Is Birthing Twins Rare Anymore?

Overview:
Twin siblings are known to be involved in a closer
relationship than with any other sibling and this is accurate. Twin
siblings are, in most cases, together at all times. By having each
other around most of the time, they create a social support
bond[7]. Birthing twins is very lucky to the newborns because they
have a partner for life. Even in their adulthood years many pairs of
twins still share a close bond. However, birthing twins was not a
decision up until recently. Birthing twins has become more popular
throughout the years because of advanced technology.

Contents
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Introduction
IVF (in-vitro fertilization)
Twin Population
Twin Relationships
References

IVF (In-vitro Fertilization):

The twin population has increased and its more often now to
encounter twins than back in the day. This is due to the advanced
technology we have now a day, which has improved in vitro
fertilization. Twin births have been increasing due to this
technology advance because parents who have the choice are
deciding to give birth to twins. However some couples do not
succeed at having babies through IVF. IVF, like other technologybased projects, carries risks. In some cases where IVF was

conducted, babies are born premature and with low birth weight.
Other IVF pregnancies result in miscarriage[3]. Couples who dont
succeed at first with IVF should try more than three of four cycles
suggested by CNN.com. The CNN article is speaking about IVF
cycles. For example, if a miscarriage occurs from IVF the parents
keep trying. This is very rare to occur because IVF is modernizing
but it does happen. Many critics, however, are concerned that
there is $60,000 from insurance used for IVF, which they believe,
is not a fair use of medical resources when there are forty million
people without health insurance[5]. Although this does not pay
entirely for a cycle of IVF, a lot of money goes towards it. This is
also making it easier for parents to give birth through IVF.
Therefore increasing the twin population.

Twin Population:
The new trend every parent that goes through IVF has is to
have twins. According to the website TIME, Twins account for
more than 20 to 30 percent of babies conceived via in-vitro
fertilization. The days where getting pregnant with twins was a
surprise are over. Now one in four IVF births result in twins
compared to the naturally conceived way, there are one in 285
births that result in twins. The United States twin birth rate has
increased since 2007 and was at its highest in 2014 [3]. With an
increase in twin birth there was also an increase in birth rate for

women in their early and late 30s and a decrease in teen mothers
ages 15 to 19[3].
Going through fertility treatment has given parents the
choice of how many children they want to have at once. This is
where many parents get excited and decide on having twins. The
twin population has increased in the past years. According to a
CNN article, The twin rate has been climbing most years since
1980 among white, black and Hispanic women. According to the
website TIME, Twins account for more than 20 to 30 percent of
babies conceived in-vitro fertilization and there is national
data that shows twin births nearly doubled over the last three
decades Although it is rare to meet twins often, there is a time
approaching where meeting twins will be as normal as meeting
someone who is not a twin.
As the rate of twin births increases in the United States,
there are other countries that are worried about birth rates
decreasing; this is the case in Germany. Giving birth to twins has
never been a better idea there. In a report by Sarah Glazer titled
Declining Birthrates, she talks about educated women choosing
not to get pregnant. Highly paid career women focus on their
careers and do not worry about motherhood. This began to worry
the German government. The government decided to take action
and began by, offering to pay women two-thirds of their salarypaid monthly for up to a year- if they stayed home with their
child[6]. This is why 37-year-old Hackethal decided to have twins;
she says the money bonus is what encouraged her to have twins.
This is another reason why twin birthrates are increasing. The
birthrate in Germany increased from 1.3 to 1.4 births per women,
which encouraged the government to keep this tactic. Germany
has been the only one to try this tactic because it is the only
country so far that has women choosing their profession over
motherhood. However, these babies are being born because an
amount of money is offered in exchange. Fortunately, those who
are birthing twins are birthing two individuals who will always
have one another.

Twin Relationships:

Twins are said to act different toward their twin sibling than
to another sibling. Twins share a special relationship because they
share everything starting in the womb. This is why they are more
likely to look out for their twin sibling than another sibling. In a
study done by Alan Mikkelson of Whitworth University states that
identical twins share 100 percent DNA similarity[7]. This means
that they share psychological makeup and personality. The study
also concluded that identical twins give each other more social
support than any other sibling[7]. Not every case of twins has a
strong bond. For example fraternal twins share only 50 percent of
their DNA. In all cases the relationship is different, but for the
most part they look after each other more than they would for
another sibling. Only twins understand this and only they know
what they have to go through because they are twins.

Perspective of Being a Twin:

An article from the Australia Daily Mail featuring a pair of
twins, Elena and Angela, from Australia talks about feeling each
others physical and emotional pain their entire lives. When my
knee started hurting, I knew Eli was in trouble[1] is an example of
the physical pain they share.
Another time that the twins felt the same physical pain was when
Elena fell pregnant; at that moment her sister Angela felt waves of
intense nausea. According to the Australia Daily Mail twins, are
used to tackling each others sufferings and believe the bond is a
special aspect of their unique relationship. A silly and impressive
story told by the twins was a time when Angela had her tonsils
removed while Elena was, unaware of the situation, suffering of a
sore throat at her grandmothers home.
Elena and Angela have also played a few tricks on people to
confuse them. We used to swap offices at work and have a giggle
about it Angela told Daily Mail Australia. The set of twins
believe that their bond is special and their relationship is unique.
These twins are known for their phenomenon characteristic of
feeling each others pain, not all pair of twins has this in common.
Many twins across the world share genetics, emotions,
appearances, interests, but most importantly they share an
incomparable bond due to their similar genetics [7].

References

1.Tran, Cindy. (2010,May 2015). Meet the Identical twins who feel each others
pain, get ill at the same time and can read their siblings mind.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3090703/I-morning-sickness-twin-didn-tknow-pregnant-Meet-identical-twins-feel-s-pain-ill-time-read-sibling-s-mind.html

2.Richards, Sarah Elizabeth. (2014, April 16). The Problem With Americas Twin
Epidemic.
http://time.com/52142/the-problem-with-americas-twin-epidemic/?iid=sr-link10
3. Storrs, Carina and Goldschmidt, Debra. (2015, December 23). U.S. twin birth
rate hits record high.
http://www.cnn.com/2015/12/23/health/twin-birth-rate-record-ivf/

4. Bettelheim, Adriel. (1998, April 3). Biology and Behavior.

http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/document.php?
id=cqresrre1998040300&type=hitlist&num=16
5. Clemmitt, Marcia. (2009, May 15). Reproductive Ethics.
http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/document.php?
id=cqresrre2009051500&type=hitlist&num=8

6. Glazer, Sarah. (2008, November 21). Declining Birthrates.

http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/document.php?
id=cqresrre2008112100&type=hitlist&num=20
7. Do Twins Have a Closer Relationship Than Other Siblings? Our Everyday
Life. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Dec. 2016
http://oureverydaylife.com/twins-closer-relationship-other-siblings-15680.html