and Benin was the country with the most (27.9 per 1,000). Over time, some of these developing countries saw increases in twins, but some saw decreases and some stayed the same, with any changes tending to be small.
In Nigeria, a growing city called Igbo-Ora is known as the twin capital due to it having the highest rate of twin births in the world. The town is the home of the annual World Twins Festival, which celebrates the many twins that reside in their community.
"The twinning rate in Africa is so high because of the high number of dizygotic twins - twins born from two separate eggs - born there," he said. "This is most likely to be due to genetic differences between the African population and other populations."
Central to the Yoruba people's diet are plants with a tuber root, such as yam and cassava. Some residents and experts in Nigeria believe that, due to the high phytoestrogen content in these plants, women are more likely to release more than one egg at a time, which usually leads to twin pregnancies.
Race – African-American women are more likely to have twins than any other race. Asian and Native Americans have the lowest twinning rates. Caucasian women, especially those over age 35, have the highest rate of higher-order multiple births (triplets or more).
A big reason for all those twins is an increase in medically assisted reproduction, including in vitro fertilization, ovarian stimulation and artificial insemination. Another reason is that women in many countries are having babies at older ages.
People over 30, and particularly those over age 35, are more likely to conceive twins. 4 This is because the level of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) rises as birthing parents get older. FSH is responsible for the development of eggs in the ovaries before they are released.
In Australia, twins happen in 1 in every 80 births. This means that 1 in 40 Australians is a twin. The birth rate of identical twins is the same around the world and doesn't vary with the mother's age.
Monoamniotic-monochorionic Twins
These types of twins share a chorion, placenta, and an amniotic sac. This is the rarest type of twin, and it means a riskier pregnancy as the babies can get tangled in their own umbilical cords.
In fact, one British study tested ESP potential among identical twins and found that they were correct about 25% of the time, the same as any other siblings. There is one particular power though which twins possess, longevity. Fraternal twins live longer than singletons and identical twins longer still.
It's estimated that 1 in 250 pregnancies results in twins naturally, and there are two ways to conceive them.
The authors of the study believe the reason twins live longer may be because of the social support they provide each other, and the psychological and health benefits that come with that social connection. "There is benefit to having someone who is socially close to you who is looking out for you," Sharrow said.
Around the world, the chances of having twins for a couple is 1 per cent, and the rate for China is 0.5 per cent, according to Yu Rong, an obstetrician from Xuanwu Hospital in Beijing.
This is why fraternal twins run in families. However, only women ovulate. So, the mother's genes control this and the fathers don't. This is why having a background of twins in the family matters only if it is on the mother's side.
Twins and other multiple-birth individuals can suffer from much deeper and troubling loneliness than single-born individuals. Separation anxiety, which often begins at birth, is the underlying cause of loneliness for twins.
Most sets of Twins
1707–c. 1782), a peasant from Shuya, Russia, gave birth to 16 sets of twins.
Identical twins are almost always the same sex, although there are some rare exceptions to this rule. Because identical twins occur when a single fertilized egg splits and forms two embryos, each embryo has the same chromosomes (usually, XX for girls or XY for boys). Remember that sex and gender are not the same.
Identical twins form from the same egg and get the same genetic material from their parents — but that doesn't mean they're genetically identical by the time they're born.
if you're pregnant and over 35 you're more likely to have non-identical twins because you're more likely to release more than 1 egg during ovulation. non-identical twins run on the mother's side of the family, probably because of an inherited tendency to release more than 1 egg.
The hardest thing about having twins is…
“Managing the movement of two babies. Carrying them both up and down the stairs, getting them into the car, etc.” —Simeon R. “Often having to make one baby wait!” —Catharine D. “Being outnumbered—the logistics of two on one is definitely the hardest.
It was found that many Aboriginal twin pregnancies and births are physically and practically challenging and the majority of multiples are born early and small.
Being pregnant with multiples doesn't necessarily mean that your pregnancy will be problematic. However, women carrying multiples do have a higher chance of developing complications such as high blood pressure and preterm labor. For this reason, all multiple pregnancies are considered high-risk.