How To Get Twins

Sharing is caring!

Odds and How To Improve Your Chances of Having Twins

If you’re wondering if it’s possible to increase your chances of having twins, you’re in the right place. Even though some factors come down to genetics, there are a few that are in your control- and they don’t involve fertility treatments!

Here’s the deal:

You CAN up your chances of conceiving fraternal twins. Let’s dive in to HOW!

How To Conceive Twins Or Triplets Naturally

• Try when you’re over the age of 30– women who are over the age of 30 start naturally producing more FSH (folic stimulating hormone). If FSH levels stay too high for too long, more than one egg will be released at a time resulting in fraternal twins.
• Gain weight– this may seem counter intuitive but studies show that women who have a higher BMI also have a higher chance of conceiving fraternal (not identical) twins.
• Conceive while breastfeeding– Dr. Steinman ran a study where he found that women who became pregnant while breastfeeding were 9 times more likely to conceive twins than women who weren’t.
• Take a folic acid supplement– research on taking folic acid to increase your chances of having twins is limited. There was a study that did find the chance of twins increased but it was only one study and a slight increase.

RELATED: Pregnancy Must Haves (for every trimester)

What Is A Monogyzotic Twin?

This means twins derived of a single ovum, so identical. Identical twins are the result of a single egg that splits in two which means that they will share the same DNA and always be the same sex.

What Is A Dizygotic Twin?

These are twins derived of separate ovum so not identical or fraternal. Fraternal twins happen when 2 separate eggs are fertilized in the same pregnancy. This means that the twins can be different genders and won’t necessarily look the same.

What Are My Odds of Having Twins With No Family History?

Having twins naturally occurs in about 1 of every 250 pregnancies.

Triplets happen in about 1 in every 10,000 pregnancies and quadruplets occur in 1 of every 700,000 pregnancies.

The chance of identical twins is about 3-4 out of 1000.

Calculating the chance of fraternal twins is a bit more complicated because there are factors that need to be taken into account:

• Genetics– women with a mother or sister who have had non-identical twins are twice as likely to have them as well.
• Age– being over the age of 30 increase the hormone FSH (follicle stimulating hormone) which can cause a woman’s body to produce more than one egg during ovulation resulting in the increased chance of fraternal twins.
• Height/Weight– twin mothers tend to be taller and heavier than non-twin moms.
• Diet– a small study conducted in 2007 did find that women who were vegetarian or omnivore compared to vegan women had a higher chance of having twins.
• Ancestry– Nigerian’s have the highest chance of conceiving twins, followed by European’s with Asian’s being the least likely.
• Previous birth– your chance of twins goes up with each subsequent pregnancy. This may be due to the fact that you are getting older with each new pregnancy.

The number one way you can increase your chance of having twins is by using a fertility treatment.

Conceiving fraternal twins can be affected by your age, race and hereditary background but those factors have no affect on identical twins.

RELATED: Super Weird Pregnancy Signs

What Foods Can I Eat To Increase My Chances Of Having Twins?

Yams!

There is a town in Nigeria called Igbo-Ora where there are 40-50 sets of twins born for every 1000 live births whereas the rest of the world follows a 3-4 per 1000 statistic.

According to this source, this is because the women here eat an incredible amount of cassava, a plant with a tuber root.

Cassava and tuber root vegetables contain a chemical that can cause more than one egg to release during ovulation so it’s speculated that the women who are eating a lot of these vegetables (especially the peel) have a much higher chance of conceiving twins.

There isn’t much research to document this claim and not enough studies have been done to say if it’s true or not.

You can get a cassava supplement from here and start taking it before TTC. This can increase your chance of having twins but also increases your overall fertility.

The positive reviews mention twins and conceiving after battling infertility but please read the negative reviews as well- some women mentioned headaches and a later period.

There was a study conducted that found that vegetarians and omnivores were more likely to conceive twins than vegan women from eating more dairy products. This also was dependent on areas where cows were given more growth hormone.

RELATED: How To Beat Morning Sickness (tried and true remedies)

Do Twins Skip a Generation?

It’s often repeated that twins will skip a generation but that is actually a myth. The birth of twins in consecutive generations is possible.

What To Do When Having Twins

Do you think you’re pregnant with twins? Take a deep breath momma. You’re going to be okay! Click here to read some positive birth stories.

RELATED: The First 10 Things to Do After a Positive Pregnancy Test

RELATED: The Ultimate Third Trimester To Do List