A multiple birth results when more than one human baby is born from a single pregnancy.

Classification

The most common form of multiple birth is twins (two babies), but cases of triplets (three), quadruplets (four), quintuplets (five), sextuplets (six), septuplets (seven), octuplets (eight), and nonuplets (nine) have all been recorded with all siblings being born alive. There have been pregnancies — but no known instances of live births — of decaplets (ten), undecaplets (eleven) or duodecaplets (twelve).

There are two types of multiple births, fraternal and identical. Identical siblings arise where one egg is fertilised and the resulting zygote splits into more than one embryo. Identical siblings therefore have the same genetic material. Fraternal siblings result from the fertilisation and implantation of more than one egg, so fraternal siblings are not genetically identical.

Causes and frequency

Multiple births can occur either naturally (the woman ovulates multiple eggs or the fertilized egg splits into two) or as the result of infertility treatments (several embryos are usually implanted to compensate for their lower viability).

In general, twins occur naturally at approximately the rate of 1/89 of singleton births, triplets at 1/89 the rate of twin births, and so on (Hellin's Law). However, for reasons that are unknown, the older a woman is, the more likely she is to naturally have a multiple birth.

The number of multiple births has increased over the last decades. For example, in Canada, between 1979 and 1999, the number of multiple birth babies increased 35%. Much of the increase can probably attributed to the impact of fertility treatments, such as in vitro fertilisation. Younger patients who undergo treatment with fertility medication containing FSH followed by intrauterine insemination are at particular risk for multiple biths of higher order.

Risks

Recent increases over the last few years in the number of multiple births have also provoked concern over the risks to the fetus and also to the mother.

The greater the number of babies in a single pregnancy, the more likely they are to have a low birth weight, to be born prematurely and to consequently suffer medical problems. For example, in 1999, 53% of babies in multiple births were premature, compared to 7% of singletons. [1] There is also a higher rate of stillbirths for multiples than for singletons.

Virtually all obstetrical risks are increased for the mother during a pregnancy with multiples. As many multiple pregnancies today are the result of the use of fertility therapy, efforts are being made to reduce the risks of multiple pregnancy, specifically triplets or more, by limiting the number of embryos (embryo transfer) during IVF to 1 or 2. Also, methods are availabe to reduce the number of fetuses in a pregnancy with many (see fetal reduction).

Cultural aspects

Certain cultures consider multiple births a portent of either good or evil. A North Korean tradition that states that triplets are 'lucky' has led to the seizure of all sets of triplets born in North Korea, apparently out of leader Kim Jong Il's fear that one may overthrow him in the future.

List of famous multiple births

• The Dionne quintuplets (born on May 28, 1934) were the first quintuplets known to survive their infancy.
• The Rosenkowitz sextuplets (born on January 11, 1974 in Cape Town, South Africa) were the first sextuplets known to survive their infancy.
• The Walton sextuplets (born on November 11, 1983 in Liverpool) were the first sextuplets born in the United Kingdom known to survive their infancy.
• The Frustaci septuplets (born on May 21, 1985) were the first septuplets to be born in the United States. Only three babies survived.
• The Dilley sextuplets (born on May 25, 1993 in Indianapolis) were the first surviving sextuplets to be born in the United States.
• The McCaughey septuplets (born on November 19, 1997) were the world's first surviving set of septuplets.
• The Humair septuplets (born on January 14, 1998 in Abha , Saudi Arabia) were the world's second surviving set of septuplets, born to a 40-year-old mother.
• The Chukwu octuplets (born in December 1998 in Houston) were the first set of octuplets born in the United States. The smallest of the octuplets, Odera, died a week after birth.
• The Qahtani septuplets (born on July 12, 2001 in Washington, DC) were the third set of septuplets to live past infancy.
• The Dahm Sisters were the only Playboy triplet centerfolds.

Fictional multiple births

• In the television series The Simpsons, Apu and Manjula Nahasapeemapetilon had octuplets: Anoop, Uma, Nabendu, Poonam, Pria, Sandeep, Sashi, and Gheet (also known as Lincoln, Freedom, Condoleezza, Coke, Pepsi, Manifest Destiny, Apple Pie, and Superman). They were a result of an overdosage of fertility drugs.
  • The record was soon broken by a couple with nonuplets in Shelbyville, the archenemy of Springfield.
• In the television series Quintuplets, there are five children born simultaneously: Parker, Pierce, Patton, Penny, and Paige.
• Among Disney characters, multiple births seem to be rather common. Donald Duck's nephews, Huey, Dewey and Louie are triplets; and so are Daisy Duck's nieces, April, May and June. Mickey Mouse's nephews, Morty and Ferdie Fieldmouse, are twins, as are Tweedledee and Tweedledum from Disney's Alice in Wonderland based on the Lewis Carrol stories. Even the Beagle Boys have a set of triplet descendants, the Beagle Brats.

External links

• Articles on multiple births
• Six and more

Reference

• "Korea's 'lucky' triplets seized," article in Herald Sun newspaper (Australia), March 30, 2003.